Commemoration of the Rwandan genocide in Queensland

Greetings and welcome to our Annual Rwandan Genocide Commemoration 2022. I begin by acknowledging the traditional custodians of this land on which we gather today. I pay respect to the Turrbal and Jagera, their elders, past, present and emerging. I also want to acknowledge and thank all political and community leaders who are here with us today.

Ladies and Gentlemen, it is with profound gratitude that I stand here among you to remember all the victims of the Rwandan genocide. We remember all Tutsis, Hutus, Twas as well as foreigners whose lives were lost during Rwandan Genocide. As we mark the twenty-eighth years of the Rwandan Genocide, I know there are many opinions out there and equally a lot of emotions and sensitivities across our community. But let me be very clear; today is about remembering and paying homage to millions of Rwandans and foreigners whose lives were lost during the Rwandan Genocide.

Ladies and gentlemen, as we come together to remember the victims of the Rwandan Genocide, I would like to remind everyone that we all have moral and legal responsibility collectively and individually to ensure we preach the messages of peace, forgiveness, and reconciliation among our people and communities. We do also have the responsibility to call out loudly any language or behaviour by anyone that attempts to create, encourage division, or incite hate and violence among our people. We must reflect very critically and hardly on and learn from our past and do everything we can as individuals and community with the support from our friends to ensure that what happened in Rwandan Genocide will never happen again. Let’s distance ourselves from any form of human rights abuses, violence, threats, intimidation, injustice and discrimination wherever we see it. We should all embrace tolerance of different opinions culturally, socially and politically; we should engage with each other and resolve our differences peacefully and respectfully.

The leadership of the Rwandan Association of Queensland calls upon all the Rwandans and our friends from the wider African and Australian community to genuinely support and work with us for peace, unity, forgiveness and reconciliation and refrain from any private and public sentiments that inflame hate and divisions among our people. It is not my job as community leader to engage in the debate about the specifics of what took place in my mother’s land of Rwanda. I am very sure that the whole world knows about it. There’s plenty of credible research and writings about the Rwandan Genocide and I will leave it to anyone who would like to learn more about the horrific man-made and unimaginable human tragedy of our recent past history.

The RAQ leadership message for today is to talk about peace, forgiveness and reconciliation as we remember all the victims of Rwandan Genocide. To all our departed loved ones, we will always remember you individually and collectively.

Thank you all!

Theogene Ngabo - RAQ President

Below is the video of the commemoration event