Divorce

Muvunyi Olivier has many questions for his mother, Mukagakwaya Beatrice, about how Rwandan culture has changed since her childhood. Mukagakwaya Beatrice provides descriptions of the courtship rituals in the past, dress and behavior during weddings, and the gender norms that governed women’s lives. She tells her son that women today are not as respectful of traditional cultured or their elders. She advises young people to be peaceful and content with what they have. Muvunyi Olivier welcomes his mother’s story and wonders about these traditions in contemporary society.

Ruhigisha Tharcisse and Murorunkwere Janet have never spoken about his past as a refugee who went from country and country after 1959, living in poverty in refugee camps. He eventually trained himself in a skill and was able to sustained himself. She has many questions for him. Ruhigisha Tharcisse has advice for her about how to sustain herself and has high hopes that she can survive with dignity.

Musabyimouna Edith tells her daughter how she went from being a lazy, spoiled daughter, to a hardworking survivor and mother. She describes how she was able to survive the genocide partially through her own willingness to change, but largely through the benevolence of strangers who were willing to hide, clothe and feed her during the violence. In order to survive, Musabyimouna Edith relied on strangers to conceal her identity and endured several close encounters with potentially violent individuals.