Staff and students from the Integration Polytechnic Regional Centre (IPRC) Kigali have visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial to learn more about the history of the Genocide against Tutsi and how to prevent genocide ideology.
The group started their tour by paying respects to the more than 250,000 victims of the Genocide that are laid to rest at the memorial. They did so by placing wreaths on the burial place and observing a moment of silence. More than one million Rwandans were killed in the Genocide against the Tutsi.
During the visit, Ben Barigenga, Acting Public Relations Officer at IPRC, spoke about the importance of teaching students about the history of genocide in Rwanda.
“We Rwandans live on, despite the fact that the killers wanted to wipe out all Tutsi in the country. IPRC is educating its students about Rwanda history and fighting genocide ideology. We will be touring different memorials around the country. Tomorrow we will visit Nyanza Memorial,” Ben said.
After visiting, Jeannine Dusabimana, an IPRC student, said that youth in Rwanda today should become very involved in genocide prevention and peace building.
“A lot of young people participated in the Genocide. That is why we are the major root of rebuilding the country. We have come here to know more about Rwanda’s history so that we can easily teach our young brothers and sisters and future generations. The memorial is a good place to visit. We should not fear trauma or remembering our bad history. It is good to process and understand our emotions and learn so that Genocide will never happen again in our world.”
IPRC Kigali, formerly known as ETO Kicukiro, is among five existing and operational Integrated Polytechnic Regional Centres in the country. During the Genocide, over 2,000 Tutsi refugees took refuge at ETO Kicukiro under the protection of the Belgian UN troops. Almost all of them were killed by militia after the UN troops abandoned. The nearby Nyanza Memorial site is the final resting place for more than 6,000 victims killed in the area.
