Rwandans remember 15,600 families wiped out in 1994
Rwandans on Saturday commemorated families that were completely wiped out during the 1994 genocide against Tutsi.
The event was part of the 28th commemoration of the genocide, in which more than one million people, mainly ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus, were killed.
To date, 15,593 families, with 68,871 people, are known to have been completely wiped out, across the country, Dimitrie Sissi, vice president of an umbrella association of genocide survivors, told an event at Kigali Genocide Memorial.
She said survivors have taken on the responsibility of preserving the memory of the wiped-out families to ensure that all of them are known and never forgotten.
Reading aloud the names of the wiped-out families was part of the ceremony at Kigali Genocide Memorial, attended by residents and government officials.
Remembering completely wiped out families is a strong measure to fight genocide denial and trivialization while honouring the memory of the victims, Minister of Youth and Culture Rosemary Mbabazi said. Stressing the notion of “never again,” the minister said remembering genocide victims is everyone’s responsibility.
As has become the tradition every, President Paul Kagame led the nation in mourning the genocide victims and lit a remembrance flame in a national commemoration event at the Kigali Genocide Memorial, where more than 250,000 victims rest.
