Two Quick Things: Passover And Rwanda

04/08/09 12:16pm

by Kate Harper (CHARTattack)

None of these things are musically related, but anyway:

Firstly, if tonight marks the beginning of Passover for you, chag sameach (happy holiday). I'll be attending a seder tomorrow night, eating delicious, delicious food and making a matzoh sponge cake on Friday morning.

Secondly, please take some time to remember and reflect on the Rwandan Genocide today. This week marks its 15th anniversary. It is estimated about 800,000 to 1 million Rwandans (mainly Tutsis) were killed in the Genocide, which lasted from April 6, 1994 to mid-July of that year.

I spent the months of May to July 2007 in Rwanda, where I interned at its only daily newspaper, The New Times. The Rwandan media follows the practice of capitalizing the word "Genocide" when they refer to the conflict, which I personally think speaks volumes. The internship (and being in Rwanda in general!) is an experience I'll never forget. Rwandans are some of the most welcoming, friendly and positive people you'll ever meet.

Toronto Mayor David Miller declared yesterday Genocide Reflection Day. If you're interested, the University Of Toronto's New College is hosting a week-long retrospective event to remember the Genocide. I'm going to try and get out to it tonight for the panel (Allan Thompson heads the Rwanda Initiative, of which I was a part, John Honderich is an absolutely wonderful man and panelist George Kagame is a friend of mine who I met in Rwanda) and on the weekend. More information is available here.

As a tip, it's worth going to see The Mighty Popo on Saturday. (Maybe this is musically related after all.) He's an Ottawa-based musician who happens to be a Rwandan/Burundian survivor, and his music is fantastic. I saw him in Ottawa the day I got back from Rwanda and I was blown away. Check out his MySpace page.

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