Coronavirus: commemorations of the genocide in Rwanda under confinement

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Kicking off this Tuesday, April 7, commemorations of the 26th anniversary of the Tutsi genocide in Rwanda. Some special commemorations this year since they will take place under confinement. Most of the events that usually take place in all districts are therefore canceled and Rwandans are invited to meditate at home.

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There will be no collective commemorations. Only a small delegation will visit the Gisozi memorial in Kigali, where President Paul Kagame is expected to make a speech on Tuesday. It will be a short ceremony broadcast on radio and television. The media will be particularly involved this year.

" People who are at home will be able, throughout the day, to follow different broadcasts which will make it possible to address all the subjects that survivors and Rwandans, in general, wish to see tackled during this period ", underlined Jean-Damascène Bizimana, secretary general of the National Commission to Combat Genocide.

These broadcasts are expected to continue throughout the week. Egide Nkuranga, vice-president of the Ibuka Survivors Association, lost most of his family in the massacres. He will take the opportunity to initiate a dialogue with his children.

" We will sit down, we will discuss ... I will try to ask my children a few questions. I will also answer their questions. But the problem with remembering as a family is that if you are not careful, you can have mental health problems. It's risky, ”he says.

In case of problems, the government has set up a dedicated emergency number, 112, while health workers, trained to deal with people suffering from post-traumatic stress, are present in the various sectors of the country. .

► Also read: "Our Lady of the Nile", Atiq Rahimi tells the roots of the genocide in Rwanda

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