Consolee Nishimwe Quotes

What happened in one day can happen anywhere, and people should be aware of [this], because it’s not something that happens overnight.

I want to make sure that those that are no longer here - their voices, their lives, their names . . . are alive. They were alive. They existed. . . My duty is to make sure that what happened is heard.

There’s a mantra that I live with. No matter what horrible circumstances you may face in your life, never lose hope.

My feelings of pain and suffering now have also become a way of helping other people and a big part of helping society in general. So, it was not easy. But I’m glad that I never gave up. I persisted and pushed myself to become stronger than before.

My life matters. . . No matter what you’ve been through, you should never give up. Never lose hope.

In our culture, we don’t talk a lot about experiences.

Losing hope is the beginning of your own self-defeat.

I am part of making people be aware of how genocide can happen, so. And if we are aware, we can make sure we prevent that from happening again.

For me, to share is so I encourage my fellow survivors to share their story. I want to be a part of helping - making sure the history of my family is told.

The international community was watching what was happening but they were not intervening which was very sad for me to see.

I have some days where I just sit down and cry. It’s not like everything is perfect all the time.

And some of us live with the consequences because of what we’ve been through during the genocide.

Rape is a weapon of the genocide.

It takes a long time to express how we feel. I am trying to show the other survivors that we need to express that pain we have.

It is my duty to tell what happened so the world will not forget. . . That’s my way of making sure that the history is not forgotten.