“They Might End Up Not Coming”

Today, I continue my 100 day series remembering the twentieth anniversary of Rwandan genocide. Please join me in prayer for those lives lost and impacted in this tragedy. #NeverAgain. LMH

A telling portion of a June 6th speech by  Minister Protais Mitali at the Ministry of Sports and Culture

The commemoration period, Kwibuka20, is also a time to look back, assess the history of the genocide and discuss what made us sink that deep. The period of remembrance also calls upon us to comfort the survivors and encourage the perpetrators to apologise for the crimes they committed. This will help all of us move forward as one people without leaving anyone behind. We don’t have to wait for those who will come from outside our country because they might end up not coming. As the theme for this year highlights it, we have to “Remember, Unite, Renew”.

This is an opportunity for us to rectify the dark history that our country went through. We were lucky to learn from Senator Dr. Jean Damascene Bizimana, who summarised the history of the genocide from its genesis. Many of us had a chance to learn more than we knew from his clear and tangible examples. He informed us on where we can find more of his research regarding the history of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. He has traced the path for us to go and dig deeper, especially for those who are still young among us, because we have to understand the roots of the genocide so that we might be able to pass on this knowledge to our descendants in the future to ensure Never Again.

We have to think about the legacy that we will leave behind for our children. We have to think about our role in teaching the true historic facts of the Genocide to the young generation in order to help them understand Rwanda’s history. We also have to tell them that it was Rwandans’ heroism (former RPA army) that stopped the genocide when foreign forces like the UN, USA, European countries, the African Union had chosen to be bystanders. Those were brave Rwandans who sacrificed their lives to fight the evil.

Please take the time to read the full speech – I would love to hear your thoughts on both its tone and content. I felt equal parts inspiration and dread in reading certain portions of the remarks.