this is g.w. news africa coming up in the next fifteen minutes rhonda remembers its deadliest one hundred days on sunday the country commemorates the twenty fifth anniversary of the genocide that killed nearly a million people will hear from survive is striving to keep the peace. and african literature in focus the second african book festival is underway here in berlin will meet one of the continent's rising stars. i'm christine window welcome to the program i'm glad you're tuned in this weekend walks twenty five years since the start of the rwandan genocide one of the dockets and most brutal chapters in the country's history the catalyst for the genocide was the downing of a plane carrying rwanda's then president juvenile. he was

a hutu he was on his way back from peace talks in tanzania with tutsi rebels the very next day the massacre began a period of just one hundred days nearly one million people most of them tutsis were killed by hutu militias the killing stopped when the tutsi rebels led by paul kagame is seize the capital kigali gandhi went on to become president in two thousand and remains in power to this day. ahead of the anniversary east africa correspondent met a genocide survivor. you know you want to. this is where house used to be before the genocide nothing is left of it now. bent it all down after looting it and i mean gas prices. everything was he was just three months old when his parents and four siblings were killed by hutu militias he's

a survivor of the one thousand nine hundred four genocide in rwanda the fastest of the twentieth century during which close to a million randoms mostly to see well wiped out in just one hundred days. eric was too young to remember his family dying but he says he will never forget the day his aunt told him what happened. there was talk of his unusual rejoinder she carried me on her back during the genocide right up until the killing stopped she told me how horrific it was she witnessed it all the rain was pouring down on us those were hard times for me lisa would flee from the careless you know while we were fleeing we would jump over dead bodies. eric stock family history is one shot by many his relatives like countless persecuted tutsi across the country had sought refuge in a charge when they were killed and charged just like this one in yamato an

estimated fifty thousand people died during the genocide today this side stands as one of run this most poignant memorials and the stabbing remind of what happened and physical evidence of crimes that should never be forgotten. doris you can't imagine how it feels like growing up knowing that you're all alone with no parents and new siblings while other children your age have them. eric says his generation's identity is deeply entrenched in the true one thousand nine hundred so many survivors who lost their families who are still processing the past but also children of perpetrators who participated in the killings nichiren him. it's very hard to find yourself all alone either because your family members were killed for being too see or as in my case with parents who are in prison because they were convicted of participating in the genocide. for. children we have to

take on a lot of responsibility from a young age to. the genocide could cast a long dark shadow over the lives of future generations and believe in the power of reconciliation is offering a new chapter in rhonda's history. as the youth we have to live in a way that brings us together to keep our country moving forward. where you are the future of the country. totally motivated you will be. my first guest today watched as he's father was killed and then fed to the dogs joining the ninety ninety four genocide he was seven years old at the time today he's an ambassador for peace with the n.-g. o. one young world he's involved in various activities targeted at peace and forgiveness if allied. do what he did what joins me now from italy welcome c.

day deputy hit by life how did you survive the genocide. i mean it's embarrassing. when it's genocide and don't say i recently these are all about ready to. spend spend over time. sleeping on the dead bodies and my springs and spending nights myself in the bush it is and you know and i was made a child surveyed for the kid and i was lucky to see who can escape and when to do you count where finally i didn't need for about four months before i was really great right keeping it we're talking about twenty five years off to this this atrocity would you save our reconcile today. collectively yes rather than have made a very big amount and worst. towards it was the action because you have them going

to religion where people are leaving together. perjured says and survivors needing to get them out so collectively as romans and say we've made a very big step. i would say that individual he we still have lots of a work to do because because of different reasons and these these hatriot has been planted and so on for some long so. long time. too for to really say we are one hundred percent you can see it so collectively with. individually because of different kinds and as and wound with you have a long walk to the ok you believe the president offer lined up polk academy is a contentious way to i mean he's been accused off for example stifling the opposition and and not tolerating dissent but i didn't say that has been the

necessary evil to keep the peace and how do you credits paul kagame in maintaining the peace in in the country i would say. so much cricket's because you're in a country where our people are obscured and you manage as if we managed to set up a system which has brought back in ninety two percent of children grown not to screw ninety four percent of people insured in the whole country and people are living side by side picture thousands of us i would say where are you seeing peace in the world. so much and it's ok. to genocide survivor coming to us from kigali thank you. and staying on that story in paris french president emanuel kron has tossed

a panel of research is to investigate his country's role in the london genocide mccraw on hosted members of an association of genocide victims at the paris rwanda has long accused of supporting the hutu militia that committed the atrocities and then helping some of the perpetrators escape now as part of the two year investigation the panel up researchers will have access to the states. france has previously acknowledged its mistakes and wonder but has stopped short of accepting it train the militia that took part in a mask. a book festival bringing together around fifty authors from all over africa is underway here in berlin the african wealthiest of all is now in its second year and this is the messiah told transitioning from my creation more than half of the

authors participating at the event are women and i'm delighted to be joined by one of them in studio right now of have you know that and that she too could live there is a prominent intellectual and a creative african feminist four days into it eighteen she published these bones will rise again a reflection on zimbabwe's military coupe and great to have you in studio and you are now the author of two books to publish books one of them has won an award how what does it take to get to this point i took a lot so i mean i studied accounting and i started off as a reporter with you in the newsroom and i guess was six years ago and so a lot of work that i have to get to. it's really just been pushing working within the industry. and having pushed within working on literary festivals working hard to get many scripts submitted you know we could do a whole workshop on what it takes to become and i didn't author to be an author in general actually right right and i think staying on the theme of what you struggle

i mean do you find that you you have to sort of tailor your narrative and make it dilute the african dance so that your work could appear appeal to a wider global audience it is always difficult because first of all as a writer you should know who you are writing for would you say that you're writing for yourself or with it is that you once you have your work accessible to a whole range of people but that's very loaded for african writers very often it is accessibility means fitting into a universal westernized kind of standard which doesn't apply to many white writers or european writers and for me i'm always interested first and foremost in black writers or black people goes with people i'm interested in but i'm always interested in the stories that i want to read first and foremost and there are challenges it has. that you know publishers will turn it down so we don't think this is going to saw that happen with my first book but that became a base islands of africa so you kind of beginning to see in south africa a big change people to my decolonization black writers black festivals black

publishes because people are talking about the fact that writing and reading is something we've always been doing but it just hasn't been done in a way that a faith that that really serves us as black readers and writers ok what's brought you to berlin is the african book festival now in its second year the theme this year is transitioning from migration what kind of a conversation are africans having about this the there are many conversations that africans are having about this i mean in the last couple years we've seen a big boom and immigrant literature particular of those africans into the west but even the continent is also africans talking about moving within the continent the story of humanity is a story of migration and so we're seeing the kinds of difficulties in what it means to be displaced at home but it also means what you know what kind of things we learn and gain from each other when we are when we are displaced so many different kinds of conversations may fifth ones but many of them are painful but through them i think we're getting to a place where we have a greater sense of self and the world's ok that's. prominent novelist it's a it's

a writer from zimbabwe thank you. and that is that for now from news africa you can as always catch all stories on our website and facebook page now that you're thinking about what the next book is that you're going to eat we'll leave you with some titles from african all of those that you might want to check out have a lovely weekend about.

make sure we're going to. the other stuff. with the good morning stephanie. check out the shins from around the world. every week.