ARTE ReportageRwanda: The Silence of Words

"They called us: 'Tutsi! Tutsi!' They took you out of the tent and did what they wanted with you." 

Prisca, Marie-Jeanne and Concessa say they survived the Rwandan genocide and sought safety in refugee camps, only to be repeatedly raped and abused by the French soldiers sent there to protect them. All describe similar horrors: abduction from their tent, the gang rapes, and the photos of the assaults taken by the soldiers. “We naively thought that the white man was a saviour, that he would bring peace,” sighs one of the women. While French army denies all accusations of rape, the three women filed a complaint with the French courts in 2004 and 2012. The investigation is now at a standstill.