Portland’s Rwandans remember genocide
During this 19th anniversary commemoration period of the Rwanda genocide, which began on April 6, 1994, we remember the victims, hundreds of thousands of Tutsis slaughtered alongside tens of thousands of pacifist Hutus.
“In 1994, more than 800,000 members of the Tutsi tribe were killed by Hutu extremists over a period of 100 days.
Nineteen years later, Rwandans living in Maine and in their homeland are still grieving and trying to recover from one of the worst genocides in Africa’s history.
About 200 Rwandans currently living in the Portland area gathered Sunday afternoon to honor the memory of those who died, and to remind future generations that they must remain vigilant to prevent another tragedy.
“We need to keep vigilant and to keep monitoring. It can happen again,” said Jovin Bayingana of Portland, a genocide survivor. “It’s like a volcano that can blow at any time.’”
Continue reading at the Portland Press Herald.