In one of his statements during the 30th commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, President Paul kagame stressed that the youth are the guardians of Rwanda’s future and the foundation of unity, with a completely different mindset from the generation before.
Well, this was witnessed on 9th April, 2024, when a group of over 6000 youths gathered at Kicukiro-Nyanza Genocide memorial site, to pay tribute to over a million lives lost during the massacre, as well as stretch their pledge to remember, unite and renew.
Organised by Christian Intwari and his team, through their umbrella; ‘Our Past Initiatives’, this event, hosted in the amphitheatre of the memorial site was a testament to the old Rwanda pre-genocide and the new Rwanda post-genocide; one nation, one people, living together in peace and harmony.
Although slated to begin at 5:00pm all through to 8:00pm, the site’s gates were open as early as 3:00pm for the youths to start settling in, and they didn’t disappoint. By 4:00pm, they started moving in, majority spruce in black shirts written on ‘Kwibuka 30’.
At exactly 4:50pm, the first level of the amphitheater, a nine-row gray seater, was filled to the brim, a thing that saw the ushers — young women rocking ‘our past initiative’ black shirts — request those seated to be considerate in their sitting positions so as to accommodate the multitudes that were still waiting outside.
Meanwhile, those already settled, were feeding their eyes on the green sceneries from the ‘Garden of Memory’, while taking in the fresh air and breeze it offers, and the stunning view of Kigali’s hills, in addition to listening to soothing Kwibuka melodies like; “Twarabakundanga” by Munyanshoza Dieudonne, among others.
When the clock struck 5:00pm, two large screens-one on the left and the other on the right, centered by beautifully coloured black pots, blooming with green plants, situated at the forefront of the amphitheater, embarked on their duty for the night—edutaining the guests.
These started with teaching those present the history of the venue hosting them. A film by The New Times Rwanda took the audience through the Garden of Memory which symbolizes the love that the descendants have for the victims, which is why, whenever they’re visiting them, they carry flowers.
The dry garden on the other hand is a Jewish concept for eternity, which was localised to fit Rwanda’s history with an addition of one million big stones, to symbolise the lives of Tutsi who were killed during the genocide. The green beside the dry garden, mostly of cactus plants, portrays the resilience of the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) army, who endured all hardships and rescued the nation from the tyrants of Interahamwe.
Rwanda’s resilience is further illustrated by the ‘Flame of Hope’ and the ‘upright men’- a sculpture by Bruce Clark of a man and woman, believed to be coming out of the hills of Kicukiro as survivors and embracing life heads-on.
The site also harbours a meditation corridor where one can relax and reflect on the magnitude of the genocide, a water basin that illustrates how Tutsi’s used rivers and papyrus as escape routes, although some unfortunately died from there, among other things.
From the Nyanza Genocide memorial tour, the screens took the crowd to another venture of survivor’s testimonials. They shared heartbreaking tales of how life was before and during the genocide, to how they fleed Rwanda to neighbouring countries were they lived as refugees, which could be the reason as to why.
At 5:45pm, the screens became the new ‘meditation corridor’, taking guests to a relaxation journey with melodies form Shanel Niherere’s Araho, before Gashora girls took the stage for some physical entertainment with a poem titled ‘Rwandan lives in the shades of time’, recited by over five girls, who clearly depicted the Rwanda that Tito Rutaremara and other survivors had narrated earlier in their testimonials.
For the audience, the evening was still young, as Our Past Initiative had quite a line-up for them, they promised and indeed delivered.
Designed by Moses Turahirwa and Moshions, Jean Jules Irakoze graced the floor in a white wide leg trouser, a black shirt, and black and white print bomber jacket for a play dubbed ‘inherited sorrows’.
He was accompanied by a singer-Christiane Boukuru, Guitarist-Salomon Sankara Bisangwa Bagabo, Violinist Chikwanine Rutaganda Augustin, and Visual artist Jean Luc Usabwimana.
Throughout the play, the actor stressed that even though he wasn’t born by the time of the Genocide, he carries the burden of its magnitude, hence has a role to teach the next generation about the past; Inherited memory that goes from you and you.
Bruce the first followed with Ndi Urumuri, before Bruce Ntwali- Mcee for the night, and his colleague shared their stories of when they first heard of the word ‘Genocide’.
According to Bruce, he first heard of the word at the age of four, but internalized it at age eight. This brought a lot of anger and bitterness in his heart, at first, however, he later recovered thanks to the mentors and community around him.
Another heart breaking testimonial came in from Ernesto Maniraho a genocide survivor who was separated from his family at the age of seven. Being the last born, Ernesto was always by his mother’s side, even on the fateful day, when she was hit by a grenade.
Ernesto’s life changed drastically, as dead bodies became his new home, not to mention the responsibility that befell him of taking care of his three year old cousin (carrying him on his back as they sought refuge), despite being injured by a grenade.
Thanks to the RPF who later conquered the Interahamwe, and the leadership of Paul Kagame, Ernesto was granted another opportunity to live, acquiring education, a job, and now a husband and father in a Rwanda that is peaceful and united.
He called upon other survivors to teach the young generation about this important history, because they’re the ones to keep this memory alive.
To crown the night’s performances were the talented youth who put the whole event together: Our Past Initiative creatives in a play they named “Mpagaze Nemye.” Just like the previous acts, this French, English and Kinyarwanda play, performed amidst Rwandan instrumental music, aimed to teach the youth about the country’s dark history, as well as encourage them to protect the nation from falling back.
Our Past Initiative was founded by Christian Intwari in 2012, originally as a safe space for youth, especially those born before or after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, to learn about their history.
In an interview with SENS, Christian pointed out that ‘their’ parents barely talk about the past, hence the need to bridge the gap by creating avenues for young people to ask questions in a healthy way.
Starting off as a dance group, Our Past Initiative later found it fit to give back to the community by contributing to its well being through renovation projects and donations,in addition to teaching young Rwandans about their past.
To date, the initiative renovates between nine to twelve houses a year, caters for health insurance for over 600 families, constructs hygiene homes in schools, among other things.
Dr. Abdallah Jean Nepo Utumatwishima, the Minister of Youth and guest of honor at the event applauded Our Past Initiative for their tremendous efforts for the past twelve years, that have seen the youth not only engaged in the development of their country, but also preach against ethnic politics and genocide ideologies.
He made the remarks to close the ceremony a few minutes past 9:00pm as the youth were holding lit candles in memory of the victims and survivors.
