Six years of Walk to Remember

THE YOUNG generation has often been accused of being aloof when it comes to society’s fate or wellbeing. But their defenders have also been quick to note that it is not that they do not care about society, it is how they show concern for society that makes them look unconcerned. As atrocities and inhumane acts are taking place all over the world, they only go as far as social media activism, employing hash tags and tweets in the comfort of their seats. But during the 20th Commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, the Rwandan youth proved that their allegiance and support was not only by words but also by sweat, tears and action. For the last six years, a large number of Rwandan youth have participated in a ‘Walk’ purposed to signify their unity in the stand against genocide and a chance to remember those who were killed during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. The walk dubbed ‘Walk to Remember’ is a brainchild of Rwandan youth. In recent years the walk has been viewed as a tradition preceding the night vigil on the day of the Genocide commemoration. On the evening of April 7 2014, President Paul Kagame, sporting a black jumper, black pants, and white and black sneakers, led tens of thousands of Rwandans, a significant majority of them young, in a 30 minute walk from Parliament to the Amahoro Stadium where a night vigil was observed. By his side were foreign dignitaries who included former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague, US Permanent Representative to United Nations Samantha Powers, Gabonese first lady Sylvia Bongo and American Orthodox Rabbi Stimuley Boteach, among others. Government officials, celebrities and public figures were also present in large numbers. But the main participants of the day were the thousands of young people, most of them dressed in black, grey or white t-shirts with the words ‘Walk to Remember’ written on. The youthful walkers had begun streaming into Parliament as early as 2:00pm, braving the afternoon sun with umbrellas, caps and sunglasses. As they walked on the streets of Kigali and in the country’s 30 districts, thousands of others were doing so in various parts of the world; a group was walking on the streets of Lagos holding banners to share lessons from the Genocide, another was walking down the streets of Seoul, North Korea with a song on their lips and a story to move the world; another group was braving the Canadian cold to show their stand on crimes against humanity, all doing it voluntarily and happily. Since the April 7 commemorations, there have been numerous walks all across the country, all with the same purpose. The analogy of the tiny mustard seed that grew to bear the biggest tree in the park is befitting to describe the inception and growth of the walk. It was initiated by six teenagers back in 2009. 26-year-old Marc Gwamaka, one of the co-founders of the initiative, says that their drive to have the initiative come to life was to put the words ‘Never Again” into action. “People said ‘never again’ before but they did not do anything when further atrocities took place. I kept thinking about what we could do to make people question why atrocities take place and lead them to put their actions into words. I was looking for an action people could take part in to make the Genocide history and at the same time serve as a lesson.” Gwamaka figured the walk was that activity; it would breed curiosity and would serve as an educational tool to make sure people lived up to the promise of never again. “Had the society been true to the words never again, the Genocide would not have taken place, the Cambodian would not have too, neither would have Armenia and Bosnia genocides,” Gwamaka says. The walk is not your ordinary walk; the most impactful events are probably those that take place prior to the walk when the cameras and media practitioners are not looking or recording. The most impactful events are the education programmes that use the power of images through documentaries, testimonies and question and answer sessions. Through that, the target audience mostly made up of young people (in universities and high schools), has insight to what the Genocide really is, how it was planned, perpetrated, its effects and how it can be avoided in future. All these questions are answered as the youth are being mobilised. “The impact of the talks and education programmes is the turn out that is present at various walks all across the world,” Gwamaka notes. When you have built an initiative such as the one Gwamaka has, it is only fair that you remember every detail since you first thought up the idea, and he does. “The 2009 walk that was the first had a participation of about 1260 people, which was already a big number for the first event. We walked from Saint Famille to the Kigali Genocide Memorial, the interesting bit about it is that before the walk we wanted to seek sponsorship for costs like water, sound system for participants, but no one knew or had heard of us previously so most were hesitant.” But Gwamaka understands that few sponsors are willing to put their money on an initiative run by a bunch of 18-year-olds, and he holds nothing against them, if anything he is glad that through it, they learnt from it. “We went around secondary schools mobilising people for the walk where we raised Rwf 2.3 million which covered the cost of all those who came (transport, candles, water, sound system medical kits etc). The youth pledged amounts that ranged from Rwf 100 to as much as Rwf 10,000. That was a boost to the team, it showed the entire team that the youth can do whatever it is they want to do without having to look up to sponsors. We however had a few sponsors,” says Gwamaka. The 2014 Walk to Remember had media presence that could have made news by itself, journalists from all over the world tried to capture the moment but the first walk didn’t have as much coverage, and most media houses present were either there probably out of curiosity. The second year turned out to be bigger than they had ever thought it would be, they took the walk to the East African region. RwandAir gave them tickets to reach all the East African capitals; Kampala, Nairobi, Dar es Salaam and Bujumbura. While drumming up support and raising awareness about the walk, they had a stand at UTC Mall in the city centre where they were handing out fliers and banners to anyone who would care to listen. An unexpected guest passed by - President Paul Kagame. “It was an unlikely occurrence, one of us was at the stand and the president walked in unannounced. He asked what the initiative was about, we explained the purpose, time and venue. He said he thought it was a brilliant idea, picked up a poster and said he was interested,” Gwamaka recalls. That year, the President led the walk from Parliament to the stadium as other walks were taking place all over the East African region. Gwamaka adds: “We received support from embassies in the various countries we went to, we were well received and all the walks took place as planned. The walks also took place in India, Canada and the United States led by students who had taken part in the first walk and had since travelled abroad. From there we have never looked back. Support was now forth coming and the number of participants was increasingly growing. We began having our own merchandise which covered the costs of organizing the events.” But even as the walk grew and as tempting as it was, they never deviated from the course, in every walk in all destinations, the message to get across was the same - taking a stand against genocide and crimes against humanity. They used regional media houses to reach out to people in support of the initiative, they trained youth from various countries so that even after the walk, they would be left to spread the message of peace and keep the fight against genocide alive. Over the years, the walk has grown and so have the organisers, they have become more ambitious and more impactful. They now have more people believing in them, their cause and their initiative. ‘Walk to Remember’ is now beyond looking for sponsorship from various brands and corporate firms, it is now a brand on its own with a huge following. “The numbers have been growing steadily and the countries participating are also increasing. We have not gone commercial and are not planning to. Genocide is a sensitive issue and you just do not jump to it the way you want. Every year as we grow, we learn and have a more curious audience. The Rwandan Genocide is a vivid example and a good way to show the importance of peace and have a stab at the ‘never again’ talk,” Gwamaka says. Robert Kayihura, 19, said he sees the walk as a chance to show that he will always be united with the rest of the young generation to stand against genocide. “I might not have been born during the Genocide but that doesn’t mean I have not learnt from it or was not affected by it. Coming here to participate in the walk is a sign that I stand with my compatriots to see to it that it never happens again,” Kayihura says. Alicia Porter, an American volunteer, says participating in the walk was to show solidarity and respect for the lives lost in the Genocide and sharing Rwanda’s dream. “I may not know those who perished in the Genocide but participating is to show respect for those who died and as a stand that we should never watch a nation plunge into atrocities as Rwanda did without intervention of the international community.” This year the walk’s participants were in tens of thousands, it so far has taken place in about 20 countries, in 5 continents and still counting. You would think that they are content with where they have gotten so far; they are not settling. They are still ambitious to recruit as many people to walk and live up to the pledge that it will never happen again. The crowd has grown multiple times, the media presence is massive, the dignitaries and officials who were probably too busy to show up in the past are its ambassadors now, but the walk is still the same -only bigger, better and still with the same purpose, to live up to the NEVER AGAIN pledge.

National

Six years of Walk to Remember