This April marks the 30th commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, with commemorative events beginning on April 7. Throughout April, both globally and within Rwanda, there's a dedicated time to honor the memory of those whose lives were innocently lost during the tragedy. "Kwibuka," translating to "to Remember", signifies a period of deep reflections on the past and a commitment to preventing such horrors from repeating.

CARSA has been involved in some commemoration events, with Christophe speaking during the 30th Commemoration of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, at Kamonyi District, on April 7. Christophe Mbonyingabo, Executive Director of CARSA emphasized that Genocide against the Tutsi didn’t start with the machetes of April 1994. It started decades earlier with state-directed ethnic populism, classification, discrimination, dehumanization…, over time, all done with unimaginable impunity.

“Commemoration is for us blood covenant of us who are alive, elders, young people, and generations to come to always remember our history to reaffirm the choice we have all made to evade that what happened, will never repeat in Rwanda's history. So, NEVER AGAIN should be our motto, NEVER AGAIN should be part of our life,” said Christophe Mbonyingabo.

Concluding his talk, he stressed that Rwanda is transformed and rejuvenated and Rwandans have focused on staying united, being accountable to each other, and "thinking of ourselves as a people with a tragic past but, importantly, with a future to build.

To the young people: You must learn from how Rwanda is transformed and rejuvenated, building a strong foundation in all aspects of life, such as good governance, inclusiveness, and united nation. You have responsibility to sustain this spirit of togetherness, spirit that will guide you as you grow and keeping the peaceful environment for your upcoming children, grandchildren, and other generations to come to live in a peaceful country, a nation where ethnic divisions have no place, no discrimination, but a unified nation," Christophe stressed.

The commemoration provided a fitting opportunity for CARSA; to stand in solidarity with the survivors, honor the victims while pledging our commitment to fight hate speech, and genocide ideology, and keep putting our effort into bringing together genocide survivors and perpetrators fostering trust, overcoming trauma, to uplifting their socio-economic situation to create hope for those who lost it from the atrocities.

30th Commemoration of the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi

Resilience Cell Groups (RCG) offer a place to heal and thrive post-genocide

KWIBUKA 30: Youth in Community Peace Clubs stood in solidarity with vulnerable Genocide Survivors