Intended Consequences Panel Discussion Video
Click below to see an excerpt from a panel discussion on the recently published book and Spring 2009 Aperture Gallery exhibition, Intended Consequences: Rwandan Children Born of Rape, photographs and interviews by Jonathan Torgovnik. The April 29, 2009 discussion, held at the Aperture Gallery, features Torgovnik explaining how he decided to go beyond his editorial project and started to document Rwandan women who were subjected to massive sexual violence by members of the Hutu militia groups during the 1994 genocide, and who all bore a child as a result. Since these women’s testimonies all emphasized the importance of education, Torgovnik co-founded Foundation Rwanda, which uses photography and video as tools to raise awareness, support the enrichment of the children, and to provide psychological help for the mothers.
You can watch the panel discussion in its entirety, divided in six different parts, on the multimedia section of our website or by clicking on the links below:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Commemorating the fifteenth anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, the panelists included the artist Jonathan Torgovnik; Carl Auerbach, Professor of Psychology at Yeshiva University; and Melissa Robinson, Director of Educational Programming of the non-profit organization Kids for Tomorrow. Rwandan women Marie Claudine Mukamabano, a genocide survivor, Rosette Burakari Adera, whose parents were Rwandan refugees, and Yvette Rugasaguhunga, read testimonies of the genocide survivors portrayed in the exhibition and book.
Fifteen years after the genocide, the mothers of these estimated 20,000 children still face enormous challenges, among them, being stigmatized within their communities for bearing a child fathered by a Hutu militiaman and the medical repercussions for those who contracted HIV through the violent attacks.
Torgovnick’s work on this issue was also featured in Aperture magazine, issue 194.
Tags: Foundation Rwanda, Intended Consequences, Jonathan Torgovnik, Marie Claudine Mukamabano, Melissa Robinson, Rosette Burakari Adera, Yvette Rugasaguhunga
