KWIBUKA 22.

This year’s commemoration day of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi at Sainte Bernadette took place on Saturday 18th June 2016 at the school. It was another day of grief as we remembered those killed during the horrible 100 black days of 1994.

The day’s events began in the morning at 9am in the school main hall with a minute of silence by all those present in respect to those former students and teachers who were part of the Sainte Bernadette community at the time and lost their lives during the Genocide.

Rev. Fr. Jerome Masinzo, the main speaker of the day opened his talk with a Kirundi proverb saying ibisangiye imizi bihuza no kuma, stressing that anything that has an effect on the roots always ends up affecting all the upper parts of the plant. Literally, this was to inform everybody of collective responsibility not only on our societies but the whole of humanity as an effect on virtually anything on this planet ends up affecting all of us.

The Reverend Father traced the causes of divisionism and sectarianism from the 1884-1885 Berlin Conference held by the European powers of the time to divide the African continent among themselves like a piece of cake. He explained how Rwanda changed hands from Germany to Belgium after World War I as a mandated state of the League Of Nations.

He pointed out the difference of African nationalism in Rwanda, where instead of fighting against the Europeans, the Rwandan society took to fighting against the Tutsis. This was in turn to cause the persecutions of the early independence days that culminated in the exile of many Rwandans.

The Rwandan exiles later united and wanted to come back to their home country, only for the then government to respond by killing their supposed to be relatives, leading to the continuous deaths of many Tutsis. He then noted the divisions in some political parties that culminated in the Habyarimana coup d’état of 1973.

Noting the exile conditions at the time, Rev. Fr. Jerome analysed the events surrounding the liberation war and the Arusha peace talks that then formed the base for the events of the night of 6th April 1994 with the killing of the then two presidents of Rwanda and Burundi.

As a survivor himself, the Reverend Father explained the conditions of the following three months to his congregation. He pointed out how a number of people (perceived to be Hutu) who helped in hiding the hunted Tutsis amidst the risk of their lives as those who were caught always met their deaths the same way like the hunted. To him this was an act of the Almighty God working through his people to save a people of his own as expected of a creator.

He also praised the Government of Rwanda for the different programs it has put in place for rebuilding the nation, mostly stressing his likeness of the UNITY AND RECONCILIATION program.

After the talk, the students and teachers went to the nearby cemetery, where the catholic nuns who died during the genocide were buried. A special prayer was held, as we expressed our grief and love through laying flowers onto the Mass Grave.

The day’s events closed with a Holy Mass to pray for those who lost their lives during the genocide, especially those were teachers and students of this school at the time.
It should be noted that all the teachers and students that fell victim of the 1994 genocide died from their respective home areas away from school as the genocide took place during school holidays.