{"id":53855,"date":"2025-04-13T19:25:29","date_gmt":"2025-04-13T19:25:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/young-rwandans-in-canada-honour-victims-of-1994-genocide-against-the-tutsi\/"},"modified":"2025-04-13T18:08:01","modified_gmt":"2025-04-13T18:08:01","slug":"young-rwandans-in-canada-honour-victims-of-1994-genocide-against-the-tutsi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/young-rwandans-in-canada-honour-victims-of-1994-genocide-against-the-tutsi\/","title":{"rendered":"Young Rwandans in Canada honour victims of 1994 genocide against the Tutsi through art"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Organized by Peace and Love Proclaimers (PLP) Canada, the event\u2014whose name &#8220;Ku Gicaniro&#8221; means \u201cat the bonfire\u201d in Kinyarwanda\u2014served as a symbolic gathering space for community reflection and healing. It brought together youth, survivors, and allies in an artistic tribute to the more than one million lives lost during one of the 20th century\u2019s darkest chapters.<\/p>\n<p>The evening began with a moment of silence, a reading of victims\u2019 names, and a candle-lighting ceremony that transformed grief into collective reverence. The moments honoured not just those who died, but who they were: students, sisters, fathers, dreamers.<\/p>\n<p>A curated exhibition welcomed guests before the formal program, offering a powerful walk through visual and written testimonies. The intention, organizers said, was not to consume history, but to carry it\u2014to resist forgetting through art and storytelling.<\/p>\n<p>Art was at the heart of the program. Musical performances and a stage play provided emotional expression where words alone might fall short. The performance reminded the audience that \u201cart remembers what history tries to forget.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>One of the most moving moments came when genocide survivor Mukarukundo Godelieve, known as Maman Casta, publicly shared her story for the first time in a heartfelt conversation with her daughter, Casta. The dialogue between mother and daughter became a powerful handoff of memory: an intimate, courageous act of intergenerational truth-telling.<\/p>\n<p>A documentary screening followed, exploring how to teach the history of genocide to children. It posed a challenging but necessary question: How do you explain a wound this deep to a child? The film emphasized the importance of teaching with honesty, compassion, and clarity, especially as survivor voices grow fewer with time.<\/p>\n<p>In his address, Pascal Kanyemera, President of the Humura Survivors Association, praised the youth-led effort, highlighting the role of digital platforms in combating genocide denial. He also spoke about Humura\u2019s ongoing memorial initiatives to preserve truth and history.<\/p>\n<p>The Rwandan Ambassador to Canada, Prosper Higiro, offered a powerful reminder that genocide is not an accident but a deliberate political crime. He spoke candidly about the ideology that preceded the 1994 atrocities and urged the youth to stand firm in defending unity, dignity, and truth.<\/p>\n<p>The evening closed with remarks from Danny, Representative of PLP Canada, who reaffirmed the organization\u2019s commitment to remembrance and youth engagement. He stated that the aim of PLP Canada is to create safe, intentional, and powerful spaces, where young people can remember, reflect, and reconnect with their identity and history.<\/p>\n<p>The evening left attendees moved, inspired, and reminded that while the genocide against the Tutsi ended 31 years ago, the responsibility to remember \u2014 and to resist forgetting \u2014 lives on through the voices and visions of Rwanda\u2019s youth.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-85567 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/img_9946.jpg\" alt=\"A curated exhibition welcomed guests before the formal program, offering a powerful walk through visual and written testimonies. \" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-85565 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/img_9944.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-85568 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/5u5a1510.jpg\" alt=\"Organized by Peace and Love Proclaimers (PLP) Canada, the event\u2014whose name &quot;Ku Gicaniro&quot; means \u201cat the bonfire\u201d in Kinyarwanda\u2014served as a symbolic gathering space for community reflection and healing.\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-85561 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/b71a0938.jpg\" alt=\"Musical performances and a stage play provided emotional expression where words alone might fall short. \" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-85570 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/5u5a1578.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-85569 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/5u5a1545.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-85572 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/b71a0965.jpg\" alt=\"A documentary screening explored how to teach the history of genocide to children. \" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-85564 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/b71a1642_1_.jpg\" alt=\"The Rwandan Ambassador to Canada, Prosper Higiro, offered a powerful reminder that genocide is not an accident but a deliberate political crime.\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-85563 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/b71a1638.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-85562 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/b71a1626_1_.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-85560 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/5u5a1615.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-85559 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/5u5a1614.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Young Rwandans in Canada gathered at the Shenkman Arts Center for KU Gicaniro Canada, an emotionally resonant evening of remembrance, art, and intergenerational dialogue to commemorate the victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":2000085573,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[75],"byline":[170],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-53855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","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":{"id":2000085573,"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/img_9946.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":0,"height":0,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/img_9946.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/img_9946.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/img_9946.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/img_9946.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/img_9946.jpg","width":0,"height":0}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53855","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\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53855"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53855\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000085573"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53855"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53855"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53855"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=53855"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=53855"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}