Serge Gasore's childhood was plagued by the horrors of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. As a young child, he narrowly escaped death multiple times during the genocide. His mother was killed, and he witnessed his grandmother being murdered in a grenade attack on a church where Tutsis sought refuge.
Fleeing from Hutu attackers for weeks, Gasore eventually found himself embroiled in the conflict, joining the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) army at just nine years old. As a young adult, he was able to leave Rwanda and settle in the United States with his wife. Together, they founded Rwanda Children, a non-profit organization that focuses on providing shelter, food, medical care, and education to vulnerable children in Rwanda.
Gasore's journey is emblematic of the thousands of individuals who are rebuilding their lives more than three decades after the genocide, which claimed the lives of over one million people in less than three months, predominantly Tutsi but also Hutu and others who opposed the violence.
On the International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, Gasore and another survivor, Marcel Mutsindashyaka, who lost 25 family members, will share their stories at a ceremony at the UN Headquarters.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres, in anticipation of the International Day on 7 April, mourned the victims, acknowledging the "entire families brutally erased" and their "stolen dignity." He praised the resilience of survivors like Gasore, highlighting their strength and determination.
Reflecting on the failure of the international community to intervene and prevent the genocide, Guterres emphasized the importance of learning from past mistakes and rejecting hatred and violence to protect lives.
The event on 7 April, along with other remembrances organized at UN offices worldwide, is part of the Outreach Programme on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda and the United Nations. Established by the General Assembly in 2005, the program aims to engage civil society in remembering the victims of the genocide and educating to prevent future genocides.
