Students urged to write on Genocide

Students have been urged to write the Genocide history in books as a way of keeping the Genocide memories alive. The suggestion was made on Friday by the Board Chairman of the School of Finance and Banking (SFB), Prof. Manasseh Nshuti, during the school’s night of Vigil to mark 15 years since the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. “Remembering what happened is important. But writing what happened is more critical because unwritten history can easily be manipulated by anybody or it can easily fade away with time, which is dangerous,” said Nshuti. He requested the students who had attended the vigil to be the torch bearers in the drive as the intellectuals in the Rwandan society. “You are studying so that you can do something for your nation and yourselves…as intellectuals therefore, you must do something about Genocide history so it does fade away in the future.” He also challenged the students to embark on home-grown research since research by foreigners is always biased and only serves their interests. The vigil night which was preceded by a march to Gikondo memorial site was attended by the entire student community and staff of SFB. 105 students at SFB are survivors of the Genocide.Speaking at the gathering, the acting Rector of SFB, Prof. Erasmus Kaijage, commended the government on the steps it has taken in bringing justice to perpetrators of the Genocide through Gacaca courts. Kaijage emphasised on the need for the young generation to deeply get involved in Genocide remembrance since they are the ones who will be in charge of the future which should be free of Genocide Ideology and any forms of discrimination. He also urged people do their best in bringing back hope to survivors. “It doesn’t require one to be a millionaire to bring back hope to our brothers and sisters who survived the Genocide, it only takes a willing heart,” he urged. Addressing the students, Kicukiro mayor Paul Jules Ndamage asked them to use their acquired knowledge in constructive ways. “The Genocide planners were thought to be elites. But knowledge without humanity is nothing because what the so-called professors and doctors did in 1994 was horrible,” said Ndamage. Candles were lit to honour those whose lives were taken away by the 1994 Genocide and fifteen messages of hope were readout depicting fifteen years since the 1994 Genocide. Ends

National

Students urged to write on Genocide