Yes, love will always win: Marguerite Barankitse visited the Tsitsernakaberd
The first Aurora Prize Laureate Marguerite Barankitse visited the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial on May 20 to pay tribute to the memory of the Armenian Genocide victims. She was welcomed by Director of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute Hayk Demoyan who introduced the history of the Armenian Genocide and the creation of the Memorial Complex.
“The denial of the Armenian Genocide is a great mistake. It is very important to have a sense of compassion, and if many say it didn’t happen, they make a great mistake. We must call on those people to be part of that compassion since we are one big family, children of God. Today the fact of the Armenian Genocide must force everyone to perceive that such events will not repeat anymore,” Barankitse said. Marguerite Barankitse visited Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute where a special exhibition is opened dedicated to Aurora Mardiganian, the inspirational woman behind the Aurora Prize.
She laid owers at the Armenian Genocide Memorial. Then the First Aurora Prize Laureate planted a tree in the Memory Alley of Tsitsernakaberd complex in memory of the Armenian Genocide victims.
“I have an impression that people were unable to understand that such crimes really happened. But at the same time I want to congratulate the Armenian people who maintained their honor and accepted to some extent their own history, as well as had the courage to pass the brutal page of this history for brighter times to come. This gives me hope that tomorrow genocides will not happen anymore, this also gives hope to my country Burundi which ghts for the past, present and the future. We must stand up, and each person must deny brotherly crimes against each other,” Marguerite Barankitse said.
At the end of the visit she left a note in the Honorable Guest Book: “I am deeply grateful to the proud Armenian people for the endless courage. Yes, love will always win.”
Marguerite Barankitse, the founder of Maison Shalom and REMA hospital, received the Aurora Prize on April 24, 2016, for the exceptional impact of her actions on preserving lives during the years of civil war in Burundi. To date, she has saved 30 thousand children and offered them shelter and care.
