We choose to celebrate the future

BY LOUISE UMUTONI

For some crying is the best way to deal with pain, others seclusion but for Rwandans in Ottawa crying is no longer an option.

“We only met in April crying and that was all but this made us weaker and did not get us anywhere. This is why we started the Day of Hope, we realized there was so much more to life, there was hope and we had a future” said Jean Claude Ngabonziza a Rwandan now residing in Ottawa and North American correspondent for the French Newspaper Goliath.

The initiative was started, to make, the survivors of the genocide residing here in Ottawa/Gatineau, understand that the life goes on despite what they have gone through in the past.

It emphasizes the need to celebrate life while envisioning a bright future. It usually takes place in October or November and a variety of artists, mostly of Rwandan origin are invited to perform.

Ngabonziza who is also a genocide survivor and coordinator of Humura Association was the brains behind this initiative and says he conceived this idea in 2005 after the month long commemoration of the Rwandan genocide and the said the best way to fight back was to show that Rwandans continue to live on and we have not given up on life.

“The killers expected us to cry for life but when we celebrate it is a way to show them that they failed to steal the life from us the one that they took away from our brothers and sisters” Ngabonziza explained.

The Day that was first celebrated in November 2005 at the Bronson center in Canada was an instant success and saw up to 800 people from different communities attending.

“We were so excited because so many people came to celebrate with us and the guest of honor was Paul Dewar MP for Ottawa Centre who later went on to praise the Rwandan community in Ottawa for being so organized encouraging other African communities to borrow a leaf from us. He also spoke positively about Rwanda in parliament.

Ngabonziza also hopes that this initiative will be adopted by Rwanda as a country and he has made a move to sell the idea to the government.

“I went to see Jean de Dieu Mucyo, president of the National Commission to prevent Genocide and told him about this initiative and seemed really interested. I hope he will suggest it to the government so that we can celebrate as one” Ngabonziza explained.

Jean- Paul Rudahusha another Rwandan in Ottawa thinks it was a great idea to start this.

“I believe we can not forget about the past and we should always remember what happened but we should not ignore the fact that we have a future and we should look towards that” Rudahusha said.

This event also involves fundraising and the proceeds go to helping victims of the genocide especially widows and orphans back home in Rwanda. Rudahusha believes that some of the proceeds should go towards building the country’s economy through business.

Rwamakondera eyeing canada for unity message

BY LOUISE UMUTONI IN CANADA

Ivuka seems like it’s not about to stop in terms of how far it will go to spread the message of unity through music and art with the RwaMakondera group . While in Otawa, Louise Umutoni, happened to bump into Collin Sekajugo, the brain behind the whole project. Below, he talks about Ivuka and RwaMakondera’s future.

The New Times (TNT): You are a long way from home, anything in particular you are doing?

Sekajugo: Yes. Actually, I’m here to promote Ivuka to the Canadian public especially the Rwandans here. I was able to talk to the Ambassador here and she seemed really interested in what we are doing.

However, I made this stop over on my way from the U.S where I participated in the Commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi at the UN headquarters. I was invited and discussed Ivuka’s involvement in the Healing Process in Rwanda.

TNT: What exactly is Ivuka?

Sekajugo: Ivuka Arts Kigali is a group of established artists who are dedicated to discovering and nurturing young talent in Rwanda. We are social entrepreneurs who want to use art to change lives through building the self esteem of the young artists and encourage unity among these young people. We do this through visual arts and performing arts.

Right now we are building on the performing arts which involve a dance troupe called RwaMakondera. It’s made up of children who love music, most of them just off the streets and others from very poor backgrounds. Music is a kind of therapy for them and they use it to forget about all their problems.

TNT: Are there many children interested in being part of this?

Sekajugo: Actually, yes. It’s been just 2 years but we have 65 children now in the group and it is getting way more recognition than I ever imagined. At the moment, the group has been chosen to represent Africa for a month during the World Children Festival in Holland. The children love to dance and they have worked hard to become the best. I’m very proud of them.

TNT: Why did you decide to start this project?

Sekajugo: A lot of people ask me that question since I was a well established artist in Uganda before I decided to move to Rwanda. First of all, I love society and growing up as an orphan taught me to appreciate people.

I started loving children on the street because I felt I could relate to what they were going through. Also, being Rwandan, I felt I had to give back to my country and help in the building process. Rwanda, I feel, has been under represented in the arts world and I feel the country has a lot more to offer and we need to let people know.

I do not want people to always think ‘Genocide’ whenever Rwanda is mentioned. And when you help the young you are building the future of Rwanda.

TNT: Do you sometimes feel you made the wrong choice?

Sekajugo: Honestly no. At first it was hard because I did all the financing myself, but I got used to it and even now 60% of my earnings goes to the project. But it’s worth every single penny, seeing these children’s lives change so drastically is more than I could ask for.

Most of the children were like wild animals when they came in, they fought a lot and had very bad mentalities. However when you see them now they are the most well behaved children you will ever find.

They have learnt to associate with each other and do not segregate according to tribes like they did before; they are like family to each other. We were also able to change their mindset of begging and most of them are going to school now.

TNT: How come you are still the sole sponsor of this project, a project I should say deserves a lot more recognition?

Sekajugo: Sponsorship has always been our biggest hardship but at the moment a number of people are interested in financing it although no one has made a move to yet.

I think the biggest offer I ever received for the project was Rwf15.000 and that was it. We have had some dignitaries like Cindy McCain, the American Ambassador and the North Carolina Senator visit our studio in Kacyiru. I hope they will market the project.

The Ambassador for example is planning a fundraising show for Ivuka where he will invite all ambassadors in Rwanda.

TNT: What is you next step with this project?

Sekajugo: Well at the moment I want to market it all over the world and create opportunities for the children. Canada is next on our list and I hope the dance group will be given an opportunity to be part of the healing process and take part in the activities that are organised by the Rwandan Community here in Canada. In the future I plan to form a dance company that can perform anywhere in the world on a competitive level.

Carrying on his father's dream Foundation created by son of Ali Sharmarke helps educate journalists in war-torn Somalia By Louise Umutoni,

Ali Iman Sharmarke returned to Somalia in 1999 to found Radio Horn-Afrik.
The OTTAWA CITIZEN

Ali Iman Sharmarke returned to Somalia in 1999 to found Radio Horn-Afrik.
Photograph by: Chris Mikula, The Ottawa Citizen, The Ottawa Citizen

It's been nearly two years since Ali Iman Sharmarke's life was brought to a halt by a roadside bomb in Somalia, but his legacy lives on.

The Canadian and Somali citizen was on a mission to rebuild the media in his native country -- a cause he was passionate about -- when he was killed in August 2007.

"Me and my father were very close, he was more like my best friend rather than a father; he taught me everything I know," said his son, Liban Sharmarke, a businessman in Ottawa.

"I talked to him the night before he died. I remember everyone telling him it was too dangerous in Somalia, but he just smiled and said he needed to do what was right for his people," Sharmarke said.

Ali Iman Sharmarke returned to Somalia in 1999 with Mohamed Elmi and Ahmed Abdisalam Adan, to found Radio Horn-Afrik, an independent media organization, something almost unheard of in the anarchy of Somalia.

He left a widow, Luul Mohamed, and three children who had moved to Kenya to be close to him just three months before he was killed.

Together with his mother, Liban launched the Sharmarke Peace Foundation in Nairobi in August, with the aim of improving the media in Somalia by educating upcoming journalists.

"My mother came up with the idea to start this foundation because she felt she had to finish the work he had started. I, on the other hand, was never interested in journalism but, after my father died, I became more interested in it," Sharmarke explained.

The foundation had a Canadian launch and fundraiser Saturday night in Ottawa, by hosting a dialogue, involving Sharmarke, Allan Thompson of Carleton University, and Adrian Harewood, host of CBC's All in a Day, on the importance of a free press. Money was raised during the evening to fund the first three scholarships for journalism students from Modadishu, Somalia.

"My father originally studied political science and went on to do a PhD in that at Carleton University, but he later went into journalism because he decided that the best way to better his country was to provide a voice for the silenced," Sharmarke said.

"This is what we want to continue to do by providing scholarships for Somali journalism students," he said.

As a Canadian citizen and former Ottawa resident, Ali Iman Sharmarke was awarded the 2007 Tara Singh Hayer Award, which recognizes Canadians for courage in journalism.

"With a good number of journalists in Mogadishu, I'm sure that in no time we shall have other people like my father willing to sacrifice themselves for the good of the people," said Sharmarke.

"I plan to go to journalism school to better understand my father's plight and maybe continue the work that father started," he said.

By Louise Umutoni, Citizen SpecialApril 9, 2009

A childhood lost to ethnic hatred

Jean-Bosco Ngarambe's fate as a Rwandan refugee in Uganda was determined before he was born, after a 1959 revolution staged by the Hutu saw many Tutsis killed and others forced into exile, he tells Louise Umutoni.



Jean-Bosco Ngarambe, who lost his childhood and his father to the Rwandan genocide, is a Carleton University student who hopes to return to his homeland and protect the people.

Jean-Bosco Ngarambe, who lost his childhood and his father to the Rwandan genocide, is a Carleton University student who hopes to return to his homeland and protect the people.
Photograph by: Jean Levac , The Ottawa Citizen, Citizen Special

'You are not Ugandan, go back to your country."

Those are the words a fellow student at Kitebi Primary School said to six-year-old Jean-Bosco Ngarambe. The frustrated little boy beat up his tormentor and was suspended.

This was the kind of taunting he had to put up with living in Uganda as a refugee. Ngarambe knew he did not belong and yet he could not go back to his country either.

"I was born in Uganda in 1986, not because I wanted to but because of the ethnic division in Rwanda that had forced my grandparents to live in exile in Uganda along with so many other Tutsis," he said.

For Ngarambe, his fate was determined before he was born. In 1959, a revolution staged by the Hutu saw many Tutsis killed and others forced into exile. He says his life as a child was one of confusion as he did not understand why he could not go back to his homeland. To Ngarambe, the genocide did not start in 1994, but rather back in colonial times when Rwandans were divided according to ethnicity and convinced to hate each other.

"I grew up with my grandparents and they told me stories about Rwanda and how it was such a beautiful place. They referred to it as the land of milk and honey and I wondered why we could not go back there. I dreamed about going back. I would have given anything to go back."

Like many Rwandan children living as refugees in Uganda, Ngarambe was never happy in Uganda, apart from when he was doing the traditional Kinyarwanda dance to raise money for the Rwanda Patriotic Front.

"We performed at different functions and the money collected was used to support the army that was being set up to liberate Rwanda," he said.

Ngarambe not only lost his childhood to this hatred, but he also lost his father who was a soldier in the RPF. "When my father joined the army no one told me because they wanted to protect me, I only found out after he had been killed," Ngarambe explains.

This, however, did nothing to abate his enthusiasm for Rwanda and the possibility of going back when the RPF won the war.

"I remember getting to Rwanda right after the genocide and the place looked war torn and I breathed in the air and I honestly felt joy inside me. A soldier asked if I preferred Rwanda to Uganda and I said yes without any hesitation. I loved this messed up country because it was home and I was only seven then."

Today a student at Carleton University studying criminology, Ngarambe talks about how he would like to follow in his father's footsteps, whom he considers a hero. "I feel like I owe it him, I owe it to my country too," said Ngarame.

After his degree, he would like to join the Canadian Forces Air Command, so that when he gets home he will be better equipped to fulfill what his father set out to do and that is to protect the people.

- - -

About the Writer

This April marks the 15th anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda. For 100 days beginning in April, 1994, thousands were slaughtered, most of them members of the minority Tutsi tribe. Louise Umutoni is a Rwandan journalist with the New Times in Kigali. Currently on a three-month internship at the Citizen under the Rwanda Initiative, a partnership between Carleton University's journalism department and the National University of Rwanda, Umutoni met and spoke with genocide survivors who make their home in Ottawa. Today is the final instalment in the series.

Rwandans in Canada honour 1994 victims

Rwandans in Canada demonstrate to condemn genocide at the event. (Photo/ C. Habba)
BY LOUISE UMUTONI IN CANADA

OTTAWA - The Rwandan community in Canada Tuesday joined the rest in marking the 15th commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in an event that was held in the Capital Ottawa.

Amidst heavy snow falling, more than 200 Rwandans gathered at the Parliament Hill to remember the over one million victims who perished in the 100-day mayhem.

A number of Canadian government officials graced the event as an acknowledgment of the 2004 parliamentary decision to declare April 7th the official genocide commemoration date.

Maurice Belanger a representative of the liberal party in Vanier District was one of the officials and he talked about the need for Canada to cooperate and support countries in Africa particularly Rwanda.

Also speaking at the event was Rwandan’s Ambassador to Canada Edda Mukabagwiza, who talked about the progress registered in Rwanda and the need for the Canadian government to assist Rwanda in its attempts to rebuild its economy.

She also took time to commend all those who took part in the ‘One Dollar Campaign’ an initiative mainly by Rwandans in the Diaspora to mobilise funds to assist victims of the genocide especially the youths.

The envoy encouraged everyone to take part.

Mukabagwiza emphasized the need to fight revisionism of the Genocide that has become rampant especially in Europe and North America mostly propagated by some elements mainly accused of participating in the Genocide.

In support of this, Richard Nsanzabaganwa, the president of Humura, an association organizing the events to commemorate the genocide talked about need to fight revisionism by some writers in the Western world.

“Denying the reality of the genocide is perpetrating the crime and thus inflicting additional suffering on the victims,” he said.

Nsanzabaganwa insisted on reminding everyone on the role played by the international community in encouraging the genocide which was the failure to stop it.

He particularly pointed out the fact that Canada was one of those countries that did nothing to help Rwanda despite the calls from Romeo Dallaire to intervene.

Nsanzabaganwa also despised the recent decision by the government of Canada to remove Rwanda from the list of countries it gives aid to.

“This is Canada’s opportunity to help Rwanda and make up for prior mistakes but they have chosen to abandon Rwanda which is very disappointing,” he said.

A conference was organised at the close of the event and it took place in the House of Commons with an aim of provoking international comments on the Genocide against the Tutsis 15 years later.

The conference attracted Members of Parliament Paul Dewar and Irwin Cotler as well as Dr Frank Chalk (professor at Concordia University and co-author of The History and Sociology of Genocide) and other scholars.

Mukabagwiza also contributed to the panel.

A series of events have been organized around Canada by the Humura Association to commemorate the genocide and these will run until May 9.

Idyllic life shattered by bloodshed

When the Hutus came to his town, Robert Manzi hoped his family, like him, would run away. Instead, his mother, father and siblings were slaughtered, but he was able to get a second chance at life in Canada to 'make his parents proud,' he tells Louise Umutoni.

By Louise Umutoni, Citizen SpecialApril 8, 2009


Robert Manzi's parents and all three of his siblings were killed in Rwanda. 'I was told that they were taken to a forest and clubbed to death.'
Robert Manzi's parents and all three of his siblings were killed in Rwanda. 'I was told that they were taken to a forest and clubbed to death.'
Photograph by: Jean Levac,
The Ottawa Citizen, Citizen Special

As his mother handed him his Canadian citizenship card, Robert Manzi instinctively knew this would be the last time he saw her. "She told me to take care of my siblings and I could see it in her eyes that she knew she was going to die. I cried," said Manzi, now a 28-year-old Nortel employee in Ottawa.

Although he was born a Canadian citizen in Quebec City, he could not escape the bloody calamity of the Rwanda genocide. When he was four, his parents moved back to Rwanda when his father was offered a job as a lecturer at the National University of Rwanda. It was a fatal choice.

The family lived in Butare, in southern Rwanda, a small serene town commonly known as the town of bicycles. "It was an area filled with scholars because of the university," Manzi recalls.

"The only memories I have of any reference to ethnicity were at school, where people were asked to stand up when their tribe was called out. At first I did not stand up because I had no idea what my tribe was and when I told my dad about this, he shook his head and told me I was Tusti."

Other than this, Manzi says his childhood was normal. He recalls no other kind of discrimination. He had three siblings and a passion for soccer, which he played with a small ball made out of plastic bags. A typical boy, he remembers his parents had to punish him frequently.

"I know everyone says this, but my mother was the most beautiful woman, but she was tough. My father was a brilliant physicist and kind of reserved. One of my memories of him is of him counting words in the popular newspaper Jeune Afrique. I have no idea why he did, but I think it was to keep his brain alive," Manzi remembers.

His world crumbled in 1994. "We started to hear about killings in different provinces before 1994, and these were of Tutsis. We were not scared though, because we believed our area was safe," he says. When then-president Juvénal Habyarimana's plane crashed on April 6, Manzi was a 14-year-old boy. He said he was glad to hear of the crash because Habyarimana had been threatening action against the Tutsis.

However, it was the crash that, in part, fed the genocide, as many Hutu believed Tutsis were behind the death.

The plane went down at 8:30 p.m. By 9:30, roadblocks had been set up all over Kigali and the bloodbath had begun. However, it was not until April 20 that the killing started in Butare. "They came to our house three times looking for my parents, but the first two instances they were hiding somewhere else. At this time, all our Tutsi relatives and friends in Butare were dead and the Hutu did not speak to us. It was at this point that my parents gave up and seemed to accept the fact that they were going to die."

His mother then gave him his citizenship card.

"The grownups stopped hiding and just sat around talking about the past and praying."

The third strike saw Manzi run for his life, hoping his family members had done the same. They were not so lucky. He lost his parents and all three siblings. "I was told that they were taken to a forest and clubbed to death, but for a while I refused to accept this. I hid in a bush, which I later left to hide with other Tutsis. They were all taken and killed one day while I was using the bathroom, and as sad as it might sound, I usually laugh when I think about how lucky I was to have been in there," Manzi said.

Tired and hungry after two weeks with no nourishment except water, Manzi was saved by soldiers of the Rwanda Patriotic Front. Fifteen years later, he talks about it with hope -- hope for a future that is to come. "I do not want to go on living in distress. I am going to make the best out of what I have and make my parents proud," he said.

- - -

About the Writer

This April marks the 15th anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda. For 100 days beginning in April, 1994, thousands were slaughtered, most of them members of the minority Tutsi tribe. Louise Umutoni is a Rwandan journalist with the New Times in Kigali. Currently on a three-month internship at the Citizen under the Rwanda Initiative, a partnership between Carleton University's journalism department and the National University of Rwanda, Umutoni met and spoke with genocide survivors who make their home in Ottawa. Today is the second in a series. The final instalment is Thursday.

April a month of tears for survivors Sharing stories ‘first step to healing’ By Louise Umutoni, The Ottawa CitizenApril 6, 2009

OTTAWA — In Rwanda, the rainy season returns each April, and so do the tears, as the month marks another year since genocide tore the country apart.

It has been 15 years, and Angelique Mutega, a genocide survivor who lives in Ottawa, has yet to deal with the memories.

“When I think about it I feel cold all over and my body stiffens. It’s like I am back there. I once tried to tell my story and I ended up in hospital,” says Mutega, a mother of two. She barely gets beyond these few words before she breaks down.

Mutega, like many other survivors, struggles with the horrific memories of the genocide that claimed the lives of more than 800,000, most of them Tutsi.

The slaughter, lasting about 100 days, is believed to have been sparked by the downing of President Juvenile Habyarimana’s plane on April 6, 1994.

Many say Rwanda was a bomb on a short fuse, that there had always been tensions between the majority Hutus and minority Tutsis.

Many Tutsis were forced into exile in 1959. But the animosity between the two groups had been growing since the colonial period.

“I know I will have to talk about it eventually, but not yet. The wounds are still fresh and talking about it is like tearing those wounds wide open,” Mutega says.

She does not mourn alone. April for most survivors is like a nightmare when they relive the horrific memories one by one.

“I lost my family to the genocide and for me April is a month I do not look forward to,” said Alaine Ikirezi, another survivor living in Ottawa.

Ikirezi found help, however, through Humura, an association founded in 2001 by and for Rwandans living in Canada.

“I was able to tell my story and I felt a heavy weight being lifted off my chest as I talked about how my family was murdered. This was my first step to healing,” said Ikirezi.

Humura has taken on the task of organizing genocide commemorations as well as bringing together all Rwandans in Canada. Another one of its duties is to ensure the broad Canadian population is aware about what happened in 1994 in Rwanda.

“Our mission is to ensure justice is done, preserve the memories and help all victims of the genocide,” said Richard Nsanzabaganwa, the president of Humura. “We want to fight those groups of people who try to deny the fact that it was genocide and bring up insulting comparatives,” he said.

Four years ago, Parliament passed a motion urging all Canadian institutions to observe April 7 as a commemoration of the Rwanda genocide, said Nsanzabaganwa. “Getting institutions involved is not to please the survivors but to ensure this crime never happens again.”

For the past eight years there have been commemorative ceremonies, usually lasting a week. This year, the plan is for a month of observances.

It was to begin at noon Tuesday with a gathering on Parliament Hill.

There will be a mass April 12, followed by a silent march in Gatineau. Flowers will be thrown into the Ottawa River in remembrance of those who were thrown in the Nyabarongo River.

There will be a discussion April 18 on the judicial system in Rwanda and a symposium May 2 about genocide denial.

Two days — April 10 and 24 — have been set aside for intimate gatherings, where testimonies will be shared. Survivors say it’s a way of paying respect to the dead as well as battling their own fears.

“We try to heal people and this usually happens when a person speaks out. Some of them have never talked about what they saw and what happened to them and we give them the opportunity to do that. However, sometimes we are satisfied with pure silence because it tells much and in a way we feel like we are in this together,” says Nsanzabaganwa.

Robert Manzi, a survivor who has attended these meetings, says that they made him realize he was not alone and that the same atrocities that happened to him happened to so many others. “Some people have very sad stories, a lot worse than mine, and yet they have moved on to become great people. I am inspired by them and this is what has pushed me to become what I am today.”

For more information on events marking the anniversary of the genocide, go to www.humura.ca