Staff members of local brewers, Bralirwa, yesterday visited the Campaign against Genocide Museum, at parliament, to learn about Rwanda Patriotic Army RPA)’s journey to end the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. The team, led by Victor Madiela, the Managing Director and Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of the firm, toured different parts of the museum which detail the campaign by the RPA troops that managed to put an end to the most vicious massacre of modern history. Speaking after the tour, Madiela said that this was part of the company’s annual commemoration which aims at honouring the victims while helping the staff to have a better comprehension of what happened in the country 24 years ago. “Majority of our employees were very young during the Genocide while others were born after which means that they don’t really know what happened. We felt that it is our responsibility to help them learn their history and make informed decisions in the quest to uphold ‘Never Again’ to genocide,” he said. He added that after the visit his first impression is the resilience of the RPA troops through the hardships they endured to rescue victims of the Genocide,” adding that there is hope given where the country was 24 years ago and where it is today. A section of the museum specifically details the story the RPA fighters of the 3rd Battalion who were at Parliament when the Genocide broke out. Surrounded, the RPA fighters came under sustained gunfire from the then government troops, but the 600-strong force managed to defend themselves and left the parliamentary premises to rescue Tutsis from around Kigali. The Campaign against Genocide Museum is also comprised of several monuments, including that of the 12.7mm Machine Gun at parliamentary rooftop that helped in containing the advancing genocidal forces. The museum also details how the RPA fighters conducted rescue missions to save the victims of Genocide across the country and defeated the genocidal forces. After the visit the Bralirwa staff gathered at the company’s headquarters in Kicukiro District for a memorial evening to remember all Genocide victims, including 89 former Bralirwa staff members. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
