--- description: Survivors of the Rwanda genocide in 1994, which left hundreds of thousands of people dead, still grapple with its brutal legacy title: One Survivor's Tale of the Rwandan Genocide and Its Reminders image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaed89aaf53e1c650/6987ea362dce0159279e137c/745934.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Rwanda](/tag/rwanda/) ## Rwanda Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Scars and the Smell of Grass: One Survivor's Lasting Reminders of Genocide by [Francesca Trianni](/author/francesca-trianni/) and [Diane Tsai](/author/diane-tsai/) Apr 9, 2015 11:00 AM CUT  300060 34: A crowd of prisoners stand at mealtime in the Giterama prison 1995 in Rwanda. The prison, located fifty kilometers outside of Kigali, was built to house 1,000 people but currently holds 6,000 men and women accused by the Rwandan Patriotic Front of complicity in the 1994 genocide. (Photo by Malcolm Linton/Liaison) 300060 34: A crowd of prisoners stand at mealtime in the Giterama prison 1995 in Rwanda. The prison, located fifty kilometers outside of Kigali, was built to house 1,000 people but currently holds 6,000 men and women accused by the Rwandan Patriotic Front of complicity in the 1994 genocide. (Photo by Malcolm Linton/Liaison)Malcolm Linton—Getty Images by [Francesca Trianni](/author/francesca-trianni/) and [Diane Tsai](/author/diane-tsai/) Apr 9, 2015 11:00 AM CUT More than two decades after the Rwandan genocide, the smell of grass in the summer still gives Consolee Nishimwe nightmares. Between 250,000 and 500,000 women were raped during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, [according to the United Nations](http://www.un.org/en/globalissues/briefingpapers/endviol/ "undefined"). At 14, Nishimwe survived a brutal attack that left her emotionally and physically scarred for years. As a result of the assault, she is now HIV positive. Her father and brothers—aged 18 months, 7 and 9—were all killed. “I will never forget what happened to me,” Nishimwe, who has vivid memories of hiding in the bushes from Hutu militias, told TIME in a recent interview. “Physical violence happened to me, and also living with HIV as a result of that, it’s something I will never forget—that will never go anywhere, that I have to live with.” This week, as Rwanda’s government commemorates the 21st anniversary of the genocide, many survivors like Nishimwe are faced with unavoidable reminders of the physical and emotional toll of the conflict. When asked about forgiveness, Nishimwe, who now lives in New York City, spoke of a work in progress. “That’s a really difficult word,” she said. “I think I did… I think 20 years is still early to me.” Nishimwe’s book, _Tested to the Limit: A Genocide Survivor’s Story of Pain, Resilience, and Hope_, is an account of her experience as a survivor. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/74113/rwanda-genocide-survivor-lasting-reminders/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/74113/rwanda-genocide-survivor-lasting-reminders/"},"headline":"Scars and the Smell of Grass: One Survivor's Lasting Reminders of Genocide","datePublished":"2015-04-09T11:00:18.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-30T11:30:33.428Z","description":"Survivors of the Rwanda genocide in 1994, which left hundreds of thousands of people dead, still grapple with its brutal legacy","url":"https://time.com/74113/rwanda-genocide-survivor-lasting-reminders/","keywords":["Rwanda","Africa","conflict"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaed89aaf53e1c650/6987ea362dce0159279e137c/745934.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Francesca Trianni","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/francesca-trianni/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Diane Tsai","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/diane-tsai/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaed89aaf53e1c650/6987ea362dce0159279e137c/745934.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"War And Cholera Devastate Rwandan Refugees","caption":"War And Cholera Devastate Rwandan Refugees","creditText":"Malcolm Linton—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/rwanda/","name":"Rwanda"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/74113/rwanda-genocide-survivor-lasting-reminders/","name":"Scars and the Smell of Grass: One Survivor's Lasting Reminders of Genocide"}}]}] ```