The Rwandan community in the Kingdom of Netherlands on Wednesday, April 19, unveiled the first Genocide against the Tutsi memorial site, as part of the efforts to honor the more than a million lives lost during the tragedy. ALSO READ: Rwanda, Netherlands bid to strengthen justice cooperation Olivier Nduhungirehe, the ambassador of Rwanda to the Netherlands, Reinier Van Dantzig, the deputy mayor, city of Amsterdam, and Christine Safari, Chairperson of IBUKA-Netherlands, are among the officials who were present at the unveiling ceremony. “Located in the northern part of the Beatrix Park in Amsterdam, the memorial site is a place for survivors and the larger Rwandan community in the Netherlands to remember their loved ones and to pay tribute to more than one million victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda,” a statement from the embassy reads in part. “It will also be a place that will give an opportunity to the Dutch population, especially young generations, to reflect on the genocide and learn lessons from this tragedy, which will help prevent future genocides.” ALSO READ: Genocide fugitive Maj Karangwa arrested in the Netherlands The Kingdom of the Netherlands remained the only major country in Western Europe without any memorial for the victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. “This is why the Embassy of Rwanda and Ibuka-Netherlands believed that a city like Amsterdam, with its history and as a city that received a number of genocide survivors from Rwanda, is an important location for a memorial site in honor of the victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.” According to Nduhungirehe, it is crucial for genocide survivors living in the Netherlands to have a symbolic place to come together, to commemorate and to reflect on the life and rebirth of the nation after its dark history. The development comes at a time when Rwanda is observing the 100 days of commemorating the Genocide against the Tutsi.
