29 YEARS AFTER THE RWANDA GENOCIDE

Rwanda today begins commemorating the 29th Anniversary of the 1994 genocide. These tumultuous few months changed Rwanda forever as till today, its memory weighs heavy on the head o every Rwandan.

Memorial Day is honored in Rwanda under the name “Kwibuka,” which means “to remember.”

Every year, on April 7, a period of national mourning begins and lasts until July 4 on Liberation Day.

Additionally, thousands of people take part in memorial rituals that include candle lighting and a minute of silence to honor the deceased.

This year, the Ibuka organization, which is tasked with preserving the victims’ memory, will organize a memorial in Paris on Friday. Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, is anticipated to attend.

The short film “Bazigaga” by Jo Ingabire Moys was the first Rwandan movie to be nominated for a BAFTA award in the UK earlier this year. The real-life account of a woman who claimed to be a witch doctor in order to save hundreds of lives during the genocide served as the basis for the movie.

It describes a single day in April 1994 and remembers the victims’ passing and the people who were forced out of their homes.

The theme this year is “Kwibuka twiyubaka: Remember-Unite-Renew.”