Genocide 70

On the 70th anniversary of the convention in 2018, the Ishami Foundation brought together 70+ survivors, genocide educators, politicians, activists and artists to raise awareness of the continued need to take action to address genocide. These quotations provide an ongoing resource for genocide education and remembrance.

Please join the conversation by retweeting and composing your own message, particularly on December 9th – Genocide Prevention Day.

“I held the boy's hand and looked into his eyes. They seemed to ask ‘why?’ I could only whisper ‘forgive us’. The sense of loss I felt as I closed the eyes of that Tutsi child in 1994 fuels my fight for no more lives cut short.”
Dr Richard Benda
Rwandan Survivor, Research Fellow in Theology, Philosophy and Political Theory, Luther King House, University of Manchester

“Racial polarisation is seemingly growing, yet one thing can unite us all. We all share a common humanity. If everyone remembered and respected this fundamental likeness, genocide would cease to exist.”
Joel Freedman
Ishami Foundation Youth Trustee, #Genocide70 Campaign Organiser

“Working in Rwanda I learned about the truly horrific nature of genocide, the shocking violence against women, the grief of women left behind. Brave survivors’ testimonies lead to rape being seen in court as a crime of genocide.”
Professor Shirley Randell
Professor of Gender Studies, Universities of Newcastle and Canberra, Australia

“23 yrs ago, genocide occurred again on European soil in #Srebrenica. 70 yrs after the #CPPCG let us send a message to world leaders: crimes against humanity will not go unpunished.”
Rešad Trbonja
Sarajevo Siege Survivor, In Country Co-ordinartor for Remembering Srebrenica

“On the UNGC 70th anniversary the needs of survivors must not be forgotten. The dark page of genocide history cannot simply be turned. Many survivors are still trapped in poverty, trauma remains.”
Professor Jean-Pierre Dusingizemungu
Rwandan Survivor, Psychologist and President of IBUKA

“On May 9 1992 we ran to the forest. We saw our village Glogova, near Srebrenica, burning. For us that day the war started. We never thought Serbians would come to our place to kill us. In hiding we could not speak, only breathe.”
Ado Hasanović
Bosnian Survivor, Filmmaker, Director of Pink Elephant, Art Director of Mediterranean Short Film Festival

"Anne Frank wrote 'It’s difficult in times like these: ideals, dreams and cherished hopes rise within us, only to be crushed by grim reality… Yet I cling to them because I still believe… people are truly good at heart.'"
Laura Marks OBE
HMDT Chair, Founder of Mitzvah Day

“My life is devoted to language’s power to educate. This may seem far from genocide but language is what makes us human and its misuse justifies inhumanity. Swarm; invasion; cockroach. This road can end in genocide.”
Dr Lid King
Founder of Languages Company

“For 3 years my mother protected me until capture seemed inevitable when she gave me into the care of the Quakers to save me from the Nazis. How did NEVER AGAIN become OVER AND OVER AGAIN?”
Joan Salter MBE
Holocaust Survivor

“JP, who survived the genocide hiding in a septic tank and I watch footage of the murders on the TV. “Dogs,” he says, “they act like dogs.” But no, dogs don’t do that. We humans are our own worst animals. [We must be better.]”
Elizabeth Spackman
Poet

“Let’s create a world where genocide no longer takes place with impunity because of geopolitical interests, where racism is banished, where we teach tolerance and prevention is grounded in our memories.”
Yolande Mukagasana
Rwandan Survivor, Author of La mort ne veut pas de moi, N'aie pas peur de savoir and Les blessures du silence 

“I discovered genocide through senseless TV images of corpses in 1994. When I met survivors I got closer to understanding. How it was carefully planned, spread with impunity. Wounds that never heal. Lessons for mankind.”
François Xavier-Destors
Filmmaker, Co-Director of Football Rwanda, Fields of Memories (Rwanda, la surface de réparation)

“The convention is a landmark in human history, recognising our worst crimes. As a descendant of Holocaust victims working in a documentation centre, it is beacon of hope in a darkening world.”
Ben Barkow
Director of the Wiener Library

“The work of coming to juridical, ethical and political terms with Genocide is essential. It is the only way to build the new, agonistic, entangled forms of humanism that our imperiled postcolonial predicament so urgently requires.”
Professor Paul Gilroy
Professor of Literature, King's College London

“Genocide reduces human lives to numbers of dead. It’s vital that we cherish individual experiences - like the diary of Anne Frank - to commemorate those we have lost & to build our common humanity for the future.”
Tim Robertson
Chief Executive, The Anne Frank Trust UK

“NEVER AGAIN was said after Holocaust and in ‘92 it happened again in Bosnia. We must all work harder and strive towards a day when we can say NEVER AGAIN and mean it. Let’s make that Day be Today!”
Safet Vukalić
Bosnian Survivor

“My family had a secure future in Berlin but the Nazis took it all away. If we don't get enough people determined to intervene early enough to stop genocide, then I fear that genocide will end the human race.”
Ruth Barnett
Kindertransport Survivor

“Genocide is a weed sprouting from the seeds of division and fear. They are sown through discourse, and actions, that frame groups of people as sub-human. Recognise humanity, reject division”
David O’Byrne
PhD Researcher in Sport for Development & Peace, Loughborough University

“Genocide is a horrific crime which has tainted our History. Atrocities such as the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda and the Holocaust teach us the importance of education in order to prevent this ever happening again.”
Oliver Dowden CBE MP
MP for Hertsmere, Parliamentary Secretary

“The Genocide Convention was a Holocaust legacy but despite commitments to ‘Never Again’, we have seen further tragic world events, making our aim of education & awareness of the consequences of hate so important.”
Karen Pollock
CEO of the Holocaust Educational Trust

“Almost 25 years after the #Genocide against the Tutsi in #Rwanda, the world is still failing in its duty to protect its people. It is not enough to watch and wait.”
Professor Nicki Hitchcott
Professor of African Literature in French, University of St Andrew's, Director of Rwandan Stories of Change

“Genocides occur because perpetrators place no value on the rights and humanity of ‘others’. So it is imperative that we educate for a world in which understanding overcomes ignorance and empathy prevails over brutality.”
Professor Stuart Foster
Executive Director of the UCL Centre for Holocaust Education

“For me, Genocide means broken hearts, pain only Jesus can heal, isolation. My childhood memories destroyed, my home, my friends & family destroyed. I remember after Genocide I went for months without talking.”
Mariam Tumukunde
Rwandan Survivor

“No voice can ever describe the desolation of what human beings did to other human beings while others turned their backs.  We must act now to ensure genocide is confined to the history books.”
Steven Baker
Principal, Aspire Schools Federation

“We should hold in our hearts the memories of those who have died and the testimonies of those who have survived, and keep repeating Never Again until it really does become a reality.”
Andrew Mitchell MP
MP for Royal Sutton Coldfield

“We have experienced what discrimination & hatred bring to society. The worst heritage we can give our children is educating them to become perpetrators. I’ll have failed if my children grow up hating people.”
Claver Irakoze
Rwandan Survivor, Manager of Digital Resources, Aegis Trust

“The UNGC gives the power of recognition to genocide victims and aids memory. It also inspires discussion and engagement with events today.”
History of Genocide Undergraduate Students
Royal Holloway

“The word genocide makes me feel disgusted at the idea that human beings have committed such unforgivable crimes. Visiting Auschwitz Birkenau changed my perception of the world and my priorities in life.”
Alice, Year 11
Croydon High School

“Hearing Eric’s story had a profound impact on our teachers and pupils. We were reminded of how important it is to see beyond that which separates us & cherish the humanity that unites us.”
Emily Maule
Director of Humanities, Reach Academy

“Genocide is the only international crime that recognises the right of a group to exist and to be protected”
Professor Philippe Sands
Author of East West Street, Professor of Law at UCL

“As a British official, I saw firsthand the last genocide of the 20th century in Rwanda. As UN chief in Sudan, I tried & failed to stop the 1st genocide of the 21st century in Darfur. Commemorating #Genocide70 is personal unfinished business.”
Dr Mukesh Kapila
Former UN Coordination in Sudan, Author of Against A Tide of Evil

“Genocide evokes painful memories. The Khmer Rouge killed my father, brother and husband; tortured my kids; and enforced hardship and starvation on us. Long ago now but recent genocides keep my pain fresh.”
Var Ashe Houston
Cambodian Survivor

“At 16 my grandmother didn’t know the word Auschwitz. By 18 – she did, cradling her ashen faced mother. Today I can barely grasp it, or the meaning of #Rakhine. Compassion is my teacher, my bulwark.”
Anthony Levin
Human Rights Lawyer, Poet, Grandson of Holocaust Survivors

“When voices of genocide victims call to us, the sound we hear is silence: lost traditions, rituals, recipes, jokes, whole ways of life. 'Never again' means shouting loud, their voice in ours, lest we one day fall silent ourselves.”
Adam Usden
Writer, Author of BBC Radio 4's The Book of Yehudit and Sophie's Lights

“Having served in #Bosnia & #Rwanda, I have witnessed the devastating effects of genocide. In both counties I have been struck by survivor resilience & their determination to move forward. Today I am thinking about those brave people.”
Jo Lomas
British High Commissioner to Rwanda and Ambassador to Burundi

“The day I learned the word genocide, I didn't like it. It's not a popular topic, it’s disturbing to think, teach & talk about. But if we do, prevention is possible. We must respond to warning signs. Lemkin taught us that.”
Dr Nic Wetherall MBE
Teacher, Royal Wootton Bassett Academy, Schools Network Coordinator, UCL Centre for Holocaust Education

“WE MUST reflect on this crime against humanity, ensuring that such injustice never happens again. WE MUST speak up sooner. WE MUST kwibuka.”
Shermya and Nana
Croydon High School, Year 11

“Genocide is prepared for. Populist politicians’ rhetoric can demonise others, fan flames or sow seeds of aggressive emotions lurking in us all – envy, anger, resentment – turned to fatal hatred, disgust, contempt.”
Professor Ruth Padel
Poet, Professor of Poetry at King's College London

“As a History teacher in Rwanda I taught WWII & the genocide convention. I never dreamt genocide would happen in my country. I thought the international community would prevent it. I was wrong.”
Alphonsine Kabagabo
Rwandan Survivor

“Genocide is a crime committed not by monsters or demons but by humans who have forsaken their humanity; therefore let us illuminate even the darkest corners of our world with the light of our humanity.”
Ephraim Mirvis
Chief Rabbi of the UK

“Today marks our collective shame. 70 years ago the world pledged to liberate mankind from the ‘odious scourge’ of genocide. We barely tried. Identity-based violence is rising. What will we do now?”
Andy Fearn
Director of Learning and Outreach, Protection Approaches

“Genocide stems from thinking that says 'MY WORLD would be better WITHOUT you in it.'   The worst is when I catch myself thinking along those lines - Lasting change must start with me!”
Carl Wilkens
Rescuer and Genocide Campaigner

“We’re proud Lewisham is a diverse borough that is home to people from around the world. As we become a Sanctuary Borough, we reach out to those fleeing war and genocide.”
Damien Egan
Mayor of Lewisham

“When we talk about genocide we stress the numbers of victims. But it wasn’t just 1,000,000 who died in Rwanda. It was 1 individual, followed by another, followed by another. Each had a life, story, family, dreams & aspirations.”
Sam Hunt
Chair of SURF Survivors Fund, Assistant Head of Sandhurst Comprehensive School

“I grew up with When Hitler Stole the Pink Rabbit, my boys are growing up with stories of the Holocaust, Rwanda, Bosnia… May these remain stories, histories, memories. May we take action to prevent genocide in their lifetime.”
Dr Zoe Norridge
Chair of Ishami Foundation, Senior Lecturer in African and Comparative Literature at King's College London

“'One who destroys a life, it is as if they have destroyed a whole world but one who saves a life, saves an entire world.' Jewish Rabbinic saying. Never forget."
Yavneh College Pupils
Yavneh College School

“Genocide never just happens. There is a path. Never again? Look around. What do you see? 'Classification', 'Dehumanisation', 'Polarisation', 'Denial'? Learn the stages. The antidote to genocide: HUMANITY & LOVE.”
Sonja Miley
Co-Executive Director, Waging Peace

“As a genocide literature scholar, I study accounts full of heroism, which also give witness to terror, despair, isolation, extreme mental and physical hurt, violent death and deep mourning for individuals and for communities”
Professor Robert Eaglestone
Professor of Literature, Holocaust Research Institute, Royal Holloway

“Tim Walz said ‘You have to understand what caused genocide to happen. Or it will happen again.’ Today we join with many organisations and influencers to commemorate #GenocidePreventionDay, and remember those lost to brutality over the years.”
Wingate & Finchley Football Club
Wingate & Finchley

“For me – Genocide is the antithesis of what it is to be a human being.”
Jonathan Salt
Teacher, Writer, Ishami Foundation Trustee

“Diaspora-born/ At 7, move to my Ancestors' land/ 17, Genocide, 777777+77777+...killed, I flee/ #Genocide70 turning 47/ 27, flee my Colonisers' land/ 37, visit my Ancestors' land/ The scars.../ 47…?”
Ery Nzaramba
Rwandan Writer, Actor, Director

“The Genocide Convention was established in 1948 for some. But 70 years later the rest of us are still waiting for it to take effect. I don’t see how the world has learned. As a survivor, I’m disappointed.”
Beatha Uwazaninka
Rwandan Survivor

“African born, I was shocked when I reviewed my continent’s history and its relationship to genocide. As I grew, I realised that genocide is a crime against humanity and its effects are far reaching across both space and time.”
Kola Adeosun
PhD Researcher and Associate Lecturer in Sport for Development at Solent University

“On the 70th anniversary of the genocide convention, I am reminded of Wole Soyinka’s words on the Nigeria-Biafra war ‘The man dies in all who keep silent in the face of tyranny.’”
Dr Louisa Egbunike
Lecturer in African Literature, City University, Curator of Legacies of Biafra, Co-Convenor of the Igbo Conference

“The Genocide Convention tells the world that confronting genocide is everyone’s responsibility. The challenge for our generation is to educate young people about their role in fulfilling that duty.”
Dr Michael Gray
Author of Teaching the Holocaust

“The Genocide Convention is a reminder that while international actors abandoned Rwanda in 1994, Rwandans have shown immense determination and creativity to rebuild their country on their own terms, in their own way.”
Dr Phil Clark
Reader in Comparative & International Politics, SOAS

“It is imperative that we learn about the horrors of genocide. As Holocaust survivors pass away it is more important than ever that we teach the younger generations about the scale of what happened.”
David Elstone
Headmaster, Hymers College

“Genocide is a horrific event where mass numbers of people are murdered intentionally. We should learn from the past and make sure that events like this never repeat themselves as their effect is terrible.”
Simar, Year 11
Croydon High School

“People need to be more aware of genocide. It should be compulsory learning in school so people can see what’s going on in the world & don’t let history repeat itself. Genocide didn’t end with the Holocaust.”
Muna Mohamud
Abraham Moss Community School

“I fight prejudice in my work, in my home, and in myself, remembering that there is no uncrossable gulf between the slightest act of dehumanisation and the most brutal act of genocide; they're just steps on the same unbroken path.”
Dr Keon West
Senior Lecturer in Social Psychology, Goldsmiths College

“As a historian of enslavement and memory I’ve learnt that torture and genocide ultimately break us all. Nobody is entitled to shorten the life of fellow human beings. History shows the best time to create a better future is now.”
Professor Olivette Otele
Professor of History, Bath Spa University

“Hundreds of LGBT+ people are killed every year. This is often to ‘cleanse’ society, which the Genocide Convention condemns. The Convention has the potential to combat the attempted global eradication of LGBTQ+ people.”
Maurice Tomlinson
Jamaican Lawyer and LGBTI Activist

“Meeting Irena Sandler in Warsaw changed my life. Her father had taught her to lend a hand to any human being: she saved 3,000 Jewish babies. I decided to join Israelis lending a hand to Palestinians. I closed a circle.”
Danny Aleksandrowicz
Participant in The Villages Group, Israel

“After Nazi genocides the UNGC beamed hope for groups under threat. States dashed that hope for millions by holding the letter & spirit of the law in contempt. Many wait for hope to be renewed. Now is the time.”
Dr James Smith
CEO of the Aegis Trust

“‘Intent to destroy, in whole or in part…’ Legal definitions enable particular types of important responses to genocide whilst simultaneously obscuring other aspects of the violence: its intimacy and intergenerational force.”
Dr Nicola Palmer
Senior Lecturer in Criminal Law, King's College London

“We work together to make a strong & united Rwanda. By teaching young people our history we build peace & respect for human rights. Educate to prevent. Never Again must mean Never Again.”
Dr Jean-Damascène Gasanabo
DG Research and Documentation Center on Genocide, The National Commission for the Fight Against Genocide (CNLG), Rwanda

“Sophie Jack Eric Liliane Ruth Zigi Kemal Safet Trude Nedzad Sokphal Hannah Ivor Hasan Mala Bea Eve Ben Jean Louis. Remarkable. Inspirational. Survivor testimony shared. Never forget. Never again.”
Andy Lawrence
History Teacher, Genocide80Twenty Organiser, Hampton School

“A genocide, as we saw in Rwanda, is not only about killing a people and destroying their future. But annihilating their history. The plight of the Rohingya is tragically reminiscent of everything we have yet to learn.”
Rakiya Omaar
Somali Lawyer, Director of Africa Rights, Author of Rwanda: Death, Despair and Defiance 

“Genocide is uniquely perverse. But we must resist the temptation to brand it ‘unthinkable.’ Human actions must not hide behind the enormity of their abhorrence from analysis, challenge and reckoning.”
Dr Piotr Cieplak
Filmmaker, Director of The Faces We Lost, Lecturer in Filmmaking at University of Sussex

“As a survivor, educator &campaigner, my goal is to make #GenocidePreventionDay an everyday event, not just a one-day symbolic occurrence. We must treat genocide seriously if we want to prevent it happening again.”
Eric Murangwa Eugene MBE
Rwandan Survivor, CEO Ishami Foundation

“Genocide is the greatest threat to our humanity. When the social fabric of a country is torn apart, it can give rise to a state intent on eradicating the ‘problem group’ in its population. A warning for our troubled present.”
Véronique Tadjo
Writer, Author of L'Ombre d'Imana (The Shadow of Imana)

“As of today, a total of 149 States have ratified or acceded to the Genocide Convention. Last year I launched an appeal for the universal ratification of the Genocide Convention but 45 Member States are still not a party to it.”
Adama Dieng
UN Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide

“Is this convention designed for all or for the few that are politically recognised? How many lives, wounds and scattered bodies will it take? Our pain is real & alive every single day, please remember that.”
Naila M Kira
Rwandan Survivor, Ishami Foundation Trustee

“In New York Hannah Arendt learnt most of her companions in Gurs camp were murdered in Auschwitz-Birkenau. Their ghosts never left her. These women lost their rights because of where they were born, who they happened to be.”
Professor Lyndsey Stonebridge
Professor of Humanities and Human Rights, University of Birmingham

“We @HMD_UK encourage remembrance in a world scarred by genocide. Civilised society is fragile and we must all work hard to demonstrate values of respect, courtesy & kindness. Let’s join together and support #GenocidePreventionDay & #Genocide70”
Olivia Marks-Woldman
CEO of HMDT

“We say ‘Never Again’ about genocide but it is not how we live. The current dehumanizing rhetoric against immigrants, refugees and ‘Others’ is a first step down a path that has become all too familiar. We know how this story ends.”
Dr Laura Apol
Poet, Associate Professor of Literacy at Michigan State University

“The UNGC means a responsibility: a responsibility to study and reflect on past cases, and to critically and publicly question genocidal violence in the present – such as is ongoing in Myanmar or Darfur today.”
Dr Becky Jinks
Lecturer in Holocaust Studies, Holocaust Research Institute, Royal Holloway

“What happened? Tutsi and Jews were laid to waste. Slaughtered, altars filled with blood. In Abel’s likeness, they still cried aloud: ‘NEVER AGAIN’ as the UN & Heads of State failed again.”
Pierre C Rusengatabaro
Rwandan Survivor, Ishami Foundation Trustee

“Ali B, a young Sudanese boy from Darfur, woke one morning smelling his village burning. All were gone including his family. 5 yrs later, he is in an IDP camp. Despite his persecution, he helps the new arrivals.”
Osama Mahmoud
Head of Communications, Darfur Union in the UK

“Genocide, cycles of violence and war are created by a culture of revenge. The only way to stop this violence is through education and promoting a culture of forgiveness.”
Jean Paul Samputu
Rwandan Survivor, International Musician

“70 years ago the #CPPCG was adopted by the UN. On this anniversary let us reflect & educate to prevent future atrocities. Let us teach future generations to live without hate in their hearts.”
Dr Waqar Azmi OBE
Founder and Chairman of Remembering Srebrenica

“On the UNGC 70th Anniversary we work 2 educate young people, 2 continue 2 make the plight of Rohingya, the plight of Yemeni, the rising tide of racism & the killing of black men in the USA, something that demands action!”
Dr Karen Bronk Froming & Dr Bill William Froming
Post-conflict Psychologists, Palo Alto University

“Why genocide? What are we getting from it? Ruining innocent people's lives. What has happened to the world? Enough is enough right? Nuba Mountains cannot take any more. Time to stop.”
Nagwa Shagga
Nuba Mountains Solidarity Abroad

“The Genocide Convention was adopted as a cornerstone of our post-45 world yet today identity-based violence & mass atrocities are rising. We must rethink prevention & match our words with deeds.”
Dr Kate Ferguson
Director of Research and Policy, Protection Approaches

“The Genocide Convention was adopted thanks to Raphael Lemkin’s tireless campaign. It should have opened the door to a better world for our young people. They are still waiting.”
Alison Stephen
Humanities Director, Abraham Moss Community School

“Genocide should always be remembered because it is a reminder of humanity’s mistakes. It’s time we learn from history. Stories like Eric’s should be told from generation to generation.”
Analisa, Year 11
Cryodon High School

“We think survivor stories are really important as a means to inspire young people to make sure that horrible acts against humanity never happen again.”
Safiya Tariq & Fatima Hassan
Abraham Moss Community School

“The UNGC states terms to help us identify genocide, enabling everyone to act to stop such events. It also enables those suffering from violence to gain justice. Young people like me can help to protect the innocent.”
Sara Kassam
Abraham Moss Community School