{"id":2000111526,"date":"2026-05-11T15:00:45","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T13:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/?p=2000111526"},"modified":"2026-05-11T15:11:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T13:11:19","slug":"rwandan-community-in-antwerp-honors-victims-of-the-1994-genocide-against-the-tutsi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/rwandan-community-in-antwerp-honors-victims-of-the-1994-genocide-against-the-tutsi\/","title":{"rendered":"Rwandan community in Antwerp honors victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The event followed commemorative activities held in other Belgian cities, including Brussels, Li\u00e8ge, Bruges, Namur, and Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As customary, the day began with a remembrance walk from Marnixplaats in Antwerp to the city\u2019s Palace of Justice. At the venue, speeches were delivered by young people involved in organizing the 32nd commemoration of the Genocide against the Tutsi in 1994.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second part of the day took place in the Berchem district of Antwerp and featured the lighting of the Flame of Hope, speeches, testimonies, and commemorative songs performed by Lionel Sentore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his speech, Steve Rugamba, head of DRB-Rugali in Antwerp, thanked participants who had traveled from different parts of Belgium to join the commemoration and highlighted the significance of remembering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRemembering is not only about looking back at the past. Remembering is also about protecting our dignity. It is about reminding the world that no one should tell us who we are. No one should define our worth or rewrite our history in ways that diminish us,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Claire Kayirangwa, Secretary of Ibuka-M\u00e9moire et Justice-Belgique, speaking on behalf of the organization, reflected on the deep meaning of remembrance. She encouraged young people to continue carrying this history forward while rejecting hatred, which only leads to evil, and continuing to stand for truth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She also paid tribute to the soldiers of the Rwandan Patriotic Army (Inkotanyi) who stopped the Genocide against the Tutsi, stressing that without them, it would not be possible today to speak openly about this history. She further praised the role of President Paul Kagame in Rwanda\u2019s development and in promoting national unity free from discrimination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The third part of the day was marked by a night vigil led by Miheto Tatien, featuring testimonies, the screening of photographs of some victims of the Genocide against the Tutsi, and remembrance songs performed in an atmosphere of reflection and mourning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Commemoration activities for the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Belgium began on April 7, 2026, and will continue in the cities of Mons, Charleroi, Tournai, and Leuven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remembrance walk<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Yaowo, a politician and councillor in the City of Antwerp said that it is very important to commemorate and give space to the memory of the victims of the Genocide against the Tutsi, while also supporting the survivors they live alongside every day.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Lighting of flame of hope<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Commemoration talks<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lina Mukandoli delivered a testimony through poetry.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Kayitesi Chantal shared testimony about how she survived in Kibirira.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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L\u00e9na Rutagira and Charles Mwunvirangoma coordinated the second part of the commemoration evening.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Claire Kayirangwa, representing Ibuka-M\u00e9moire et Justice-Belgique, delivering the speech of the day.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Steve Rugamba, head of the Rwandan Diaspora \u2013 Antwerp section.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Members of the Rwandan community, together with friends residing in the city of Antwerp, Belgium, gathered once again to commemorate the victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi on Saturday, May 9.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2000111527,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[151,69],"byline":[2285],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-2000111526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-diaspora","tag-editors-choice","tag-homehighlights","byline-karirima-a-ngarambe-8"],"bylines":[{"id":2285,"name":"Karirima A. Ngarambe","slug":"karirima-a-ngarambe-8","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":null}],"contributors":[{"id":2285,"name":"Karirima A. Ngarambe","slug":"karirima-a-ngarambe-8","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":null}],"featured_image":{"id":2000111527,"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/bb.jpeg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":1600,"height":1067,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/bb.jpeg","width":150,"height":100},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/bb.jpeg","width":300,"height":200},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/bb.jpeg","width":768,"height":512},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/bb.jpeg","width":1024,"height":683},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/bb.jpeg","width":1600,"height":1067}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000111526","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2000111526"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000111526\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2000111595,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000111526\/revisions\/2000111595"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000111527"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2000111526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2000111526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2000111526"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=2000111526"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=2000111526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}