Recognizing global ways to prevent genocide

Genocide Awareness and Prevention! A message from the Greater Portland Immigrant Welcome Center in Portland, Maine.

The Kigali Genocide Memorial commemorates the 1994, Rwandan genocide. The remains of over 250,000 people are interred there. There is a visitor center for students and those wishing to understand the events leading up to the genocide of 1994.

"April is the cruelest month..." begins the first line of T.S. Eliot’s poem, "The Waste Land." Many believe the poem’s themes of memory, contrast, and post-war despair offer a chaotic view of the world. One wonders if the poet had the current time in mind when penning the poem. At a personal level, living as an immigrant through cold, long Maine winters, waiting for the warm spring weather can be merciless. 

April is the month of Genocide Awareness and Prevention. Every April, we remember days of remembrance for the Holocaust, the Rwandan Genocide and Armenian and those in Bosnia, Cambodia, Darfur and against the Kurds of Iraq. These days, the ongoing violence and atrocities in Ukraine remind us of why remembering past genocides and committing to prevent them in the future is so critical. And we are yet to recognize genocides against the native peoples of North America.

Reza Jalali 

The Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Rwandan Genocide, which is also called Kwibuka, was observed by the local Rwandan community in a well-attended event at the University of Southern Maine. The Greater Portland Immigrant Welcome Center participated in the event, to stand in solidarity with our Rwandan neighbors. António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, stated that the genocide in Rwanda was neither an accident, nor unavoidable. “As we remember the bloodshed 28 years ago, we must recognize that we always have a choice: To choose humanity over hatred, compassion over cruelty, courage over complacency,” said Guterres.

A month earlier, we at GPIWC assisted two Ukrainians to seeking protection. Our efforts to bring attention to the plight of the world’s victims of genocides and the innocents displaced by wars, persecution, and climate change continue by publishing a Op-Ed on the war in Ukraine, tabling at the Khmer New Year in Buxton, attending the Rwandan Day of Remembrance, and supporting our Muslim neighbors during the Holy Month of Ramadan by publishing and distributing the Ramadan timetable.

We have been busy at GPIWC; the new food initiative, supported by Good Shepherd Food Bank and other partners, is nearing implementation. Our iEnglish team, in partnership with the nonprofit In Her Presence and South Portland Adult Ed, is providing four new in-person classes for the asylum seekers staying in hotels in Portland and South Portland. Applications for our zero-interest microloan program are being received and processed. Plans to bring free family-friendly and culturally appropriate concerts and performances, New Mainers on Stage, are moving rapidly forward. New staff members have been hired. We are grateful that new members volunteered to join our Board of Directors and bring their expertise to help carry our mission. Foundations and the business community continue to support us financially. Their generosity and that of individual donors make us feel proud of our city and state. April or not, the community continues to shower us with the kind of kindness and generosity that our state is known for. Onward we march, for we believe we are stronger when we work together.

Reza Jalali GPIWC Executive Director