Hello and Yambu! My name is Dr. Jeanine Ntihirageza. I was born in Burundi in 1961 and witnessed the Burundi genocide that took my father, brother and older cousins. We need your help to break the silence and bring these stories to the world to heal my Burundian country and shed light on far reaching impact and ramifications of genocide.
Now we need $15,000 to secure professional editing and translating services for over 300 hours of interview footage.
It was 15 years ago when I broke my silence about my personal trauma to a friend and colleague. Ten years ago, with colleagues and friends, we created the
Center for Genocide and Human Rights Research in Africa and the Diaspora (GHRAD) at Northeastern Illinois University to better understand the effects of trauma on survivors of genocide in Burundi and across the world.
For the past two years, we have taken a collection of students, faculty and research fellow to Burundi for two and a half weeks to interview the people of Burundi who were survivors of the 1972 Burundi genocide which by conservative numbers killed 200,000 people in 3 months.
Here is a look at our December 2023 trip to Burundi, Africa:
We have over 80 interviews completed and we need $15,000 to pay for professional editing and translating services.
With the support of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Burundi, along with countless other Burundian scholars, family members and country people I have been able to set up over 80 interviews with courageous survivors that want to tell their stories to heal. The trauma experienced and the imposed silence after the 1972 tragedy weighs on my Burundian people.
Through sharing their stories with the world via the Northeastern Illinois University's digital commons we will bring much needed acknowledgement, understanding and healing to those heroes that have survived.
We are seeking to raise $15,000 for post production and translating services for the footage from our student and faculty led interviews. We have over 80 interviews with Burundian survivors that need the following before being added to our NEIU digital archive collection.
These funds will cover the following:
- Editor to color correct, sound design and create English subtitles on all interviews
- Language specialists to transcribe and translate interviews from Kirundi to English
- Management of communication between archival department and video and field recordings to maintain integrity as they are presented to the world.
Today, you can be an integral part of our journey to educate and acknowledge the 1972 genocide that was orchestrated in Burundi. With your help, these stories will be accessible in Kirundi and English. By providing global access to these interviews and other recordings, we will shed light on the pain and suffering while providing a platform for healing.
Will you join us in this important work? Your donation today will bring more healing for tomorrow. Thank you and Murakoze!