As Rwanda starts the commemoration period of the Genocide against the Tutsi in 1994, Rwandans in various parts of the world are joining with their local counterparts in the mourning for the over 1 million lives that were lost during the massacres. On Wednesday, April 7, the very day that commemoration begins, Rwandans living in China held an event at the Rwandan embassy in Beijing, where they, along with other well-wishers carried out a number of activities in honour of the victims of the Genocide. The event included lighting of candles in remembrance of the victims, a moment of silence, a testimony from a survivor, speeches from various officials, and watching a short documentary film taking about the Genocide against the Tutsi and the Jewish holocaust. Speaking during the ceremony, Virgil Rwanyagatare the Chargé dAffaires at the embassy said remembering the victims is an act of love, empathy and restoration of their humanity and dignity. “The memory of Genocide is one of the strongest tools to restore our nation’s spirit. It is one of those key ingredients which have helped Rwanda to resist dismantling forces, but instead embark on a new journey of rebuilding itself as a new nation of peace and security, good governance and economic development,” he said. Rwanyagatare took his audience through the history of the sad happenings that took place during the tragic genocide, and how the international community failed Rwanda at such a very difficult hour, “As the genocidal government started to implement its evil plan, the United Nations withdrew the peace-keeping mission that was on the ground, instead of reinforcing it,” he said. He however said that today, there are efforts in place by the international community to fight genocide, but more work is still needed to fight against the deniers of the genocide, “One of the characteristics that the genocide deniers share is the tendency to exonerate perpetrators and blame others instead for example the victims and people who stopped the genocide. The denier ‘channels’ comprise fugitive genocidaires, their sympathisers, researchers and journalists who have link to the regime which perpetrated the genocide,” he said. During the same event, D’Artagnan Habintwari, a genocide survivor shared a poignant story of how he lost his father and five of his siblings during the tragedy. Habintwari urged that in whatever people choose to do, they should always think about the consequences, especially for future generations. “It is very important for us as humans, in general, to know that the world we have today is ours, but tomorrow it will not be ours, but rather it will be for our children. I think it is time to think about the legacy we want to leave behind,” he said. The event was attended by representatives from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the African Union, and the United Nations. Siddharth Chatterjee the UN Resident Coordinator in China said: “On the behalf of the United Nations System in China, I wish to honour the memory of the men women and children lost during the genocide against the Tutsis in Rwanda and reflect on the suffering of those who survived.”
