The Snowfall

In a startlingly truthful account, Mukunde Gustave "Gus" Mukurarinda shares his personal survival story of the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda, the aftermath, and more.

As a boy, Gus survived one of the most tragic and horrific events in history: the Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda. But in The Snowfall, he goes far beyond a frontline memoir. He delves into the socio-political structure that enabled the genocide, demonstrating that the murder of a million Tutsi -over 300,000 of them children-was not a spontaneous tragedy but a long-planned crime rooted in decades of ideology and systemic discrimination.

The narrative of The Snowfall begins on April 3, 1994, just days before the Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda. At only 11 years old, Gus witnesses the world around him unraveling. Through a blend of flashbacks and firsthand memories, he reconstructs the realities of his family's past and his country's troubled history-piecing together what he saw, heard, and processed as a child.

Beyond the genocide itself, The Snowfall vividly depicts life for a Tutsi family before the violence and explores both the struggles and resilience of survivors in its aftermath, as well as the country's path to liberation.

Written with teenagers, academics, and fellow survivors in mind, The Snowfall is history immortalized in creative nonfiction. Featuring a foreword by acclaimed journalist Linda Melvern and a meticulously researched narrative, it stands as a powerful testimony, ensuring the truth is neither erased nor rewritten.