This link attaches to an article which talks about the 60th anniversary of the 1951 Convention Related to the Status of Refugees, which just occurred on April 6th, 2011. In this convention, seven people were honored for their bravery and selfless humanitarian acts. One of these people was none other than Captain Mbaye Diagne. He was commemorated of course for his heroic rescues in the Rwandan genocide and for the more than 600 lives that he saved. Because Mbaye is no longer with us, his widow, Yacine, accepted a certificate for him which states “the entire Senegalese nation is honored through Captain Diagne’s actions.” I think that it is wonderful that Captain Mbaye is being commemorated for his deeds, and that he and the genocide itself have gained more criteria to be remembered by. It is most certainly a good thing that our country acknowledges and respects men like Mbaye, however, although the attached article is not to blame for this, I am slightly disappointed that this award is only one of the few that were given to Mbaye and his family. It has now been fifteen years since the start of the genocide, and the good people like Captain Mbaye deserve to go down in history, let alone receive a fair share of awards. I am thankful that we are giving Mbaye and his family this much, but we as a nation, and we as a world could give him so much more.
 |
| Mbaye's widow accepts the certificate |
No comments:
Post a Comment