British High Commission and Aegis Trust Kwibuka23 Commemoration Event
12 April 2017 | Kigali Genocide Memorial

Remarks by Aegis Trust Country Director Yves Kamuronsi

• Your Excellency, the British High Commissioner to Rwanda
• Head of DFID in Rwanda
• Colleagues from Her Majesty’s Government
• Aegis Trust staff and friends

Welcome to the Kigali Genocide Memorial Peace School.

We are gathered here to remember the more than one million Rwandans killed in the Genocide against the Tutsi.

I want to start by comforting the survivors who are with us today. This period of commemoration means a lot to us. Each day of the 100 days of mourning brings back painful memories.

We have just paid respects to the more than 250,000 victims of the Genocide against the Tutsi buried here. Survivors have told us that the Kigali Genocide Memorial is a home to them – it is my home too.

Everyday, I remember my father, mum and brother who are buried here. It is a place that I feel privileged to work at.

I know I share this feeling with many of my colleagues who work for Aegis and who have relatives or families buried here.

Every time we come to commemorate or when we come to work here, it is with a belief that what happened in Rwanda should never happen again, either here or anywhere else in the world.

We believe we can achieve this through education, by preserving the memory of the Genocide and by documenting the post-Genocide reconstruction process.

We owe it to the victims of the Genocide to tell the truth about what happened to future generations around the world.

We are very grateful for the support we have received and continue to receive from the UK government through DFID.

You are helping us to educate the next generation. You are helping us to share the testimonies of those who survived. You are helping to tell the stories of those who managed to overcome their past and who are an inspiration to survivors today. And the stories of those who have confronted their past, asked for forgiveness and are actively involved in the reconciliation process and telling the truth of what happened.

Your support is also helping to tell story of reconciliation and show that is possible by documenting and sharing stories of those who manage to come together. Through this process, we believe are contributing to the healing process of everyone affected by the Genocide.

On behalf of Aegis Trust, I want to thank you again for your continuous support, for taking time to commemorate with us and for supporting your staff to have this special moment as we remember their loved ones.

Thank you and let’s all be strong at this time. Kwibuka twiyubaka.