While genocide seems like a faraway thing to those in the United States, faculty members at the University of Northern Iowa took the time to remind students of a case that wasn’t so long ago.

In 1994, there was a mass slaughter of mostly Tutsi  and a moderate number of Hutu, by members of the Hutu majority in Rwanda. 

Pierre-Damien Mvuyekure, professor  of languages and literatures, read from the second edition of his 2006 collection of poetry, “Lamentations on the Rwandan Genocide,” as part of the ongoing Writers Talk series Wednesday. Mvuyekure mentioned that the second edition shows the passage of time from the first. The primary difference between the two editions is the addition of several poems.

Many of Mvuyekure’s poems were written in multiple languages, usually French and English. However, one of his poems utilized French, Spanish, English and Latin. In an explanation, he said that the Bible is written in multiple languages, so why not be playful? He also gave a reason for his use of both English and French.

 “When you are colonized and receive language and culture and everything else, you can abrogate and do away with it, or you can abrogate and appropriate your culture into the language so that [it] bares your own individuality, and that’s what I’m trying to do…” Mvuyekure said.

Mvuyekure also spoke of genocide ideology in one of his poems. He said that whether one believes it or not, people are accused of harboring this “genocide ideology.” He provided examples of people being locked away because of it, and described it as, “when you have a story that doesn’t fit their current storyline, then it means that you are harboring genocide ideology.”

Mvuyekure’s, “Lamentations on the Rwandan Genocide” tells of stories that many have likely not heard about.

Those in attendance described the event as very educational.

“I am in Pierre-Damien Mvuyekure’s class, and we actually have his book for our class, so I’ve heard him read some of these poems already, but . . . I think I liked it a little better . . . this one was more fun, because he read slower and really went in-depth with his words,” said Abbigail Larson, senior social work major. “I felt more of the feeling behind it, and it was really educational to me.” 

Larson said she believes Mvuyekure’s collection of poetry is important because it shows an inside perspective.

“The genocide happened around the time I was born, so it was really big for me, and I even did some research . . . with the poems. It’s just so much more history,” Larson said.

Maria Cortez, senior social work major, said she enjoyed the event mostly because she likes poetry, but also because this poetry was different, and it “came from the heart.”

“Genocide is an important topic. As a social work major, you are taught that everybody is important no matter where they’re from; where they come from, they’re still people,” Cortez said. “I think this is something that isn’t talked about, so the world doesn’t know and doesn’t care.”