Every 7th of April, Rwanda marks the anniversary of the Genocide. This year, the 30th anniversary of the Genocide (Kwibuka 30) under the theme “Remember-unite-renew” was held at Kigali Genocide Memorial Center to honor the lives that were lost during this painful time that many Rwandans wish never happened.
Part of the activities was lighting the “flame of remembrance” by the President and First Lady of Rwanda to burn for the next 100 days. This flame will remember the painful and difficult-to-forget 100 days of the Genocide in 1994 against Tutsi and affluent Hutus, whereby over 1 million lives were lost and over 2 million people were displaced.
The 1994 Rwandan Genocide was sparked by the assassination of then President Juvenal Habyarimana and Burundian President Cyprien Ntaryamira on 6th April 1994 after the airplane carrying them was shot at while preparing to land in Kigali thus killing all the occupants. Following this assassination, fingers were pointed at several people but Hutu extremists and the RPF army were the main suspects. The next day, the Police, Army, and Militia indiscriminately executed Tutsi and moderate Hutu Political and military leaders before the gruesome executions spread into the community.
In so doing, Hutu civilians armed themselves with clubs, machetes, blunt objects, and other weapons to kill, rape, and maim Tutsi spouses, and neighbors. This lasted over 100 days (until 15th July 1994) and in light of this, the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) under Paul Kagame became the titanic movement that halted the killings by encircling Kigali City and restored peace back to the country.
The lighting of the “Flame of Remembrance” during the 30th anniversary of the Genocide – Kwibuka 30, was followed by the placing of wreaths by the President, First Lady, Civil Society and Diplomatic corps members, and others at the mass Graves where over 250,000 victims were laid to rest.
Celebrations at Kwibuka 30
While delivering his speech at the Kigali Genocide Memorial Center’s Amphitheatre, President Paul Kagame pointed out that wounds from the Genocide are still deep and fresh, but the people refuse to be defined by this tragic history.
“The people of Rwanda have managed to turn the page and move forward from grieving, crying and made up their minds to live on, and are willing to do the most difficult thing of forgiving, but can’t forget,” he said.
President Kagame also said that the country has transformed itself, with unity being at the center of everything done. From the beginning, the people understood the need to cultivate and promote the spirit of oneness of giving light and hope for a better future, Kagame added. However, this doesn’t mean that things such as violence and hate speech are ignored or don’t exist far from the people. He acknowledged that much as they still exist, they aren’t as much as were exhibited in the 1990s.
The young population was also called to learn from the past, to allow them to lead with historical clarity as well as a sense of responsibility and accountability, which is the core/spirit of “Kwibuka Twiyubaka”
Also in attendance was Freddy Mutanguha, the Executive Director of Aegis Trust who during his speech emphasized building peace and resilience against division in honor of the victims who died for being who they were. He also pointed out that those who survived the Genocide remember the victims not as “ciphers” for humanity’s failures and mistakes but rather as individuals who were once part of the people and were loved. He also urged the entire world to join Rwanda in remembering the 1994 Genocide and in a renewed commitment to prevent the same from happening in the future.