Memories of violence in the Rwandan diaspora: Intergenerational transmission and conflict transportation

Abstract

How are memories of a violent past in the country of origin reproduced,contested and reinterpreted by younger diasporic generations? And whatconsequences do processes of memory transmission of a violent past haveon younger generations’ identities and patterns of mobilisation? Based on anexploration of the transmission of memories of the 1994 genocide in theRwandan diaspora in Belgium, this article demonstrates that theintergenerational transmission of conflict memories shapes the mobilisationof second-generation diasporans in significant ways, and largely explainspatterns of conflict transportation in the country of residence. However, areframing of issues related to Rwanda’s past, as well as a reorganisation andrethinking of diaspora cleavages and/or solidarities, from one generation tothe next can also be observed. Such patterns can be explained by the needto translate memories of a painful past so that they can make sense andresonate in the country of residence.