The day has finally arrived. After a long advocacy campaign, the memorial sites of Bisesero, Nyamata, Gisozi, and Murambi now stand alongside Auschwitz-Birkenau on UNESCO’s esteemed World Heritage list—the only genocide memorial sites ever inscribed.

For us survivors, this honor is profound. The UNESCO designation provides international protection and recognition to these sacred sites where so many of our loved ones drew their last breaths. It gives me hope that the stories of those we lost will be preserved for posterity, that future generations around the world will bear witness to the atrocities and learn from this dark chapter of human history.

The genocide attempted to permanently erase Tutsis. Having the places where our people were slaughtered immortalized by UNESCO helps restore the dignity and humanity we lost. It begins healing psychological wounds from the world ignoring our plight during the massacres. We can finally exhale, assured the truth will not be denied or distorted.

Of course, UNESCO’s designation is just the first step. As survivors, we carry the moral duty to continue honoring the murdered and educating about this tragedy. Though deeply painful, I must speak out to ensure my family and over one million Tutsis and moderate Hutus are never forgotten. We must unite against those who still threaten these memorials or promote genocide denial.

While the current government deserves credit for ending the genocide in 1994, it often prioritizes controlling the narrative, using the genocide as moral justification for its authority. The ruling party’s interests do not always align with us survivors who carry the huge burden of loss. I hope the UNESCO recognition leads to more open dialogue and increased inclusion of diverse survivor voices in memorial stewardship and education, not just political expediency.

Some past government actions, like the controversial 2016 law declaring all genocide memorials state property, give us pause. Since then, many local, community-run memorials were removed or amalgamated, disrupting survivors’ mourning and severing connections between families and loved ones’ final resting places.

We must ensure memorial narratives and exhibits remain free of political agendas and continue enshrining facts and evidence. Thankfully the UNESCO designation protects these four sites from such threats. However, the damage has already been done to the hundreds of small memorial sites scattered across the hills of Rwanda.

While I appreciate the government’s effort to secure UNESCO’s recognition, I hope this leads to greater survivor participation in memorial decision-making. Our voices and agency must not be sidelined for political gain.

For those of us who endured 1994’s horrors, the memorials make the memories tangible, preserving evidence and final resting places we can point to. They reinforce remembrance and education for generations.

Now inscribed on UNESCO’s list, these memorials will withstand time. Long after we survivors pass, we can rest assured the genocide will remain more than a historical footnote. Our loved ones’ sacrifice has meaning.

I hope those who perished can now rest easier knowing the truth will endure for generations. This UNESCO milestone brings some solace, though inner wounds always remain. Our advocacy continues until the names and faces of the lost echo through the ages as lessons for a better future. Ends