Speech by Prof. Dirk Vansina on behalf of the City of Leuven
Leuven has long maintained close ties with Rwanda. Rwandan students have studied at KU Leuven, professors have taught there, priests and nuns from our region have worked in Rwanda, and today a Rwandan community resides in Leuven.
We have just heard powerful testimonies. We are gathered here to remember one of the darkest chapters in recent history: the genocide committed against the Tutsi in Rwanda, now 31 years ago. In just one hundred days, between April and July 1994, more than a million people were brutally murdered simply because they existed.
This atrocity was the result of a colonial policy of division, the belief that some groups are superior to others, and the dangerous illusion that all human beings are not equal. But this genocide did not begin with machetes. It began with words â€" with hate speech and division.
What makes this tragedy even more painful is that the world looked away. The international community failed in its duty, and that failure echoes louder than ever today. Even now, groups are dehumanized. People are deliberately turned into enemies. As was the case then, we hear cries of 'This must stop!' And, as then, the responses are too weak, too late, too hesitant.
That is exactly why it is essential to continue commemorating and learning from the past. That is why an organization like IBUKA is so important. IBUKA means 'Remember,' and you do not let us forget. You give a voice to those who were silenced. You support survivors. You show us that remembering is not about looking back â€" it's about looking forward.
Earlier, young women gave testimonies.
They recalled what happened, but they also embodied strength, hope, and life. They are giving birth to a new future, a future better than the past. As a local authority, we also have a responsibility: to provide space for moments of remembrance like this one. Not as a symbolic gesture, but as a true commitment.
I heard the request made by the President regarding the installation of a memorial stone in Leuven. I commit to discussing this proposal with conviction with the mayor and my colleagues. Remembering is essential, but it is not enough. We have a moral obligation to turn memory into action: through education, public policy, vigilance, and dialogue.
Today, you are our guests here in Leuven â€" a city that chooses dialogue, tolerance, and peace. A city that knows commemoration is not only about the past, but also about facing the future and taking action. A city that takes seriously the signs of racism, hatred, or dehumanization before it is too late.
With education, with concrete projects that bring citizens together, and with support for refugees and newcomers. Peace begins with small things: with children learning to resolve conflict without violence, with youth standing up against hate speech and injustice, with societies refusing to reduce the "other" to a caricature, and with communities that leave no one behind.
Leuven wants to be a city that leaves no one behind. A city where everyone has a place and can thrive as they are.
Kwibuka. Let us remember. Let us keep speaking. For those who are no longer with us. For those yet to come. With the duty to do good and to make the world better.
And let it begin with us.
Leuven: Selected photos from the commemoration ceremony of the victims of the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, 1994.
Karirima Aimable Ngarambe
