First ‘1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda’ memorial unveiled in the Netherlands
History was made today, April 19th, 2023, as the first ‘1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda’ memorial site was unveiled in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Located in the northern part of the Beatrix Park in Amsterdam, the memorial site is a place for survivors and the larger Rwandan community in the Netherlands to remember their loved ones and to pay tribute to more than one million victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. It will also be a place that will give an opportunity to the Dutch population, especially young generations, to reflect on the genocide and learn lessons from this tragedy, which will help prevent future genocides.
The Kingdom of the Netherlands remained the only major country in Western Europe without any memorial for the victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. This is why the Embassy of Rwanda and Ibuka-Netherlands believed that a city like Amsterdam, with its history and as a city that received a number of genocide survivors from Rwanda, is an important location for a memorial site in honor of the victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.
The official inauguration of the memorial was carried out by H.E. Mr. Olivier J.P. Nduhungirehe, Ambassador of the Republic of Rwanda to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and Mrs. Christine Safari, Chairperson of IBUKA-Netherlands.
The installment of this Memorial site is the fruit of close collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Municipality of Amsterdam, and constitutes one the most important tools to help preserve the memory of the victims and educate present and future generations about the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.
It is crucial for genocide survivors living in the Netherlands to have a symbolic place to come together, to commemorate and to reflect on the life and rebirth of the nation after its dark history.
About the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda:
April 7th is the International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, which was established by the United Nations General Assembly on April 20th, 2020. The date marks the beginning of the genocide perpetrated against the Tutsi, which lasted a 100 days, and during which a million children, women and men were systematically killed.
About the Beatrixpark in Amsterdam:
The Beatrixpark is a small, quiet park in the southern part of Amsterdam, close to the RAI congress centre. It is named after former Queen Beatrix and was built in 1938 as a romantic, English style park with a small lake and open landscape.
