(EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was compiled from a series of tweets that accompanied a collage of photos posted by Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness following his visit to The Kigali Genocide Memorial in Rwanda.)
KIGALI, Rwanda, June 26, 2022 — In 1994, Rwanda recorded the deaths of close to 1 million people, mostly of the Tutsi ethnic group. Today (June 25) I visited the Kigali Genocide Museum where I paid my respects.
I honour the memory of those who were killed, and my heart goes out to the survivors, many of them children, who were left scarred, both physically and psychologically, and who are still dealing with the trauma.
The United Nation Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide defines genocide as any act committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.
Rather than being defined by this atrocity, Rwanda has transformed itself into a peace-loving nation and is now described as one of the safest countries in the world.
There is much Jamaica, and many other countries, can learn from Rwanda as it relates to living peacefully and respecting the sanctity of life.
Let us stop killing each other, and like Rwanda, become a country of peace and harmony focused on developing our people and our infrastructure towards the creation of the future we envision.
