The commemoration began with a speech by High Representative and Vice-President Josep Borrell, who stressed that reconciliation could only succeed on the basis of acknowledging what happened, holding the perpetrators accountable and preserving the memory of the victims.
During the event, a moment of silence was observed and the flame of hope was lit in honor of innocent lives that were lost during the genocide.
Esther Mujawayo, one of the founders of AVEGA, the association of widows of the genocide also shared poignant testimony.
“In 1994, on the hill where I grew up, all the Tutsis were killed. As widows, we ask ourselves: Who am I now that I have no one left? How do you stay alive? I always feel uncomfortable talking in places of power like the UN or the EU, because they knew what was going to happen and did nothing. If the right decisions had been taken, I wouldn’t have to be there, to testify,” she said.
Ambassador Igor Cesar, Rwanda’s representative to the European Union, appealed against indifference, pleading for justice and calling on the European Union to stop such atrocities from happening.
The ceremony ended with a visit to the “Peace is our choice” exhibition, which looks at the historical roots of the genocide and the reconstruction of Rwanda.
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