April 7 marks the beginning of a week of national mourning here in Rwanda. The whole country closed down for the day on Saturday as memorial ceremonies were held all round the country. People with purple scarves and sashes (purple being the colour of mourning here) gathered at the sites of mass graves, to remember the genocide of 1994.
Some imprisoned genocide perpetrators will be released during this week, usually as a result of revealing the sites where they buried the people they murdered. They will also undergo a public confession and forgiveness session with victim’s relations.
Based on the number of people still not accounted for there are believed to be numerous mass graves still uncovered, and others have been uncovered during the past year. It is a somber week; people take it very seriously as in every district a memorial will be held at some time during the week and people will gather to confess and forgive in hope, and under the banner, “Never Again”. The week will culminate on Friday with the ‘proper’ burial of any skeletal remains that have been unearthed during the past year.
It causes an interesting ‘conflict’ with the celebration of Easter Sunday. One member of The Salvation Army’s Kigali church commented to me that they, as Rwandans are supposed to be reflective and downcast, but, she said, as Christians we are also celebrating the one of the greatest events of history – and we are full of joy. (And the church was to as they danced and sang their way through a three hour service that was anything but dull.
But then the slogan of the genocide memorials seems somehow appropriate to Eater too: “Never Again”. Never again am I left alone to exist in this world, as a result of Jesus’ death and resurrection I am joined with God and have the potential not just to live life, but to love life. Never again…
