Rwanda races to digitise genocide documents
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00:00 These survivors of the genocide against the Tutsis in Rwanda are sifting through thousands
00:05 of files.
00:06 Their organization is still looking for information about what led up to the massacres 30 years
00:11 ago.
00:12 "There may be new testimonies and there may also be information about the preparation
00:18 of the genocide.
00:20 We want to make these documents accessible so that researchers who need them will have
00:24 access to them.
00:26 Just like other people who want to know what happened during the genocide, how it was prepared,
00:31 how it was executed."
00:37 After initial sorting, documents are digitally scanned and stored on dedicated computer servers.
00:43 The group begin updating storage of the archives in early 2022.
00:47 "All these papers we sort here will be digitized.
00:51 Without numbering and digitizing them, the archive process isn't complete."
00:56 Today the preservation of documents related to the genocide is a national priority.
01:01 Another NGO, AGE's Trust, focuses its efforts to safeguard history on collecting recorded
01:06 accounts of what happened.
01:08 This woman lost all of her children during the 1994 mass killings.
01:13 "I was asked to testify and I accepted because I'm sure that my story will help people heal
01:19 from their traumas.
01:20 It will help those who listen to me."
01:23 This center offers support to women who lost their husbands in the genocide.
01:28 Many have shared their stories.
01:29 The accounts are later translated into English and posted online.
01:33 Every year, the time left to collect these perspectives grows smaller.
01:37 "The elderly people are aging, they're starting to forget.
01:43 So we mustn't miss this.
01:44 We must use every possible means to record these testimonies while there's still time."
01:51 As part of its commemorative efforts, Rwanda will introduce digital tours of the 170 memorial
01:56 sites that are also the final resting places of many of the victims of the genocide.
02:01 [BLANK_AUDIO]