Ministry of Health Commemoration Event

I was honored to participate in the commemoration events in Nyanza where we commemorated our brothers and sisters killed during the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi.  Afterwards, we held an event for 35 Ministry of Health colleagues who were killed during the genocide against the Tutsi 21 years ago.  

Please read the New Times article, written by Jean Mugabo, that described the event.  

Full article written by Jean Mugabo of the New Times can be found here: http://www.newtimes.co.rw/section/article/2015-04-25/188184/ 

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"The health sector has recommitted to fighting  Genocide denial country continues to mark the 21st anniversary of the Genocide against the Tutsi.

 "Remembering the departed is a responsibility to every Rwandan, but it is even more important to our profession which is tasked to save lives"

‘‘Everybody was created to live, not to be killed. And remember the perpetrators are still there. So, we have to fight them, and fight Genocide ideology, denial and trivialisation,” said James Kamanzi, the Acting Director General of Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC).

Kamanzi was speaking at Nyanza Genocide Memorial site in Kicukiro District during an event to remember the 35 former employees of the Ministry of Health (MoH) who were killed during the Genocide.

He noted that the Genocide was stopped by Rwandans and urged health workers to strive for self-reliance.

“No one can love Rwandans or solve their problems more than Rwandans themselves. When the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) left amidst the brutal killings, the RPF Inkotanyi stopped the Genocide. ‘‘So, learn from their heroic actions, never wait for foreign aid but seek to be self-reliant,” he said.

Encouraging everyone to comfort and support survivors, Kamanzi stressed the importance of remembrance in ensuring that the notion of ‘Never Again’ is a reality.

At least 11,000 Genocide victims are buried at Nyanza memorial site, including 3,000 who were killed at Nyanza and 8,000 from nearby areas.

Naphtal Ahishakiye, the Executive Secretary of the umbrella of Genocide survivors associations, Ibuka,  recounted the awful killing of 3,000 people who had sought refuge at the former Ecole Technique Officielle (ETO) Kicukiro, currently the Integrated Polytechnic Regional Centre (IPRC) Kigali.

 “At the height of the Genocide, the Belgian peacekeepers said that their mission was over and withdrew from ETO School on April 11, leaving at least 3,000 Tutsi behind.

‘‘Interahamwe militia marched them to Nyanza and massacred them from there. About 100 were rescued by the RPF the next day when the killers were on the way to finish them off,” he said.

During the event, Dr Agnes Binagwaho, the Minister for Health, led other officials at the ministry, to lay wreaths on the graves of Genocide victims there.

The event was followed by a ‘walk to remember’ from IPRC to MoH offices, where commemoration activities continued.

 After lighting the flame of hope, participants listened  to  testimonies of two Genocide survivors.

 Constantin Ntaramana, a worker at the National Centre for Blood Transfusion (NCBT), testified how he was confined to his work place and fed on glucose for about three weeks.

 “I was at work in NCBT on April 6 (1994), but failed to leave when the Genocide started.

‘‘I stayed there, hiding in the ceiling and feeding on serum glucose until late May when someone took me to the International Committee of the Red Cross. There, the RPF saved us from the killers,” he recalled.

Theogene Hakizimana also recounted how the Genocide robbed the lives of his parents and seven siblings.

“I was beaten and left for dead thrice, but survived thanks to God’s mercy.

‘‘I watched my father, and siblings being killed with machetes while hiding, but later I started wishing I could have been killed with them.

‘‘I used to sit by their dead bodies, waiting for my turn but I always survived,” he testified.

Hakizimana, is among the few who survived in his area of Nyaruguru District, commended the RPF for rescuing him.

Both Ntaramana and Hakizimana spoke of hope for a better future."

*New Times Article written by Jean Mugabo - http://www.newtimes.co.rw/section/article/2015-04-25/188184/ 

Reflections on Kwibuka21

Below is my Op-Ed on Kwibuka 21 that was published in New Times in April 2015.  I hope you will take a moment to read through these reflections on what happened in Rwanda 21 years ago and where we are today.

The full article on the New Times website can be found here: http://www.newtimes.co.rw/section/article/2015-04-11/187761/

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"This year, for the first time, I spent the entire first day of Kwibuka in my village.  It was a moving way to begin the 21st commemoration of the Genocide against the Tutsi. As I spent the day alongside my neighbours, many of whom suffered so much from the Genocide, I found myself moved by the courage of the great people of Rwanda.

For the survivors who chose to seek reconciliation as opposed to revenge, you have allowed this country to move forward to where it is today.  I am deeply humbled by your courage to forgive.

By doing so, you have offered your hand to lift Rwanda from the ashes it once was.

Today, we are a peaceful and strong country.  We are proud of what we have become.  As His Excellency President Paul Kagame has said, “this country has changed for the better and for forever”.  I am thankful for this transformative leadership that has guided and inspired us all along this difficult but meaningful journey.

Immediately after the Genocide against the Tutsi, 21 years ago, much of the world viewed Rwanda as a lost cause.  They expected us to fail if we were left to our own devices. They believed, as usual, that it was a place that required a hero from the outside. But they were mistaken.  Our heroes are you the survivors and you our great President, Paul Kagame, who led us to our journey of recovery.

Mister President you are a true hero for leading those who ended the 1994 Genocide.  You are a hero for continuing to lead us in our quest for stability, peace, development and prosperity.

My other heroes are those survivors who have faced unimaginable suffering, trauma and pain and yet are striving daily for a better future for all Rwandans - for both survivors and perpetuators and the generations to come. I salute the values that have guided you, including the spirit of self-determination and ownership. Agaciro.

Because of you, Rwanda has shown that poverty, savagery, revenge and terror are not acceptable destinies.

Our story since 1994 has also helped to show how misguided and harmful opinions can be when it comes to false global solutions to assist nations that are trying to overcome great obstacles.

For instance, some justified withholding life-saving health interventions from Rwanda’s children because it will add “man-years of human misery”, (The Lancet)[i].  There are some in this world that promote such failures to humanity.

I could provide many other examples of international organisations that essentially did the same in so many areas.

The world failed to imagine that Rwanda could be where it is today.  We have thus proven these dangerous skeptics wrong.  We have shown that we can break dangerous cycles of despair through forgiveness, reconciliation, and standing united for a brighter future.

Many describe Rwanda’s transformation over the past two decades as nothing short of a miracle.  And yet this discredits the intentional and participatory processes that we have developed as a country to overcome these formidable obstacles.

Under the guidance of our President, a leader who knew that a brighter future would only be possible if Rwandans internalised and worked towards this vision collectively.  We trusted him and he leads this movement to be innovative in our collective thinking. We have refused to leave the most vulnerable behind and held strong to our commitment to equity.

We have created policies that are relevant and responsive to the community at the grassroots level.  We have sought out partners who share in our Vision 2020 and beyond.  And so much more.  Such innovations have translated into consistent economic growth and unprecedented health improvements, among others. Thank you Mister President.

While we have come so far, we all know that we have a long way to go under your guidance.  Our journey has only begun.  But this promising future for our beautiful land of a thousand hills would not be possible without the critical, challenging first steps that our beloved survivors took to pursue real and lasting reconciliation.

To each of you, I hope you know how deeply I admire your courage and thank you for the opportunity to learn from you and be with you in this journey towards a brighter future for all Rwandans."

We must work hard to own our liberation

By Dr. Agnes Binagwaho, Minister of Health

Published in the NewTimes Rwanda on 7th July 2014

http://www.newtimes.co.rw/news/index.php?i=15776&a=78193

Twenty years after the end of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, this July fourth makes me reflect on what the events we remember today have brought to me as a Rwandan, as an African, and as a woman, a mother, and a daughter. First and foremost, I have come to understand that, to truly honor the sacrifices of our RPF’s brave soldiers—who laid down their lives so that Rwandans might live in a country free of discrimination, free of the fear of violence based on one’s background, and free to pursue lives they value—we must work to own our liberation.

Thanks to our heroes, I now live in a country where all have an equal chance, whether you are the nation’s newest baby girl in the most rural district, or whether you are the head of Parliament. Thanks to this foundation, we have the opportunity to build the future we want through dialogue and transparency.

In this reborn Rwanda, our society is far from homogenous; this is such a blessing, because it is our diversity that fuels the engine of innovation behind recent progress. Certainly, many serious challenges lie ahead, and we have so much more to achieve in order to give all of our brothers and sisters the opportunities that they deserve. But we are continuously progressing each day to achieve that vision, and on this July fourth, I hope we do not take these efforts for granted.

In today’s Rwanda, every citizen inside our borders or living all around the world—whether they support the government’s efforts or hold different views—identify themselves as Rwandans with pride. Today, we celebrate the blessing of our shared identity as Rwandans, and pursue with renewed purpose our mission to accelerate the journey to shared development by transforming our Vision 2020 into our daily reality.

Many of our international friends see Rwanda’s recent achievements as a miracle of humanity, compassion, forgiveness, inclusivity, and progressive thinking that some claim could never be replicated elsewhere. But on this July fourth, as we reflect on a journey spanning twenty years, it is clear that this is no miracle. Anything that we have achieved has been through the determination and shared efforts of millions of Rwandans to liberate our country from the spirit of division, from fear, from ignorance, from the consequences of bad leadership, and from the oppression of poverty.

If we still have a long way to go, we are proud of what has been built to date. In this spirit of reflection, I feel a strong sense of gratitude to the Rwandan Patriotic Front for having halted the Genocide, and for protecting our people and our nation these past two decades. By helping more than two million refugees and displaced citizens to return home to peace and security, by making our communities free from discrimination of any kind, and by building the foundations of a democracy based on human rights, the sacrifices of our countrymen and countrywomen and the leadership of our President Paul Kagame have brought us here today. The liberation of 1994 recovered our dignity; the daily work to liberate our minds is making us proud Rwandans and proud Africans.

With this legacy, the Rwandan people can address the greatest challenges we have face by owning them, working to take full responsibility in the face of complexity, and harnessing the creativity of our people to find the solutions our nation needs. If we carry this spirit forward, we will truly own our future for the next 20 years and beyond. 

MY IMPRESSIONS ON THE COMMEMORATION OF THE 19TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 1994 GENOCIDE AGAINST TUTSIS

Commentary published in New Times - Rwanda   29 April 2013

http://www.newtimes.co.rw/news/index.php?a=66380&i=15342

On 25 April, hundreds of health professionals and partners in the health sector came together to commemorate our colleagues who were victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

We undertook a remembrance walk in the spirit and communion with what Rwanda has put in place for the remembrance month, during which the Nation, the sectors, communities, families come together, to reflect on what has happened and what can happen again any place in the world when bad leadership takes over a country. This was the case in Rwanda with leadership during the post independence up to June 1994, that was sectarian and imposed tribalism in a country that ironically never had tribes.

This year our driver; Abdu Ndayisaba gave a moving testimony, as a survivor, he wisely started with the story at the time of our great grand fathers and gave a very vivid portrait of the genesis of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsis, followed by Rwanda’s liberation as well as the stopping of the genocide by RPF Inkotanyi, without forgetting the country’s recovery that His Excellency President Paul Kagame lead in the aftermath.    

Now we are 19 years later and it is true that many of our brothers and sisters are still traumatized by what happened during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. However, with time, slowly, wounds are mitigated by the better lives Rwandans have today due to the economic growth our peace and stability that promote health and wealth of Rwandan people.

Another highlight of the commemorations was the testimony of two children whose father Abdallah was killed in the horrific events of April 1994. Their dignity and pride as they stood testifying in front of us, describing what they did with their lives since then, symbolized the expression of a unified Rwanda’s renaissance. They demonstrated that those who planned to finish the Tutsis have failed

My advice to my colleagues, the health professionals, is that we work tirelessly for the health of our brothers and sisters and carry out our work with a smile and good customer care as we contribute to take our country forward. The joy we will have as we work that way will be for 365 days the celebration of the new Rwanda where all Rwandan are equal.

Abdu’s voice broke with emotion and shock as he engaged us with his testimony and I admire him because he still remained a sensitive human being when he was talking about his fallen sisters and brothers. Every year I pay tribute to the millions of Rwandans killed during the Genocide against the Tutsi by visiting a memorial. I wish that for the next forty years, if God gives me the chance, I will have the same tears and emotions when in memorials, I will be passing through the rooms dedicated to the children fallen in the Genocide, because I feel that this is the pillar of my humanity.  

But I have a message for all perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi both outside, or hidden inside our beloved country, I warn them not to misinterpret our tears and sadness dedicated to the good people they killed. We are using them as energy to spur us to work harder for a brighter and sustained future for our people and our country.

Reflections on the Genocide Commemoration Week

Health Sector commemorates 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, 2012
Photo from: http://www.rbc.gov.rw/spip.php?article276#

I published the following piece in The New Times on Monday, 16 April 2012

On Saturday, April 7, I was fully moved by the atmosphere in the Amahoro stadium during the opening of the 18th anniversary of the Genocide against the Tutsi. The ceremony was a mix of events: somber music; a testimony of a young, bright man left for dead during the Genocide when he was a little boy, but currently living with a handicap that has not diminished his enthusiasm for life.

Then the reminder of the importance of ownership during the speech by President Paul Kagame, where he reminded us that we need to stand and refuse the double standards of the countries in the North and West, that protect major actors of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

He also declared that the history of Rwanda belongs to Rwandans above all, and that our history has taught us that we must fight to ensure that there is not one chance in a million that Rwanda will return to the horror of the 100 days.

During this event, all morning, in the circle of the stadium, mournful, deep, lamenting cries rose continuously, so palpable that I felt as if I could touch them. Sometimes the cries were in high tones, sometimes they were low, but they were always audible and communicated the suffering of memories of traumatised souls. All of these experiences together set the tone for my week - one of deep emotion, and intense reflection on how to take the negative energy from this sombre part of our history and transform it into positive energy towards our bright future.

Later, I had an exchange with four American students about their views of the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi. My discussion with them gave me the hope that the history of Rwanda is taking hold globally to encourage all people across the world to fight against genocide so that it never happens again.

On Sunday inhabitants of my Umudugudu (neighbourhood) came together just as was done last week in each Umugudugu across the country, and, together, we commemorated the victims of the Genocide against Tutsi. Neighbours shared testimonies on their day-to-day life in Kigali before and during the Genocide.

On Monday, April 9, I accompanied my family and the American students to see an interesting play in Cambodian and Kinyarwanda called "Breaking the Silence". The actors were so good that I felt as if I understood Cambodian simply from their emotionally expressive acting. The play explained the Cambodian Genocide with a melancholy rhythm of songs, testimonies, drumming and guitar strumming. Two Rwandan actors interacted with their Cambodian colleagues and helped the audience to understand and question the driving factors and consequences of genocide. The play displayed the story of two countries with a lot of similarities and illustrated how the consequences of genocide are the same across cultures and civilisations, which increased my resolve to fight against it. The difference between the two countries is that, in Rwanda, the RPA stopped the Genocide and is a pillar of our current development. In Cambodia, on the contrary, an army, the "Khmer Rouge", led the horror.

Throughout the week, while at work and also outside of work, I felt sadness deep within me over what happened in 1994. This feeling culminated on Thursday, April 12, when we commemorated the workers of the health sector who were killed during the 1994 Genocide.

We started the day by visiting the Kigali memorial, it was not the first time I had visited it, but it was the first time I was interviewed right afterwards. I was incapable of talking; my throat felt stuck and I was on the verge of tears. In the afternoon, we did a walk in memory of our fallen colleagues.

Every step I took during this walk punctuated the memory of those colleagues who I never got to know because their lives were cut short. I thought about the heroes who continued to work valiantly during the 1994 Genocide to provide health care for Rwandans and paid for that with their own lives. I also thought, with immense fury, about all the murderers who used their positions in the hospital to kill vulnerable, sick people, instead of giving them the health care they were trained to provide.

This year, we commemorated the Genocide with our Development Partners in the health sector, and we also remembered those among them who were killed because they decided to stay in Rwanda in solidarity with our people. In memory of the Genocide victims, I lit a candle as a continuation of all the candles that have been set alight this week, starting with President Paul Kagame at the opening ceremony. The fire from my candle was passed throughout the people present. The glow from the flames reminded me of the Genocide victims within our health sector, but also of the optimism I have for our country's future. As a family, Rwandans and international partners, we supported the relatives of those who died during the Genocide. It was a very moving sight.

On Friday, April 13, we closed this week of commemoration in Rebero, where I took time to think about victims of the Genocide who were politicians. We remembered that across several political parties, courageous Rwandan politicians died so that Tutsis could retain their right to life.

This event closed a week rich in emotion: pain, compassion, rage, sadness, but most importantly hope.

At the end of the week, as I reflect on the lessons learned from the courage of brave Rwandans, both dead and alive, I feel stronger and more motivated than ever to better contribute towards our country's bright future.

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