On Friday 27th May the Rwanda Social Security Board (RSSB)paid tribute to people who were killed in the 1994 genocide against the Tutsis, particularly the 19 employees of the Caisse Sociale du Rwanda (CSR), the present day RSSB.
On Friday 27th May the Rwanda Social Security Board (RSSB)paid tribute to people who were killed in the 1994 genocide against the Tutsis, particularly the 19 employees of the Caisse Sociale du Rwanda (CSR), the present day RSSB.
The commemoration ceremony held at RSSB headquarters in Kiyovu was attended by families and friends of the deceased RSSB officials, members of the community and representatives from CNLG and IBUKA among others.
The event started with prayers inside the RSSB hall, before the officials went outside to light the flame of hope as well as laying wreaths on the monument at the entrance of the RSSB headquarters on which the names of the 19 deceased CSR employees are engraved.
Jonathan Gatera, Director General of RSSB said that commemoration is a moment of looking back, thinking about what happened, reconciliation as well as helping those affected by the tragedy.
"The history is there and cannot be reversed. We are here to remember and reconcile as we also make sure we show kindness to the survivors so that they can live better,” he said.
He urged people who go to church to truly practice what they are taught in churches citing an example that by the time of the genocide, up to 90% Rwandans were Christians yet many of them participated in the bloody history of the nation.
He expressed sympathy to the family members of the deceased and assured them that a bright future lies before them.
"Affected families know that you are not alone. Be strong, we are with you. I believe you will reach where your deceased parents did not reach. Rwanda has a good future based on the good leadership and in the time to come, Rwanda will be a country that will act as a model for others,” he said.
The guest of honor at the ceremony Dr. Diogene Bideri, a legal advisor at CNLG urged the people to be united and focus on raising efforts to develop the nation, instead of focusing on any differences, "We should be driven by unity in all we do so that we live together in peace and harmony as we work hard for the development of Rwanda,” he further used it as an opportunity to urge people against genocide denial.
"Some people refuse to see the reality. For example, foreign researchers deny the genocide. However, we know what happened to us, we know that it was planned and purposed. No one should deny,” he said and thanked RSSB staff for organizing the commemoration urging them to keep the same spirit of unity.
Representing Ibuka, Charles Habonimana, the president of the Association of Former Genocide Survivors University Students/ Graduates thanked RSSB for the act of commemoration and called for true heartfelt forgiveness from the survivors to the perpetrators.
The evening also featured commemoration music and survivors’ testimonies from some of the children of the former CSR employees who died in the genocide.
Speaking on behalf of the families of the deceased CSR employees, Adelaide Gakwaya, a daughter to a former CSR employee who was killed in the genocide said the commemoration is an encouragement to them since it depicts that they are not alone. She further thanked RSSB for the support rendered to them on their journey of education and other aspects of life.