Conservative group leader Cllr David Millican reflects on a recent trip

Holocaust Memorial Day is a day when we remember the worst possible episodes of man’s inhumanity to man, and reflect on the lessons to be learnt.

One of the worst atrocities we remember is the dreadful genocide in Rwanda, which occurred 20 years ago, in this small country in central East Africa. In just a short six-week period in 1994, Hutus hacked almost a million Tutsis to death in the most appalling circumstances.

I have visited Rwanda several times over the past few years when I met and volunteered with many survivors and perpetrators of the genocide, assisting to create business and prosperity.

Attached is a photograph of my visit to one memorial site. Victims had sought sanctuary in a church, when the perpetrators threw grenades inside and then bulldozed the building to the ground, killing everyone in the church

There is a still a long way to go, but this remarkable country is now largely peaceful as it has made significant advances to heal the hatred between its citizens.

Holocaust Memorial Day will give us the opportunity to reflect on this and other atrocities.

Cllr David Millican

27th January 2014