Emmanuel Habimana, a survivor of the 1994 Tutsi genocide in Rwanda and co-director of the upcoming documentary "The Children Who Lived" will speak from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Dec. 2 in the Gaughan Multicultural Center, room 212.
Emmanuel and UNL student Natalia Ledford will also present an edited version of their forthcoming film, "The Children Who Lived," a National Geographic-funded documentary about orphans of the genocide against the Tutsi. Emmanuel will share his own personal story of survival.
A film trailer is available at http://go.unl.edu/the_children_who_lived.
Emmanuel survived the assassination of his parents and half his siblings when he was 9 years old, fending for himself and living as a servant of Hutu militia before nearly starving in a refugee camp in Congo. His story of survival and life after genocide offers a unique opportunity to talk about trauma, forgiveness and post-conflict possibilities for peace.
In 2010, Emmanuel joined forces with Ledford to produce a film about the children who were orphaned after the genocide. They spent six months researching and filming in Rwanda, followed by a series of interviews conducted in the United States and Canada with such internationally recognized figures as Romeo Dallaire, Laura Lane and Carl Wilkens.
The Dec. 2 presentation is organized by UNL RSO Education for the World. Sponsorship was provided by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Pepsi Endowment Fund, Campus Recreation, Nebraska Unions, University Health Center, University Housing and the Pepsi Diversity Program Fund.