Blanche Gahozo | Contributing Writer

Twenty years ago in 1994, there was a genocide against the Tutsis in Rwanda. Children, men, and women were killed every day for 100 days. During the genocide more than 800,000 people were killed by the Hutu extremists (Interahamwe). Among those who were killed were moderate Hutus, too. What happened in Rwanda 20 years ago was horrible. Machetes, clubs, and guns were used to kill innocent people. Women were raped and killed; others were raped but weren’t killed. They didn’t even let babies live; they killed them by throwing them into walls. Not to mention many of our families and friends were killed and lots of damage was done to the country.

Finally, on July 4th, 1994, Rwanda was rescued by the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF). Survivors went back to their homes but since everything was damaged and their houses burned down,they had to live in camps or on the streets. Sadly, there were dead bodies on the streets, in the rivers, churches — everywhere. There were also lots of homeless children on the streets because they didn’t have anywhere to go since their families were killed.

After 20 years, Rwanda has progressed and there has been a huge change. Rwandans live peacefully now, and all children go to school. Your ethnicity doesn’t matter when you are applying for a school or job. Even though Rwanda is a beautiful, peaceful country, survivors still fight to rebuild themselves today. They continue to suffer because they lost their loved ones and some of the survivors haven’t even found the bodies of their loved ones. What they went through was atrocious but they continue to stay strong and fight for a better life. It is 20 years now but it feels like it was just yesterday. There are a lot of traumas among survivors.

Rwanda has made remarkable progress since the atrocities that happened in 1994. The theme for this 20th commemoration is, “Remember-Unite-Renew.” We have to remember what happened during the genocide so we can prevent it from happening again. We always remember our loved ones that we lost, and they will never be forgotten. We have to unite to prevent the hatred that lead to the massacres that happened in 1994. We have to renew ourselves to build a better future for Rwanda. We have to fight and not let sadness conquer us. Those who were killed are our heroes; they were good fathers, good mothers, good husbands, good wives, and good children. They live through us, that’s why we have to honor them by building a better future for the generations to come.

Graphic by Aaron Burns