Preparations for this year’s 26th commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi are underway across the country despite the ongoing coronavirus outbreak 

According to Jean Damascene Bizimana, CNLG’s Executive director, nothing will halt the preparation process but a slight change was encountered.

"There are some training we usually give people who hold talks during the commemoration period. This year, they were not done to f mitigate the Coronavirus outbreak”, he told The New Times.

Strategies Taken

"We have done a lot: There are no group visits to Genocide memorials. We have even limited staff members on duty. If you visit the memorial centres, you can observe that the activities are limited and visitors are entering one at a time. This is being done to implement all the necessary measures to curtail the outbreak”, he told The New Times.

Another measure, he noted, is that media channels such as radios and television, social media and others will be used to get the messages out during the commemoration period if the outbreak persists.

Officials of IBUKA, the umbrella organization of Genocide survivors associations urge people and genocide survivors, in particular, to ensure that all safety measures to mitigate the spread of the virus are followed.

"We want people to be strong during this outbreak, and be ready to abide by the decision that will be taken regarding the situation that we shall be through at that time," said Napthali Ahishakiye, the Executive Secretary of Ibuka.