Responses in Rwanda

Aug 2006
‘It was a breakthrough on being liberated inwardly by exposing the bad, terrifying and barbaric acts performed by and on human life… It was a solution finder on how we can work together in building trust, because when we trust each other, we open up, and when we open up we talk, our inner self comes out and is free of the past dirt giving us a new channel of confidence and value in life.’
- Emmanuel Rutera, War Veteran

‘I urge the organizing committee to do whatever is possible to perform the play in each country which has witnessed massacres and genocide and where there is a problem of reconciliation… it shows how ingenious people can be in managing their own problems. Rwanda has also to learn from the South African experience.’
- Cyprien SEMUSHI, Interpreter and student

‘What shone through was the curiosity, willingness and openness of an audience that walked guided by the cast over a relatively unexploited platform for dialogue in Rwanda. It became evident (in the discussion sessions) that there is a common face for struggle, pain, healing and tolerance; Rwanda and South Africa have seen all these faces. The production was able to explore with us real life experiences of truth and healing, reconciliation and unity… This project has the potential to not only highlight the social healing of the South African people but also to allow countries like Rwanda to better understand their similar realities and continue on that progressive path with greater encouragement and motivation.’
- Annette U. Uwizeye, Film student

‘I believe that the secret of success in reconciliation in South Africa lies in the open mindedness of South African people. You already are able to talk and discuss your problems, which helps in finding solutions. This is yet a big deal in Rwanda, where people are still afraid of what they saw, what they did or just what was done to them. I thank you once again for having chosen Rwanda first, we need plays like yours to help our society rebuild after the tragic history we lived. May God give you strength and means to spread your message of peace all over the World.’
- ChrisNdamuzeye, translator and student at National University of Rwanda

‘Every one in my group was thrilled by the discussion; every one thinks it was amazing. My people think such discussions need to be regular, because they are a healing in a way while others look at it as a lasting solution to the problems of Rwandan hailing from the genocide ideology.’
- Charles Lwanga, Veteran AIDS Initiative Rwanda (providing rehabilitation and support of war veterans)

‘I call upon all the people who want peace and harmony in our society to continue supporting the Truth in Translation project in order to take it to different regions of racial, ethnic conflicts so that those people can understand that being in peace it is not a matter of choice but a matter of necessity.’
- KANAMUGIRE Cleophas, YADDI (Youth Association for Dissemination of Development Information)

‘If South Africans are going to heal their quietly nursed wounds and overcome their consciences of guilt for those who have guilty consciences, they need to see Truth in Translation over and over again. Whilst the play probably helps the translators for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission deal with their own trauma, it is also a dramatic repository of our past history, which is not only good for adults like us who were actors in that history, but also an antidote for our children who must chart a new course for our nation taking it further and further away from the quagmire of the past at the edges of which we are still trudging. Truth in Translation must be seen by as many people as possible, not only in South Africa, but also in all the countries that have experienced racial, ethnic, religious and other brutally decisive conflicts. I would recommend support for the project with whatever resources that will bring it to Theatre in South Africa and the World.’
- Ezra M. Sigwela, South African Ambassador to Rwanda

‘I attended Truth in Translation’s premiere in Kigali, Rwanda. I was moved to tears – by the play itself, but also by the reaction of the Rwandese. I also laughed out loud several times, something I haven’t done in a South African theatre for a long time. I am no theatre critic, but I found the play to be completely authentic and devoid of sentimentality.’
- Max du Preez, TRC journalist