Thirty Years On, Remembering the Victims of the Rwandan Genocide

Today marks thirty years since hundreds of thousands of Rwandans were slaughtered during 100 days of unspeakable violence – the 1994 genocide. Every year starting on April 7, Rwanda solemnly remembers the genocide with a 100-day period known as Kwibuka, or ‘remember’ in Kinyarwanda. 

A decade ago today, I attended the twentieth anniversary memorial at Amahoro Stadium in Kigali. During the genocide, as the Interahamwe and Impuzamugambi raped and murdered Tutsis across the country, as well as Hutus, Twa, and others who opposed or refused to participate in the atrocities, the stadium hosted some 12,000 refugees seeking safe haven from the violence. During the memorial twenty years later, as survivors shared their testimonies and world leaders recalled the collective failure to come to their aid, the formality of the occasion was interrupted by piercing wails and screams of agony from people in the crowd – sounds capturing the pain that time cannot heal. 

The strength the Rwandan people have shown in the face of their unimaginable losses is nothing less than extraordinary. 

As Kwibuka 30 begins, we at USAID stand with them. And we redouble our commitment to promote the human rights of all people everywhere.