Sandrine De Vincent, Africanada Miss Social Media 2013

Twenty years ago, it feels like yesterday, many of us lost our childhood innocence, and now those horrible memories are being replayed again. Many of us we will forever have scars of the Rwandan genocide. As I see the children of Central African Republic, of South Sudan crying for help, it tears me to realize that that was me twenty years ago. Rwandan genocide is not a word or an ideology or some numbers, it is our brothers and sisters. They are the doctors and lawyers that Rwanda as a country lost.

The Rwandan genocide was preventable, the failure of the world to act, unforgivable, and the event for most Rwandans, forever unforgettable. Today, let’s pray for peace and healing for the many people who have been affected by war, especially for the many children who are crying for help. And above all, let us not plant seeds for war and genocide.

The spirit of resiliency among many Rwandan genocide survivors is a torch of hope to the world, and may those who lost their lives rest in peace.