It is imperative for youth to know the rejection Rwanda faced by colonizers and even the international community during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, and take on the responsibility of self-resilience. ALSO READ: April 11, 1994: Left to die at ETO Kicukiro This was remarked by Jean Damascene Bizimana, Minister of National Unity and Civic Engagement, during a commemoration night of Genocide victims laid to rest at Kicukiro Genocide Memorial Site, on April 11. April 11,1994 forever marks a stain on the international community for it seemed convenient to them to rescue a dog’s life over 10,000 Tutsi and more, who sought protection from UN troops at Ecole Technique Officielle (ETO) Kicukiro. The Belgian contingent that formed the backbone of UN Assistance Mission in Rwanda (MINUAR) evacuated their own people, including a dog, only to leave the refugees in the hands of merciless government genocidal forces and interahamwe militia that had surrounded the place. ALSO READ: Nyanza-Kicukiro massacres: Rethinking the failure of international community Each year on the same date, Rwandans, especially Kicukiro residents, join together in a walking ceremony from ETO Kicukiro to Kicukiro memorial site in remembrance of atrocities that refugees faced in the journey to where they were killed. Bizimana reviewed different documentation and books foreigners wrote that indicated their knowledge of and involvement in the plans to carry out the Genocide against the Tutsi, deriving from the colonial times. Books such as ‘Le Rwanda, son effort de développement. Antécédents historiques et conquêtes de la révolution Rwandaise’ by Baudouin Paternostre de la Mairieu, ‘Rwanda -de la feodalité à la démocratie’ by Jean-Paul Jules Elisée Dugnoille Harroy, and ‘Mission au Rwanda: Un blanc dans la bagarre TutsiHutu’ by Col Guy Logiest. In 1946, the United Nations gave Rwanda to Belgium as a protectorate and was given the task of bringing Rwanda to complete freedom in terms of politics, economy, social welfare and development in education. Other provisions of the agreement included helping citizens to have the ability to self-determine and govern their own country, to help in the observance of human rights and freedom for all without discrimination based on race, sex, language or religion. Had the colonizers abode by this agreement, the Genocide wouldn’t have happened, Bizimana noted. “This history of being rejected by colonizers and later on by Belgians in 1994 has been witnessed on several accounts during massacres carried out against Tutsi. It is important for youth to know this and take on the responsibility of resilience,” he said. Rescue or development cannot come from outside, it can only be done by Rwandans, Bizimana emphasized. This was reiterated by Amb. Joseph Nsengimana, Director for the Mastercard Foundation's African Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning in ICT, who also went through how the Genocide was planned and originated from the divisionism planted by colonizers in the Rwandan society. However, he noted, only 15 days after stopping the Genocide, the RPF (Rwanda Patriotic Font) decided to form a new government with a foundation of national unity. “We remember the horrors but we also remember that it is only Rwandans that put an end to the Genocide. Special mechanisms were adopted to resolve problems brought about by divisionism, and work towards the development we see now,” he said. The horrific scenarios lived by many at ETO kicukiro and Nyanza Kicukiro where Tutsi were meant to be exterminated, are not forgotten by survivors at the place, however, they chose to rebuild themselves. ALSO READ: Children killed at former ETO-Kicukiro during Genocide honoured This is recounted by Marie Aime Niwemfura Kaberuka, who as a five-year-old fled to ETO Kicukiro with her parents and two sisters and a new born brother of only 11 days. They were taken to Nyanza Kicukiro where, confused by what was happening, witnessed the mass killings and to this very day still remembers the cries of her baby brother all day long until he cried no more. She survived with her father and they took courage to rebuild and develop themselves. Philibert Gakwenzire, President of Ibuka –an umbrella association of Genocide survivors –said it is shameful and sad to see the UN troops turning their backs and leaving the Tutsi to their ordeal knowing for sure that they would be killed. “Ibuka requests the UN to fulfill its main responsibility of ensuring the prevalence of peace and security across the world.” He called on everyone to fight Genocide deniers for lies and distorting historical truth never led to any development. In addition, Gakwenzire highlighted that survivors are concerned with convicted Genocide perpetrators who are being released just because of good conduct in prison after they were sentenced for life.
