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April 7, 2021 marked 27 years since over one million people died in 100 days during the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. From April to July, Rwandan community members and friends of Rwanda come together to remember and honor loved ones by listening to stories from survivors and talks from historians about the root causes of the genocide. Survivors remember despite threats of continued harm created by people denying that the genocide happened at all. We need to fight the genocide denial by telling the truth about what happened. The commemoration period is an emotional and triggering time for the Rwandan community, a time where people have a wide range of experiences, from depression to anxiety to anger to grief to numbness to loneliness to guilt to worthlessness, all intensified now by the COVID-19 pandemic. Forced to stay home, no goodbyes or proper burials of loved ones, constant news about the number of people dead, all bring back memories of the genocide. This year, CERI has the special opportunity to work with the Rwandan community and create a path for healing alongside Roger Remera, a local leader in the Rwandan community, and Partnerships For Trauma Recovery (PTR). PTR is an agency we admire that works with African communities. The mission of PTR is to address psychosocial impacts of trauma and human rights abuses through culturally aware, trauma-informed, and linguistically accessible mental health care. Rising above hate, war and genocide, Roger joined CERI’s workforce development program, Wellness in Action (WiA), to build skills to promote community mental health. Roger, a survivor himself, teaches us at CERI about the painful and complicated history of his homeland. Roger is authentic, kind and humble. Everywhere he goes, he arrives with curiosity and builds connections with people. A natural leader, Roger makes everyone around him feel like family. Recently, Roger shared a poem - ONE MILLION ONE - with us. This deeply moving poem is an invitation to remember Roger’s brother and all lives lost during the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. The history of the genocide against the Tutsi is one that our Southeast Asian communities at CERI understand as survivors of genocide, war, torture, and violence. Today we see once again the rise of hate against our Asian community. Individually and collectively, we must face hate to create universal change. To learn more about an online commemoration event happening on April 25th, please contact roger.remera@cerieastbay.org.
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