To mark the 15th anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda students at Hampton School would like to ask you ‘Why should we remember?’ the terrible events in Rwanda in 1994 that claimed the lives of more than 1 million Tutsis in 100 days of killing.
The students aim to collect as many responses as possible and will pass each one onto survivors of the genocide to prove that they are not forgotten. Our aim is to collect 10,000 answers … one for every hundred men, women and children who were murdered in 1994.
The project will result in a sequel to the short book published by the students in 2008 which included interviews with genocide survivors and reflections from over fifty personalities from across the UK.
The students are appealing for the personal responses of people across the World, which can be submitted through http://www.whyshouldweremember.org. Copies of the book, and further resources on the project, are also available on the website. Sales of the book will be used towards victims of the Rwandan genocide.
We should remember so that we do not repeat. We know humankind has the capacity to do great good and also great evil. When we forget the evil, we run the risk of learning the lesson again. And we should remember also to honour the victims.
Each was a person. Each life was sacred; each a human tragedy and each had a family, loved ones and friends. “Each victim represents opportunities missed and talents wasted. Each one matters and since lives were taken just because each was Tutsi it is right to make their collective loss also a matter of remembrance,” Tony Blair responded.
The students have received responses from the UK, France, Norway, the USA, Spain, Australia, South Africa and Rwanda.
The Director of the Hope Survivors Foundation (HSF) is invited to the conference organised by Hampton school to speak to students about his personal experiences during the genocide.