Remembering the Rwanda Genocide
In Abuja, just like elsewhere, several people gathered to remember the Rwanda genocide, 21 years after. Chineme Okafor and Peace Dasouza who witnessed the memorial organised by the Rwandan High Commission in Nigeria, report
Beginning on April 6, 1994, about 1,074,017 Rwandans; Hutus and Tutsis were killed within 100 days in what is now referred to as the vilest genocide the world has ever seen within such short period. Ironically, the brutal killings continued while the world stood idly by and just watched until Rwandans came to grip with the absurdity and indeed vanity of their actions.
Indeed, the terrible acts which now form the unsavoury substance of the Rwandan genocide continue to raise extremely painful issues that are today dominating conversations in Rwanda and Africa.
Now, 21 years after that act was committed, Rwandans by themselves are dutifully throwing in everything they can and with discipline to circumvent a repeat of such history.
The 1994 Rwandan genocide which lasted for 100 days and recorded a total of 1,074,017 was indeed a watershed.
Before the “Interahamwe-(those who strike as one),”a local extremist group began the killings in Kigali, Rwandan capital city and continued over the next days and weeks, events leading to the genocide suggests that it was not a spontaneous act but a planned, primed, taught and executed one which perhaps emanated from an ideology.
But like any other genocides that is recorded in human history, the Rwandan genocide was said to had started with an ideology promoted by the then sitting government which also organised the killers, listed the victims and of course, passed on the action of exterminating guiltless targets of the genocide.
In the course of the event, Rwanda ensured that its simple citizens who used to live peacefully together were instigated to eliminate their neighbours because of their tribal affiliations and as the world dispassionately watched on for that length of time, an average population of 10,740 people were reportedly killed every day or seven persons every minute that it lasted.
Men, women, and children were murdered during the violence and in some situations, the victims were reportedly given the option of paying for the bullet to make their deaths quicker and less painful with machetes or clubs, since bullets were quite ‘expensive’ to purchase.
To better appreciate the extent of the terrible things that happened in Rwanda within that period, young women and girls were raped before they were killed, and while others were kept as sex slaves for weeks, others were tortured and either had their breasts cut off or sharp objects shoved up their vagina.
Places which traditionally provided some form of shelter to people were turned into places of mass murder during the Rwandan genocide as thousands of people who tried to escape the killings by hiding in churches, hospitals and schools were found out and killed.
More accounts of the genocide explained that one of the worst massacres happened in the Nyarubuye Roman Catholic Church which is located just about 60 miles east of Kigali on April 15 and 16, 1994. The church massacre was encouraged by the mayor of the town who betrayed his assurance of safety to the refugees when he gave them up to the insurrectionists.
Notwithstanding the motives for the genocide, Rwanda at the end of that 100 days was completely destroyed without any hope for reconstruction or reconciliation of her people who were let down by the government that is constitutionally positioned to protect them but then capitulated in its responsibility and approved their killing.
Twenty one years after that, Rwandans have given up themselves, taken up the responsibility to forge a new life and emerge from the ashes of divisive politics, genocide ideology, and repeated massacres to a new nation of disciplined appreciation of ideals of each other.
In addition to initial in-house ‘Gacaca’ solutions in concluding trials of genocide suspects to as a matter of urgency refurbish the unity of the landlocked ‘land of a thousand hills’ during the last 21 years of its emergence from the genocide, Rwanda has continued to sow and nurture seeds of disciplined co-existence amongst its people, especially its young people which is about half of its 11.8 million population.
The Charge d’Affaires of the Rwandan High Commission, Mr. Protogene Nsengumuremyi disclosed to THISDAY at the 21st memorial of the genocide in Abuja, that over the years, the country has had to tell its story over again to avoid a repeat of the genocide in it or any other parts of the world.
Nsengumuremyi noted that in dealing with the realities of the genocide, Rwandans have come to appreciate that no human was born a killer but that extremist manipulations, brainwashing and bad leadership could force people to commit atrocities such as the genocide.
He said that Rwanda was not prepared to go down that ugly path again and is tasking its people to stay above board on such national resolve, adding that just like in the pre-1994 genocide when politicians were fanning up embers of violence, political actors in some parts of world are nowadays found backing terrorist groups who kill people based on their religion, social classes, ethnicity and races.
“In 1994, Rwanda collapsed, destroyed by the hands of its citizens by the genocide ideology of its leaders and by the indifference of complicity of the international community.
But today, 21 years later, Rwanda is reborn from ashes, built by the resolve and efforts of its people by the vision of its leaders headed by Paul Kagame and by the support of the international community,” Nsengumuremyi said.
He added that: “In 1994, Rwanda was covered with dead bodies on our streets, in our churches, schools and Rivers and our hearts were filled with hatred for the other.
21 years after, Rwanda is aspiring for a better future and vision with purity in the minds and hearts of its children. Green vegetation and abundant crops welcome whoever passes and no more hate and revenge of the brothers and sisters.
As a matter of fact, we identify ourselves as Rwandan and no longer Hutu, Tutsi or Twa. Ndi Umunyarwanda/I’m Rwandan is a concept that has become part of our daily life.”
Nsengumuremyi further explained that recent attempts by groups of people to deny that the genocide did happen in Rwanda has been condemned by Rwandans who consider such campaign as cruel to the history of the country and memory of victims of the genocide.
He noted that such attempt to tweak the genocide narrative moved the government through its young population to couch the theme of the 21st memorial of the genocide on “fighting genocide denial and revisionism” which young Rwandans are seen to have taken up with vigour.
“The most important resource of Rwanda is her citizens. 21 years after the genocide, there are still those who deliberately deny the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi.
As states and nations members of the UN, it is our responsibility to sanction all those who for this or that interest still propagate the heinous ideology of genocide,” Nsengumuremyi stated.
Commenting on the roles that the young people of Rwanda has played so far in reconciling the nation, Nsengumuremyi said: “Youths are very powerful, they can construct and destroy because they are the most dangerous sets of people in any case