Former UN peacekeepers who defied orders to withdraw during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi have reflected on the tragedy 30 years later, and lauded the country’s rise out of the ashes. The veteran African peacekeepers are currently on a commemorative and educational tour in Rwanda, which runs from Thursday, August 14 to August 20. ALSO READ: UNAMIR: A Mission Betrayed by Political Indifference Their delegation includes Maj Gen (Rtd) Clayton Boanubah Yaache from Ghana, Brig Gen (Rtd) Martin Owusu-Ababio from Ghana, Brig Gen Elhadji Babacar Faye from Senegal, Brig Gen Stephen Parbey from Ghana, Major (Rtd) Peter Sosi from Ghana, Ex WO II Lucas Norvihoho from Ghana, and Ex WO I Sampson Agyare from Ghana. Speaking to the media, Brig Gen Elhadji Babacar Faye, said that visiting the Kigali Genocide Memorial, stirred memories of events he had witnessed first-hand. “Among the photographs I saw today, there are some that I experienced in person with the people who took them,” he said. “Being a witness to the genocide is not really a privilege, because we experienced truly horrific things that we would have wished to erase from our memory immediately,” he added. ALSO READ: April 21, 1994: UN ignores warnings, adopts resolution to withdraw some troops from Rwanda He described the visit as an opportunity to honour victims and encourage survivors to persevere, while urging young people to work towards ensuring such atrocities never happen again. “This should not be an empty slogan; it should be a slogan lived by everyone,” he said, emphasising that the genocide was planned and executed, and could therefore be prevented by challenging such thinking. Faye also praised Rwanda’s development over the past three decades, saying it offered “rich examples for many African countries” and was widely admired, particularly in Senegal. “Patriotism comes up time and again. And I think that is what has been demonstrated. Because it is through patriotism that people have been able to build in less than 30 years and transform the face of the country,” he said. Maj Gen (Rtd) Clayton Boanubah Yaache from Ghana recalled arriving in Rwanda in 1994 and witnessing in part the atrocities committed between April and July that year. The memorial visit, he said, had provided a fuller picture. “We received testimony and got an in-depth look at what happened during this period. I’m emotional and I’m lost for words at what I saw,” he said.
