WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THE 1994 GENOCIDE AGAINST THE TUTSI?

Remembering conflicts sometimes is as conflicting as the conflicts themselves. It is common to hear people affirming that remembering painful episodes in a person's, a family's, a community's or even a nation's life 'paints' a picture of paranoia and by extension serves as a justification for revenge against the alleged perpetrators of conflicts.

Remembering, according to this school of thought, is likened to an act ‘of opening old wounds with a view to instilling pain on the victims and to justify the heinous acts of the perpetrators'. This is opposed to remembering as a tool to initiate dialogue and 'self-screening'.

Examining 'remembering' as a central pillar for any reconciliation and tolerance, therefore, serves to debunk any theories advanced to justify the contrary. For no society lives in isolation and in complete disconnect with its past. Progress is looking back to fortify the present and the future.

This brings us to our theme; is there any relevance/importance/significance in remembering the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi and mass atrocities elsewhere? The answer is an emphatic YES! This is why.

Remembering is the great humanistic and historical task of the people: to liberate themselves and their societies. To affirm that men and women are persons and as persons should be free, and yet to do nothing tangible to make this affirmation a reality, is a farce.

Humans are makers and consumers of their own history. Their lives are symbolic of a dialectical bonding with their world. Mistakes of the past become cornerstones of today's reconstruction and today's successful reconstruction becomes a prized subject of discussion for 'absorbing the mistakes of the past and making something good out of them'.

This isn't, therefore, a justification for committing mistakes so as to learn and lay foundations for future reconstruction. To do this is akin to glorifying wrong doing at the expense of promoting the positives that humanity offers. But when such mistakes arise, it behooves to learn from them to avert any future negatives. This is why remembering the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, as opposed to repeating the mistakes of the past, comes in handy.

Remembering seeks to objectivize a situation, an incident or an act of Men. It is a bridge that brings the past on the reflexive table of the present. It offers a platform for the victims and the alleged perpetrators to ‘discover’ their common bond. Remembering in itself serves nothing unless it is spiced up by admission and acceptance of mistakes.

Which begs the question: how does remembering the Rwandan genocide and mass atrocities elsewhere serve to spice up admission of guilt on humans across the globe, and in particular, in conflict-prone countries?

As Kofi Annan lamented on the 10th anniversary of the Rwandan Genocide, “Such crimes cannot be reversed. Such failures cannot be repaired. The dead cannot be brought back to life. So what can we do?” The answer is that the international community will only prevent the killing fields of the future by heeding the lessons from past tragedies. What, then, are these lessons, and, as Annan asks, what can we do? The first and foremost lesson of the Rwandan genocide – not unlike the Holocaust – is that these genocides occurred not simply because of the machinery of death, but also because of state-sanctioned incitement to hate.

As underlined by the former UN chief, prevention of genocide lies not in the deactivation of the machinery of death but in guarding the body of literature that the people consume. That the solution lies in the humanization of our thoughts, talks and actions. Sometimes this may be misconstrued to mean that the state be given unchecked powers to intrude into peoples' daily lives. Prevention of any form of dehumanizing acts is not, and can never be, the sole responsibility of governments. The people have a role to play in shaping their own destiny.

 

It is, therefore, incumbent upon the citizens of the world to know that the prevention of genocide - and all inhuman works of Men - lies in humanization process of our thoughts, talks and actions.

Peace is a fruit of self reflection and acceptance of the universal truth that we live because others live and that we are called upon to strengthen this bond. The Strength of this bond is premised on the simple fact of remembering and examining the past with a vision to better and improve the present for a prosperous and peaceful future.

As we commemorate this 20^th anniversary of the Rwanda genocide – an unspeakable atrocity where one million Rwandans were murdered in a three-month genocidal onslaught that began on April 7, 1994, it is natural to remember the combatants and victims alike, in the Republic of South Sudan (ROSS), the Federal Republic of Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Syria among others.

As we remember the Rwandan genocide we commit ourselves to the truth that there are no winners in wars. There are no gains in any war. Wars only serve to concretize the dehumanization of a people. As the old Somali proverb states, wars know neither brothers nor sisters, it is a call for everybody to be at the forefront in championing for peaceful coexistence.

The Rwandan genocide is a clear demonstration of what apathy and silence can cause. As a million people were slaughtered in the most horrific manner man can ever imagine, the world stood aside in silence. The world arrogated to itself the role of a bystander – a neighbor who is totally disconnected from the sufferance of others.

Yes, twenty years have gone since this horrendous act happened but a BIG question still lingers in our minds: Should we stand aside and watch as our brothers and sisters slaughter and butcher each other in South Sudan, Somalia, Syria and Congo (DRC)?

Did we learn anything from the Rwandan genocide? Do we still value the brotherly bond that sticks us together? 

As we remember the Rwandan genocide against the Tutsi, it does not escape my mind to pay homage to the vulnerable segments of any society – women, children and persons with disabilities. The cries of women victimized by sexual violence, brutalized children whose pleas for mercy fell on deaf ears and the persons with disabilities whose immobility rendered them prey to their attackers. These cries are not in vain. They will forever remind us to stick to the principles of peaceful coexistence.

It is my prayer that these cries reach our souls and minds. That these cries will help us see through our lives and energize our bodies to always cling to LOVE and shun away from resorting to violence in order to right our wrongs.

Finally, I salute the heroic actors – who despite all challenges and risks still venture into hostile fields to save lives. They remind us of the human possibility to confront evil and effect meaningful change. They embody the adhesive human force that holds us together.

Twitter: @mlemukol