Sports personalities across the country on Wednesday, April 7 joined Rwandans to commemorate over one million people that were killed during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

The country will in the next week pause and reflect on the innocent lives that were killed in tragedy. Below, Times Sport brings you the different messages that people in the sports world said as the country started a week of commemoration.

Felicite Rwemalika, International Olympic Committee Member

As we remember the tough times that we went through during the Genocide, let’s not be carried away by grief but instead focus on preparing a better future ahead and join our hands to rebuild our nation.

In this rebuilding journey, the sports fraternity has not left behind. We are in this journey together keeping in mind that sport has done a great contribution to achieving unity and reconciliation among Rwandans.

We can do sports not just to ensure a healthy living but to also contribute to the development of our country.  

Olivier Shyaka, Basketball player

As Rwandans, in order to avoid the Genocide never happens again, we need to show support to each other with love.

Friends and families, we survived and we have grown up.

Alive we are, we will achieve greater milestones on behalf of our loved ones because we are the future of the nation.

We are young but we won’t let our country go back to hell. We can’t accept that and we instead wish to see a country of all Rwandans, a country free of ethnicity.

Sarah Uwera, female Cricketer

On behalf of all cricket players, we join Rwandans to commemorate the Genocide perpetrated against the Tutsi in 1994.

It is our responsibility to contribute in building hope among Rwandans while we fight divisionism and discrimination through sports to build unity and love for the best of the future of our nation.

David Bayingana, Sports journalist

The Denial virus that is continuing to be spread by Genocide perpetrators will not at any cost over power the truth.

With sportsmanship spirit, let’s stand together in these hard times as we remember, unite and renew.

Marthe Yankurije, female long-distance runner

As the sports fraternity, we join Rwandans, especially those who lost their loved ones, in commemorating the Genocide against the Tutsi in 1994.

We remember, we are giving our future a right direction but we also keep in mind that we have to do whatever it costs to avoid that the Genocide happens anymore.

In sports, we can share joy together and hence make sure that we live a happy life after all the country has gone through. With that happiness, we need to learn from our past and stay connected and united so that such a horrific history does not repeat itself.