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����Թ�’s Genocide and Human Rights in Africa and the Diaspora (GHRAD) Center will host the 11th Annual GHRAD Conference March 5-7 on the University’s Main Campus, 5500 N. St. Louis Ave. in Chicago, and via Zoom.

The conference is free and open to the public.  is requested to receive the Zoom link. The conference kicks off on March 5 with the opening of “Echoes of Silence: Portraits of Pain, Reflections of Resilience,” an interactive photo exhibit that will be housed in the Ronald Williams Library through March 19. The conference will also feature speakers from across North America and Africa who will discuss a wide range of topics including “The Political Ecology of Genocide,” “Restorative Justice as an International Process” and “What Does Solidarity Look Like.” Keynote speakers will present on March 6 and 7.

Northeastern Professor and Coordinator of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages Jeanine Ntihirageza, Ph.D. serves as the Director of the GHRAD Center. She is a survivor of the , Africa. It is estimated that between 150,000 and 300,000 people were killed in Burundi, the majority of them being Hutu people, like Dr. Ntihirageza. In 2022, she shared part of her story with the and she educates people about the genocide not just at Northeastern, but also through conferences and presentations around the world.

Over the University’s winter break, Dr. Ntihirageza organized a group of faculty members and students from Northeastern and other institutions to travel to Burundi, meet other survivors of the genocide and interview them for the GHRAD Center’s “” archive. 

Members of the GHRAD Center with members of the TRC outside TRC headquarters in Burundi.
Photo by Viktor Gerasimovski.

“By traveling to Burundi with people who haven’t been there before or didn’t grow up there like I did, I get to see the appreciation of things I may take for granted going back to my home country,” Dr. Ntihirageza said. “It’s like I get to see everything for the first time again. In this context—of traveling to gather more stories of genocide survivors—I also become aware of how people tell my story and the stories of my people. It’s so encouraging because this work contributes to the healing by preserving the collective memory of survivors. These documentarians become secondary witnesses of this traumatic experience when they listen to survivors and share their truth.”

Northeastern student Viktor Gerasimovski traveled with Dr. Ntihirageza to Burundi in 2024 and 2025. By getting involved in the GHRAD Center and traveling to Burundi, Gerasimovski is able to use his skills as a photographer to tell the stories of survivors in the hopes people will learn about them and not let history repeat itself. Gerasimovski’s first solo exhibit was “Echoes of Silence,” held as part of last year’s GHRAD Conference. In this year’s “Echoes of Silence: Portraits of Pain, Reflections of Resilience” Gerasimovski aims to have viewers bear witness to the strength and struggles of survivors.

Members of the GHRAD Center with members of the TRC at the site of a mass grave near Gitega, Burundi. 
Photo by Viktor Gerasimovski.

“What happens if history is silenced?” Gerasimovski said. “It happens again and again. After every genocide we say ‘never again’ until the next time. If stories aren’t documented, if something isn’t a part of the history that is told, it increases the chances of it happening again. It takes great courage for these people to tell their stories and not be silenced.”

Gerasimovski understands this all too well. He is originally from Macedonia and grew up living with the impact of a war-torn country. Shortly after World War II, Macedonian people were involved in the Greek Civil War, which led to people changing their names and religions to avoid persecution.

“There are a lot of stories that haven’t been told, in Macedonia and in Burundi,” Gerasimovski said. “A photograph can tell so much that words can’t say. It is a creative expression to educate people about survivors. Each of us has a cause we live for. This is a way for me contribute to the GHRAD Center’s common goal of raising awareness of genocide in Africa and the diaspora.”

Dr. Ntihirageza and Gerasimovski said during their most recent trip to Burundi, they noticed an eagerness for people to work with them, to come forward and share their memories. In fact, they had so many people who were interested in coming forward this time, they weren’t able to talk to everyone and are already planning to go back again. They prioritized documenting stories of survivors who were older because they understood they may not have the opportunity to record their accounts if they waited another year. In 2014, Burundi established the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate human rights violations in the country after it gained independence in 1962. 

“It was amazing to see the eagerness of people to come forward,” Dr. Ntihirageza said. “There were people who had known each other for years, maybe they went to school together, and they didn’t realize that they were survivors of the genocide until they were waiting to talk to us because they were silenced. Since Burundi established the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, people are seeing organizations like the GHRAD Center, who approach the topic with care and compassion. It builds trust and it’s changing the climate of how  the genocide is discussed.”

With more violence occurring in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as the changing global political climate, Ntihirageza hopes healing can continue and not move backward.

“When people don’t tell their stories, if people don’t get to address the root cause of issues, the violence doesn’t stop and people can’t heal,” Dr. Ntihirageza said. “Until history books and curricula reflect these atrocities, they will keep happening. It becomes a mass erasure of people by a dominant culture and the oppressed disappear. History needs collective memorialization. People need to be memorialized so that people can know their identity, know their history, and collectively live together peacefully.”  

Top photo: Gishora drummers join hands and dance with Northeastern students and faculty after performing at the Gishora Drum Sanctuary in Burundi. This sanctuary is more than 100 years old and welcomes everyone to observe drumming ceremonies. Photo by Viktor Gerasimovski.