Serge Gassor’s childhood was a nightmare.
He was a small child when the genocide against the Tutsi began in Rwanda in 1994 and narrowly escaped death on several occasions. His mother was murdered, and he saw his grandmother killed in a grenade attack on a church where Tutsi were hiding.
He spent several weeks fleeing Hutu raiders but could not avoid involvement in the war: at the age of nine, he was forced to fight with the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) forces.
Ultimately, as a young adult, Mr. Gasore was able to leave Rwanda and immigrate to the United States, where he and his wife founded Rwanda Children, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing shelter, food, medical care and education to at-risk children in the country.
Mr Gasore is just one example of thousands of people rebuilding their lives in the three decades following the horrific events of 1994, during which more than a million people – the majority of whom were Tutsi, but also Hutu and others who opposed the genocide – were systematically killed in less than three months.
Hope’s Kwibuka Tribute to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda installed at UN Headquarters.
Along with another survivor, Marcel Mutsindshyaka, who lost 25 of his family members, Mr Gasore will share his story at an event. Celebration On Tuesday, the International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda was observed at the United Nations Headquarters.
Respect ‘Stolen Respect’
Ahead of the International Day celebrated on 7 April, the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres Expressed condolences for the victims, including “entire families brutally wiped out”, and respected “their stolen dignity”.
in his MessageMr. Guterres paid tribute to survivors like Mr. Gasoré, whose resilience, he said, “demonstrates the strength of the human spirit.”
Recalling the international community’s failure to heed warnings and take immediate life-saving action, Mr. Guterres said we must learn from past failures and protect living people “by rejecting hatred, inflammatory rhetoric and incitement to violence.”
Wall of names of Rwandan genocide victims at the Kigali Memorial Center
remembrance and education
The 7 April event, along with other commemorations held in United Nations offices around the world, is coordinated by Outreach Program on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda and the United NationsEstablished by the General Assembly in 2005, “to mobilize civil society for the remembrance and education of Rwandan genocide victims to help prevent future acts of genocide.”
