On Tuesday 7th April 2009 a small group from the Reconciliation Walk Team and Orphans Know More attended the Commemoration of the 15th Anniversary of the 1994 Genocide of Tutsi in Rwanda, organized by the Rwanda Embassy in the UK, and held at the Royal Horseguards Hotel, Whitehall, London. The programme of remembering included prayers and an act of commemoration during which candles were lit by young members of the Rwandan community in the UK all 15 years old or less. Each child lit a candle to represent one year of peace and reconciliation in Rwanda since the genocide. Short addresses were also given by representatives of the UK and Rwandan governments.

The act of remembering what happened is important to honour those loved ones who were lost. It also helps to ensure that such a tragedy does not happen again and speaks hope to the survivors and those who work for peace and reconciliation. There are also those who still deny that genocide happened. But keeping up the memory of such a dark period in Rwanda’s history needs to be handled sensitively, because for many the wounds and hurts are very real. As Pastor Reuben Guma reminded those present, “The past is a place of reference not a place of residence.”

Minouche Shafik, Permanent Secretary of the Department for International Development for the UK Government in her address expressed how the UK government shares Rwanda’s deep and continuing grief over what happened. She remarked on the achievements in Rwanda since the genocide saying that when one compares the Rwanda of today with the devastation of 15 years ago to it is hardly an exaggeration to say that the transformation has been a miracle. Largely as a result of good government and sound policies Rwanda has undergone a successful process of reconstruction and reconciliation.

For many of us who attended this commemoration, this was a mixed day of remembering tragedy and loss, but focusing on hope and the remarkable achievements of the Rwandan people. For the whole world, and those in different communities currently undergoing division and suffering, there is much to draw hope from this tiny African nation. In the words of one of the prayers of commemoration, “O God, it is your will to hold the world in peace as a single space for the human race. May your generous love and authority shine on the fractured nations, sorrows and wounds of your people and so bring healing to our politics, restoring the politics of love, healing to our neighbourhoods, healing to our families and healing to our hearts, through Jesus Christ Our Lord.”

Richard Hedden