by Sarah Onyango
On April 7, 2015, on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, the Humura Association and High Commission of Rwanda in Canada launched the against Rwandan Tutsis. Among the speakers were the chargée d’affaires at the Rwanda High Commission, Ms. Shakilla Umutoni, the dean of the diplomatic corps, Mrs. Florence Chideya (ambassador of Zimbabwe), leaders of the Jewish and Armenian communities, NDP MP Paul Dewar, Liberal MP Irwin Cotler, and the president of Humura association, Oscar Gasana.
Starting on April 7, 1994 and over the 100 days that followed, some 800,000 Rwandans, primarily Tutsis (but also including moderate Hutus and other innocent people), were murdered by Hutu extremists following the death of then-President of Rwanda, Juvenal Habyarimana when his plane was shot down as it was about to land at Kigali Airport. On 23 December 2003, the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution (A/RES/58/234) designating 7 April, the start date of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, as the International Day of Reflection on the Genocide in Rwanda. In 2004, the Canadian Parliament declared April 7 as a Day of Remembrance of the victims of the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
Other events presented by Humura throughout April this year included two film screenings followed by discussions held at St Paul University; two vigils at churches in Gatineau; and a closing event at Gatineau City Hall.
For more info on the Humura survivors’ association, see www.humura.ca
