Embassy Commemorates 28 Local Staff Killed During

UNCLAS KIGALI 000408 SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/C AND DRL SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL SOCI AFSN KDEM RW SUBJECT: Embassy Commemorates 28 Local Staff Killed During 1994 Genocide ¶1. Summary: On April 20 Embassy held a memorial service in honor of 28 locally engaged staff killed during the 1994 genocide. The fifth annual commemoration brought together American and local staff with the widows and orphans of the victims. In his remarks, Ambassador acknowledged that the international community failed to respond and that the U.S. failed to label the killings as "genocide." He noted that while we cannot undo the past we can move forward with hope and the recognition that reconciliation is a long and difficult, but necessary, process. A representative of the Genocide Survivors Association described the many consequences of the genocide and called on the international community to support the government in assisting survivors and helping arrest those who planned the genocide. Catholic and Muslim religious leaders offered prayers of comfort to the families. A widow of a former USAID employee and a guardian of a genocide orphan offered poignant personal testimony. End summary. Burying the Past -------------- ¶2. Two religious leaders offered spiritual guidance to the families of the victims. Mufti Sheikh Habimana Swaleh of the Muslim Association of Rwanda noted that each and every individual is guilty, including those who were not directly involved but stood by and failed to take action. He warned that genocide ideology will continue as long as Rwandans do not bury the past. He urged those responsible for the atrocities to bury the past by accepting responsibility for their actions, repenting, and asking for forgiveness. He urged survivors not to be "slaves of sadness," and all Rwandans to work together to unite the country so that genocide will never happen again. ¶3. Father Incimatata Oreste said killing another human being was not only genocide; it was tantamount to killing God himself since we were all created in his image. He urged Rwandans to take time for self-reflection, put aside anger and hatred, forgive each other even if their grief is great, and understand that even an evil person can change. Surviving the Genocide -------------- ¶4. The widow of a former USAID local staff member provided a moving testimony of the atrocities she witnessed and suffered during the genocide, the chaos in the immediate aftermath of the shooting down of the former president's plane, her odyssey of survival, and her husband's death. During gacaca, she was told her husband may have been killed by someone in another village but she still does not know the details of his death. A guardian of a genocide orphan gently reminded Rwandans of the need to take care of the family members of victims and to have hope that one day Rwanda can become one family. Time for Remembering and Healing -------------- ¶5. FSN Committee Chair Charles Mugabo described the commemoration as a time for remembering and honoring fallen colleagues and their families, a day when Mission employees, friends, and survivors can share their stories, support each other, and find healing. He said that two other groups should also be remembered - the perpetrators, most of whom have never been brought to justice, and the international bystanders who chose to stand by and do nothing. He noted that Rwanda is working hard to address the legacy of its past and showing that there is hope in the face of tragedy. ¶6. During the previous week, teams of FSNs visited the families who are taking care of genocide orphans to show their support and solidarity. Last year, in remembrance of their former colleagues, U.S. Mission employees created a Genocide Orphans Fund to provide for the educational needs and related expenses for the children of the 28 FSNs who were killed. U.S. Mission staff have thus far contributed USD 2,500 to the Fund. The FSN Committee resolved to pay regular visits to victims' families to help rebuild their lives emotionally and financially, and asked the Embassy to follow up on the status of U.S. citizenship for the 24 genocide orphans. (Note: During last year's FSN commemoration service when the question was first raised, the then Charge d'Affaires said he would look into it but did not make any promises. End note.) Looking Ahead -------------- ¶7. Ambassador remarked that the ceremony, and especially the testimony of survivors, helps us understand the tragedy of the genocide and gives personal meaning to it. He acknowledged that the international community failed to respond and that the U.S. failed to label it "genocide." While we cannot undo the past, he said, we can move forward without fear and with hope. The testimony of survivors serves as a reminder of the resilience of the human spirit in overcoming even the most difficult challenges. ¶8. He said that he has been impressed by the progress Rwanda has made thus far on reconstruction and reconciliation, which is hard and long but necessary. He lauded the initiative of U.S. Mission staff in establishing the Genocide Orphans Fund and encouraged all to contribute to the effort. He urged all to grieve, learn from the lessons, and work together to build a country that does honor to the memory of the FSNs who were killed. Genocide Survivors -------------- ¶9. Kalisa Evariste, member of Parliament and representative of Ibuka ("remember"),a nationwide association of genocide survivors, observed that although the genocide occurred 12 years ago, the wounds are still there. He described the 1994 genocide as "the cruelest in the history of mankind," killing one million people in just 100 days. It was announced, planned, and executed while the entire international community watched. Even the UN Security Council had been warned by General Dallaire that a genocide would take place in Rwanda. Despite this widespread knowledge and the UN's declaration of "Never Again" after the Holocaust, nobody intervened to stop it. Even the UN forces left Rwanda, he said. Had the U.S. been willing to intervene, the genocide -- a "shame for all of humanity" -- would not have happened. He pointed out, however, that the U.S., unlike other developed countries, at least acknowledged that it did not assist in stopping the genocide. He thanked the U.S. for its good relations with the GOR and for its support. ¶10. Evariste pointed out that the genocide left numerous consequences, which the government, with its limited resources, is struggling to face -- a large portion of the population who must be tried for genocide crimes, survivors who still do not know where their loved ones were killed and have not uncovered their bodies for proper burial, children who lost their parents and now head households and who continue to suffer, women who were raped and tortured sexually, and widows who were infected with HIV/AIDS during the genocide and have no place to live. ¶11. On behalf of Ibuka, Evariste called on the international community, particularly the U.S., to show compassion to genocide survivors by supporting the government in addressing these many problems confronting Rwanda and helping to arrest those still in hiding who planned the genocide. Reminding the international community that it did nothing to stop the genocide, he suggested that it can pay respect to the survivors by assisting them now. He also noted that there are opportunists who are profiting from the production and sale of films about the genocide while survivors continue to suffer, and he asked that they stop producing those self-enriching films. Comment -------------- ¶12. The commemoration was a poignant reminder that 12 years after the genocide that ravaged the country and permeated the entire population, Rwanda has not recovered from the deep emotional trauma and loss it suffered collectively and individually. The personal testimony of those who survived the tragedy brought home to U.S. Mission staff, especially those who were not here during that time, the immediacy and the lingering impact of the genocide in the life of every Rwandan. Twelve years have passed, but the memories continue to indelibly haunt those who survived as well as those who committed the atrocities. For both, the genocide is as real now as it was then, and their wounds far from healed. Arietti