Genocide victims were not mere numbers – envoy

LONDON – Rwandans who were killed in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi were not mere numbers or statistics, but human beings who were robbed of their dreams, dignity and lives, the Rwandan High Commissioner to United Kingdom, Ernest Rwamucyo, said Wednesday.Rwamucyo, was addressing members of the Rwandan Diaspora in the UK, British Government officials and members of Diplomatic Corps accredited to the United Kingdom, who gathered at Southwark Cathedral in London to commemorate the Genocide. “They were parents who loved their families, they were cheerful and playful children adored by their parents. They were grand fathers and grand mothers. Many were young men and women. They had dreams and ambitions like all of us. Only they were not given the opportunity to pursue their dreams,” Rwamucyo said. Rwamucyo went on to explain the importance of remembrance, highlighting that it dignifies and pays respect to loved ones who were brutally robbed of their lives and dignity.“Commemoration brings us together in solidarity to share our grief and to strengthen one another. This helps Rwandans and particularly the survivors of the Genocide who continue to endure untold suffering to heal and to be comforted,” he added. “It is an important time for us Rwandans to individually and collectively strengthen our resolve to rebuild a new, progressive, tolerant and peaceful community of Rwandans characterised by dignity, self-worthy and peaceful co-existence.”Highlighting the achievements over the last 18 years, the High Commissioner noted that the Rwandan people faced the tragedy that befell their country with enormous grace, resilience and determination not to be trapped or defined by that tragedy. “A new and more vibrant nation is rising out of the ashes of 1994,” Rwamucyo observed. Last year, Rwanda’s economy grew by over 8 per cent, and in the last 5 years, over one million Rwandans were lifted out of poverty. Rwanda is the 7th largest contributor of UN peacekeeping personnel in the world with contingents deployed in places like Darfur, Haiti, Ivory Coast and Southern Sudan.“A new Rwandan identity is being recreated driven by reconciliation, national unity and a shared vision for the future.” Rwamacyo said. In his remarks, Rabbi Barry Marcus of the Central Synagogue of London, noted that while the absence of a collective and effective response to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi is a matter of deep shame for international community, and nothing can be done about the past, there is a lot that can be done in the present and future. “I am constantly reminded of the prophetic message of the Holocaust survivor and Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal who warned the world that, ‘For your own benefit learn from our tragedy. It’s not written law that next victims must be Jews. It could also be other people’,” Rabbi Marcus said. He added: “This is the challenge to us today as we remember the innocent victims and fractured families in Rwanda. I hope and pray they will find a way to heal the wounds and create a brighter future.” Billy Kelly of Msaada – an initiative, he co-founded with BBC Journalist Fergal Keane, that supports widows and orphans of the Genocide, spoke of how Rwanda has risen from the ashes.“I have witnessed strength, energy and a drive to make life better that are truly awe-inspiring.” Kelly said of his six-year experience working with AVEGA Widows Association. “One example: I witnessed a member of that association handing over beehives from our honey project at Nyarubuye, to a neighbour who was known to have been involved in killing that survivor’s family,” a teary Kelly added. “I was left dumbfounded. I had never seen such a selfless act in my life. I had never seen such courage – true courage, the courage to forgive in the face of evil. I also felt ashamed; because it was an act that I felt I would not be capable of myself. Yet, there it was for all to see.”The commemoration service was led by the Dean of Southwark Cathedral the Rt. Rev. Andrew Nunn, Revd Dr. Malachi Munyaneza, Minister United Reformed Church Gloucester and Brockworth, and Bishop Jonathan Ruhumuliza.Revd Dr. Nunn pointed out that “We have to come to the reality of what human beings can do to one another.” He, however, added that there is hope and that young Rwandans born after the Genocide must be allowed to flourish in peace and hope.Revd Dr Munyaneza reminded those present that survivors are asked for ‘an impossible love. “But it is the only way you can give life to those who have taken it and, therefore, you participate in God’s self-giving love,” he said, adding that, “he hoped today’s commemoration be part of the desire to become co-worker with God in creating a new Rwanda.” Rwandan Diaspora Community children sung a Kathy Tricolli Song, Go light the World, which challenges the congregation to, ‘carry the candle and run to the darkness, seeking out the hopeless, confused and torn’. A similar commemoration was held in Coventry on April 7, 2012 and more commemoration services will be held in Reading, Manchester, Liverpool, Scarborough and Scotland.

National

Genocide victims were not mere numbers – envoy