The Rwandan community in Pakistan and friends of Rwanda observed the 31st commemoration of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan, on April 7. ALSO READ: Kagame urges Rwandans to fight for their dignified lives The event was marked by a solemn moment of silence and the lighting of a candle of hope. It was attended by over 300 guests, including senior officials from the Government of Pakistan, members of the diplomatic corps, and friends of Rwanda. In her speech, the High Commissioner of Rwanda in Pakistan, Fatou Harerimana, spoke about the devastating consequences of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, emphasising the lasting trauma and highlighting the countless orphans, widows, and displaced persons who continue to bear the scars of the genocide. ALSO READ: No country in the world has spent 109 years destroying another like Belgium has done to Rwanda The genocide did not only destroy lives, but it also shattered families and communities. The aftermath is still felt by the survivors and their descendants, she stated. She criticized the international community for its failure to act and prevent the genocide. The world watched in silence as Rwanda burned. The international community failed to intervene when it was most needed, and countless lives were lost because of that inaction, she said. ALSO READ: Kwibuka 31: Our role to preserve the memory remains Harerimana raised a crucial issue regarding justice for the perpetrators of the genocide, many of whom remain at large, underlining the need for the international community to take responsibility and bring those responsible for the genocide to justice. She said: The perpetrators of this horrific crime are still free, sheltered by various countries, and this is a grave injustice. Some of these individuals are part of the FDLR, an armed group made up of genocide perpetrators who continue to threaten the security of Rwanda. Countries that harbor these criminals must be held accountable. The world cannot continue to turn a blind eye to this injustice.” The guest of honor, Amb Hamid Asghar Khan, the Additional Secretary for Africa at Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reflected on his recent visit to Rwanda and Kigali Genocide Memorial. He described the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi as an atrocity marked by “inhuman cruelty,” stressing the importance of confronting hate speech to prevent future violence. Khan urged the international community and global leaders to take action against the spread of harmful ideologies, emphasizing, “Everyone should visit the memorials to truly grasp the gravity of what happened. ALSO READ:A look back at the horrors of Genocide, through the eyes of survivors The UN Resident Coordinator in Pakistan, Mohamed Yahya, pointed out that the international community has done nothing to help those in need, adding that the 1994 Genocide did not start with machetes but with words. “Hate speech is still prevalent around the world and that the international community is watching. I am calling on everyone to fight hate speech because it is what led Rwanda to the Genocide against the Tutsi in 1994,” he said. Pierre Claver Irakoze, a survivor who delivered a lecture on the history of the 1994 Genocide, described how it was meticulously planned and executed with extreme cruelty. He explained that the genocide was fuelled by a government-backed ideology of hate, leading to the systematic deprivation of basic rights and lives of Tutsi. He shared the story of how he survived a massacre at Kabgayi in Muhanga, recounted how he lost his father, and his mother was severely injured, dying shortly after the genocide He said: “My siblings and I were left to survive on our own, but the support we received from the Rwandan government, particularly in education, played a vital role in our recovery. “Without that help, we would not have been able to rebuild our lives.”
