IBUKA appeals for support ahead of commemoration

GAKENKE – IBUKA has warned people against directing insults to Genocide survivors during the forth-coming Genocide commemoration period. By issuing this statement the organisation acknowledges fears that such acts normally come to the fore during the commemoration period. Speaking to The New Times, Faustin Rwabufigiri, an official of IBUKA in Gakenke district, appealed to residents to take the commemoration as every body’s responsibility. “The commemoration period should be a time to support Genocide survivors by staying close to them,’’ Rwabufigiri said. He noted that harassment of genocide survivors, including murder tend to increase during the commemoration period. On the issue of memorial sites which were reportedly in poor state, Rwabufigiri said there is need to renovate them. Meanwhile, Chrysostome Ndabagaruye, a psychiatrist at Ruhengeri Hospital, said they were prepared to handle trauma cases which tend to rise during the commemoration period. He advised local leaders to sensitise people on the symptoms of trauma, including ways of minimising such cases. It emerged that 13 students mostly girls from ESIR (Ecole Scolaire Islamique de Ruhengeri), were recently admitted at the hospital after being traumatised. Ends