{"id":39123,"date":"2019-04-08T12:30:00","date_gmt":"2019-04-08T12:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/rwandans-in-washington-mark-25th-commemoration-of\/"},"modified":"2019-04-09T09:21:28","modified_gmt":"2019-04-09T09:21:28","slug":"rwandans-in-washington-mark-25th-commemoration-of","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/rwandans-in-washington-mark-25th-commemoration-of\/","title":{"rendered":"Rwandans in Washington mark 25th Commemoration of the Genocide against the Tutsi"},"content":{"rendered":"

This event was hosted by the Embassy of Rwanda in Washington D.C. and was widely attended by members of the Diplomatic Corps, various Defense Attach\u00e9s, representatives of Think Tanks in the Greater Washington area, friends of Rwanda, and the Rwandan community members. <\/p>\n

The wide array of topics covered by speakers of the day were \u201cUpholding the Memory of Genocide\u201d by Ms. Zilfa Irakoze, Rwandan Youth Representative; \u201cOrigin of the Genocide Against the Tutsi, Confronting Revisionism\u201d by Dr. Jean Pierre Karegeye, a Visiting International Scholar, Dickinson College; \u201cPersonal Experience During the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi\u201d by Ms. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Senior Counselor, Albright Stonebridge Group; \u201c25 Years of Reconstruction, Progress and Future Prospects\u201d by Dr. Margee Ensign, President, Dickinson College and \u201cThe Role of Writers In Responding To The Genocide Against the Tutsi\u201d by Dr. Boubacar Boris Diop, Award-Winning Journalist & Novelist.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s commemoration focuses on the call to the new generation to uphold the legacy of strength, resilience, and unity of all Rwandans. <\/p>\n

During the ceremony, Professor Mathilde Mukantabana, Ambassador of the Republic of Rwanda to the United States, passed on the remembrance flame, a symbol of remembrance, resilience, and courage, to young Rwandans who were present at the event.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe people of the United States of America join their Rwandan friends\u2014and, indeed, all men and women of good will\u2014in recalling the tragic events that unfolded over the course of the one hundred days that followed. We remember the hundreds of thousands of Rwandans who lost their lives, the men, women, and children systematically slaughtered\u2014in many cases by their own neighbors\u2014because of a genocidal regime\u2019s organized and intentional campaign of violence against the Tutsi population,\u201d said Ambassador Mukantabana<\/p>\n

Various speakers expressed their regard for what Rwanda has accomplished in the last 25 years post-genocide. <\/p>\n

U.S. Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region of Africa, Dr. J. Peter Pham who delivered official remarks from the Department of State, pointed out several markers of unprecedented developments in Education, health, security, and women empowerment. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe people of the United States of America join their Rwandan friends\u2014and, indeed, all men and women of good will\u2014in recalling the tragic events that unfolded over the course of the one hundred days that followed. We remember the hundreds of thousands of Rwandans who lost their lives, the men, women, and children systematically slaughtered\u2014in many cases by their own neighbors\u2014because of a genocidal regime\u2019s organized and intentional campaign of violence against the Tutsi population,\u201d said Dr. Peter Pham<\/p>\n

Dr. J. Peter Pham further stressed that the Rwandan people and government, under President Paul Kagame\u2019s leadership is serving as an example to many African nations, and beyond, of what accountability and dedication to excellence can lead to. \u201cThe indomitable will of the Rwandan people proved the world wrong, \u201csaid Dr. Pham as he recalled the projections many made on the country 25 years ago. <\/p>\n

Dr. Margee Ensign, a long-time friend of Rwanda who has closely followed the development of Rwanda, shared her insight on how the country was empowered.<\/p>\n

\u201cRwanda is a country with vision, with honest and capable leaders, focused on the future, developing new models of development, dealing with its history, caring for survivors, and empowering hope,\u201d said Dr. Ensign.<\/p>\n

Ms. Zilfa Irakoze, a young Rwandan currently pursuing her studies in the U.S. delivered remarks offering the perspective of young people in upholding the memory of Genocide and Fighting Genocide Denial. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are the present and the future of Rwanda; it is required of us to understand our history because it is for us to make sure we uphold the memory of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, today and in the future, everywhere we are so that Never Again may be a reality. We have the responsibility to fight denial and revisionism. This story is ours to tell,\u201d said Ms. Irakoze as she cautioned the youth.<\/p>\n

Ms. Jeanne Celestine Lakin, a survivor of the 1994 genocide gave her first account story of what she experienced during the genocide at the age of nine, delivering a riveting, heartbreaking, yet inspiring account of her story of survival and how she continues to lead a life that seeks to tell the truth about what happened during the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. As she concluded her testimony she left those present with the following: \u201cMy parents and siblings were killed, I was raped, I was homeless, I was broken, and suffering from PTSD. In the wake of the genocide, I had a choice to make. I chose love, compassion, and giving. I chose forgiveness too because it was also about letting go of a weight that was not mine to carry. Forgiveness is as much for the perpetrator as it is for the victim.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms. Lakin\u2019s testimony was followed by a Minute of Silence to honor the lives of the victims, and a candle-lighting ceremony to symbolize hope for the future and the eternal memory of those who passed. <\/p>\n

In her keynote address, Ambassador Mathilde Mukantabana, Ambassador of the Republic of Rwanda to the U.S. thanked those who attended for standing with Rwanda on this solemn occasion and stressed the importance of remembrance. \u201cWe remember, not to dwell on the past, but to inform the future. By remembering with clear-eyed honesty what happened in the lead-up to, and during the genocide, we lay the groundwork for a sustainable recovery. This is the foundational role of memory in our national history,\u201d said Ambassador Mukantabana. <\/p>\n

The event was brought to a closing with a sendoff blessing and participants proceeded to a Night Vigil that was organized at the Chancery. <\/p>\n

\"Rwandans<\/figure>\n
\"Ambassador<\/figure>\n
\"Ms.<\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

About 400 people gathered at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., yesterday, to mark the 25th commemoration of the Genocide against the Tutsi. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[75],"byline":[170],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-39123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-homenews","byline-igihe"],"bylines":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","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":8}],"contributors":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","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":8}],"featured_image":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39123","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\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39123"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39123\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39123"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=39123"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=39123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}