In 1994, in the space of three months, between 6th April and 18th July, one million people in Rwanda, mostly belonging to the ethnic Tutsi minority, were murdered by criminal extremists from the Hutu majority. They were murdered solely because they belonged to a different ethnic group. Every ten seconds a murder took place under the very eyes of an indifferent international community. On the one hand, many obeyed orders and killed, raped and tortured, but on the other there were a courageous few who chose to deny the logic of the genocide, and saved the lives of others—often at the risk of their own. It is for these courageous few that we seek your support.
Historically, a Nobel Prize has yet to be awarded to an individual for heroic opposition to violence during genocide. The actions of these individuals symbolize that there is always have a choice: the choice to oppose violence instead of being a passive witness. Never has this message been more urgent.
Unfortunately throughout the last century, history has repeatedly shown that the danger of genocidal ideology is still alive. A Nobel Prize awarded to our candidates serves not only as recognition for those who opposed the Rwandan genocide, but also as a strong conviction against all genocides.
The genocide of the Rwandan Tutsis, together with the massacre of moderate Hutus who opposed the genocide, is an event of primary importance in the history of humanity. The global media failed to present the real picture to the international public; nor did they reveal that the genocide was strategically planned by extremist national leaders and was, in this way, foreseeable and preventable. On the contrary, media outlets promoted the widespread and incorrect idea that what happened was a sudden and irrational blow of violence; a matter “between tribal Africans” for which nothing could be done. The scars of this episode are very visible: silence, outright denial and deep economic and psychological suffering among the survivors who are—to this day—forced to dwell among the assassins of their own relatives. Revisionism and erasure of historical events are the first step towards the formation of the civil ignorance and apathy, which not only threatens the future generations of any society, but also sows the seeds for recurrence of such harrowing events. In sum, the martyrs and victims of the genocide are still waiting for their due recognition.
We strongly believe in the importance of awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to Rwanda's Righteous Zura Karuhimbi and Pierantonio Costa and to the survivor, Yolande Mukagasana, as examples to inspire humanity. The memories of genocides and the knowledge of the mechanisms that eventually lead to their tragic consequences should never be lost or forgotten.
