The start of Kwibuka 31 – the 31st anniversary of the Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda – was marked at the Kigali Genocide Memorial this morning as the President and First Lady of Rwanda lit the flame of remembrance which will burn for the next 100 days, recalling the 100 days in 1994 in which a million people were murdered.
The birthplace of peace and values education in Rwanda, the Kigali Genocide Memorial is run by the Aegis Trust on behalf of Rwanda’s Ministry of National Unity & Civic Engagement as a place of remembrance and learning for Rwandans and the international community.
“This memorial has been more than a workplace. It’s a home for me,” commented Aegis Trust CEO and Kigali Genocide Memorial Director Freddy Mutanguha, speaking at the commemoration. “It has been a very positive journey for me, but this memorial also has huge meaning for the international visitors that I receive every day…. They come here to learn and bear witness. They go back transformed by what they see and what they hear. They take these stories, our stories, the stories of genocide, the stories of reconstruction, across the borders and through generations.”
Thanking the Government of Rwanda for establishing memorials around the country, Mutanguha commented, “It is such an act of humanity. While the perpetrators left their victims unburied – no respect, no dignity, they attempted to erase their humanity – by establishing memorials such as Kigali Genocide Memorial, it’s a profound and powerful statement that they failed.”
Identifying the Kigali Genocide Memorial as a place of healing for genocide survivors, including himself, Mutanguha concluded by saying, “This is what memorialization means for humanity; acknowledging the past, the dark past of our history, but also affirming our commitment to light.”
