Coexist in the Classroom

As we approach the eighteenth anniversary of the start of the Rwanda genocide, teachers may be looking for resources to help their students understand the agony of what happened starting April 6, 1994, and also Rwanda’s path toward social healing.

Coexist is a forty-minute documentary film that tells the story of five survivors and three perpetrators of the 1994 Rwanda genocide, and how they live side by side today. A seven-minute video on Rwandan History provides an overview of why and how the genocide happened, and historic footage shows how the Belgian colonial overlords racialized what used to be a social difference between Rwandans. Together with Coexist, these materials comprise Disc 1.

The film and its four-lesson Teacher’s Guide are part of an educational project that aims to help students think and talk about colonialism, genocide, dehumanization, reconciliation, how to deal with difference, the connection between genocide and bullying, and their personal experiences as either victims, witnesses, bystanders, upstanders, or perpetrators of violence.

Disc 2 contains material on Rwanda’s approach to personal and social healing, and a short case about one-on-one forgiveness and the importance of doing good deeds as part of the forgiveness process.

Educators seeking lesson ideas on complex current issues will find creative and stimulating activities in the Teacher’s Guide that are of relevance to students of ELA, History, Social Studies, and those involved in positive school climate campaigns.