We report the speech by the President Gabriele Nissim for the ceremony of 2025 at the Garden of Kamonyi in Ruanda.
Dear friends of the Garden of the Righteous in Kamonyi,
First of all, on behalf of the Gariwo Foundation, I would like to thank you for the wonderful work you do and which we presented together at the United Nations in June.
Godeliève's words moved many people in New York because they presented the best spirit of the new Rwanda.
After the terrible genocide, you understood something very important: it is possible to overcome this trauma not by looking only at the past, but by offering hope for the future of the younger generations.
The great Austrian psychiatrist Victor Frankl, who was imprisoned in Auschwitz, wrote that he managed to survive in the concentration camp by thinking of his wife's love, despite the most terrible things happening around him. The idea of a world where love was possible allowed him to resist.
So after that experience, he taught us that people can not only resist evil in the most difficult moments, they can live better when they finally become free, if they are capable of dreaming and giving deep meaning to their lives.
This is the same philosophy behind the work of your Garden: you remember the good and the righteous men and women because you aim to teach society that every human being must commit to building a new future based on equality, respect, and love for all human beings.
If every person in their heart and mind imagines a world of love and resolves never to be influenced by anger and hatred in their life, then they become a builder of new relationships between human beings.
This may seem like a simple and naive statement in the face of today's difficult world, which unfortunately sees new wars and many massacres of children and innocent people, but those who believe that the deepest meaning of life is love and friendship become a barrier against those who sow evil.
In any activity, from politics, to school or work, those who live with love for others, always make a difference.
The same applies to sport, to which we wanted to dedicate this year's ceremony.
Have you ever thought about it? Sport can also make people better.
There can be a negative side in sport that creates enemies and it is considered like a war, where all illegal means are used to defeat the opponent, and where the winner imagines himself to be superior to others.
On the other hand, there is a sport that unites and allows us to experience the pleasure of being together with others; these are the kinds of sports where everyone gives their best, always feeling equal even towards those who lose.
It is no coincidence that there have been many athletes who, out of love for humanity, have not only won on the sports field, but also in life, when they have devoted themselves to helping persecuted people and coming to the aid of those who were suffering.
We have called these people ‘Righteous in Sport’.
Today, we have the great pleasure of dedicating new trees of the Garden to three athletes who have won what we might call medals of solidarity.Today, we honor first and foremost two Righteous in Sport from Rwanda, Eric Eugène Murangwa, the Rayon Sports soccer player who, after the genocide, began using sport as a tool to promote tolerance, unity, and reconciliation, and Sinzi Tharcisse, a black belt in karate who saved 118 people during the genocide by hiding them on an isolated hill and teaching them self-defense techniques. And then there is an extraordinary woman who fought for women's rights: Khalida Popal, captain of the Afghan women's national soccer team, who managed to save 300 people from the Taliban by giving the world a voice on the condition of women in her country.
In this ceremony, you can all learn something important.
Even when you play sports, you can change the world when you understand that there are no first-class and second-class athletes, but understanding that everyone is equal and everyone can enjoy the beauty of sport. Those who respect their opponents, congratulate those who have lost and play sports not to become famous or to be applauded by the public, but to cultivate relationships with others, will be better people in life.
