"What does never again mean?...We should not accept the law of the killer," said Professor Joseph Nsengimana, Rwanda's Ambassador to the United Nations, as he delivered a speech yesterday as the keynote speaker at the memorial dedication at the Erna and Arthur Salm Holocaust and Genocide Memorial Grove at Sonoma State University. Representing the Rwandan Tutsi Community, Professor Nsengimana spoke before a crowd who were in attendance at the memorial dedication at the edge of the lake in Alumni Grove. The 12 foot tall and 10 foot wide glass tower memorial is a multigenocide monument with 45 feet of railroad track and bricks that are engraved with survivors' names. The artist, Jan Nunn, an SSU associate professor, sculpted, designed and fabricated the memorial with the help of a team of artists, students and faculty. They witnessed hundreds admiring the memorial to those who stood up to oppression while a series of speakers representing several genocides spoke.
Professor Nsengimana, a genocide survivor, provided a victim's perspective suffused with feelings of survivor's guilt that survivors often feel after a genocide, when they feel weak and exasperated. "They ask themselves: why am I here? Why am I still alive not my children? Then it is time to stand up for them, to work hard and struggle for a better life...Our weaknesses reinforce the genocides...Survival means bridging the gaps and to reconcile wounded societies...Hate must be reduced and replaced by normal relations in society and lead to never again."
It is the words of such dignitaries that give survivors a hope that they can fight oppression and rebuild where they have a voice, where they are not worthless or persecuted and their lives and their way of life is not at odds with a society that attacks them for who they are.
A member of the Zaghawa tribe, Mr. Abdul Hafiz Abaker, moved to south Sudan because of severe drought. He is now an asylee working on his Masters in Education at CSU Monterey Bay.
Representing the Darfur community, he said, "Nothing can express what I feel. There is nothing to communicate about the level and extent of suffering of the people of Darfur. We are here to give tribute to those victims and to renew our commitment that we will stand united and work collectively and jointly to prevent that kind of genocide from ever happening again. Since 2003, thanks to everyone here who helps to express your support to people of Darfur. The ICC legally indicted the president...What is going on in Darfur, the tragedy, [this] proves that the UN is irrelevant to the suffering of mankind. We are here in solidarity of brotherhood. I request an appeal to all of you as ambassadors of peace to work together, to put effort together to prevent any form of genocide." He called on the UN and other international organizations and grassroots organizations to work together and double their pressure, especially the 5 permanent members of the Security Council, to bring those who masterminded those atrocities to justice.
Speaking to representatives and attendees interested in remembering the genocides experienced by the Native American, Armenian, Jewish, Cambodian, Rwandan and the Darfur communities, Mr. Abaker said, "I will renew my commitment to the cause and to our human family."
Comments
I love this article because it captures the spirit of the event, remembering genocides so that they will never happen again. Professor Nsingema's statements "Replace hate with normal relations leading to never again" are right on. It is difficult for me, and I would think for those who have suffered the tragedy of genocide, to not hate, but I have learned from reading Ms. Lewytzkyj's articles that such is necessary for reconciliation in the aftermath of mass murder.
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