'The United States Grieves with the Rwandan People'

Original caption states: "Deep gashes delivered by the killers are visible in the skulls that fill one room at the Murambi School." 

Statement by the President on the 18th Anniversary of the Genocide in Rwanda

Eighteen years after the Rwandan genocide, we pause to reflect with horror and sadness on the 100 days in 1994 when 800,000 people lost their lives. The specter of this slaughter of mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters haunts us still, and reminds the nations of the world of our shared responsibility to do all we can to protect civilians and to ensure that evil of this magnitude never happens again. The United States grieves with the Rwandan people, and we remember those whose lives were cut short. And as we do, we also recognize Rwanda’s progress in moving beyond this horrible tragedy, the strides it has taken to improve the lives of its people, and its contributions to protecting civilians from other nations in UN peacekeeping missions around the world. The U.S. government and the American people will continue to extend our friendship, partnership, and support to the Rwandan people as they seek to build a peaceful and prosperous future.

Photo source: http://www.house.gov/wolf/issues/hr/sudan/caphotos.htmlAuthor: US Rep. Frank Wolf
Permission: Public Domain

'I Admired His Profound Commitment to World Peace...'

Congressman Gregory Meeks

Congressman Gregory Meeks on the Passing of Representative Donald Payne

Jamaica, NY--Congressman Gregory W. Meeks, (D-NY) of the Sixth Congressional District released the following statement on the passing Congressman Donald Payne:

“I am deeply saddened by the news that Congressman Donald Payne, my dear colleague and great personal friend, has died.  For the entire 14 years I have been a Member of Congress, I served with Rep. Payne on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, as well as for a time on its Africa Subcommittee.  Rep. Payne mentored me on many foreign policy issues.  I admired his profound commitment to world peace, international institutions, multilateral cooperation, and especially the duty he felt that wealthier nations have to assist lesser-developed nations.

“Rep. Payne was particularly concerned with issues of hunger, poverty, HIV-AIDS, and civil conflict in Africa.  He was an ardent advocate of increased but targeted aid to the African continent.

“Donald devoted his 23 year tenure to improving the prospects and prosperity of his 10th Congressional District.  And during the period in which he was chair of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) and a board member of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF), he consistently in that gentle, understated way of his put the interests of the whole ahead of the interests of individuals.

“Rep. Donald Payne will be missed.  My heartfelt condolences go out to his family – the children, grandchildren, and great grandchild in whom he had so much pride – and his constituents and many friends.”

Meeks photo courtesy of http://truenewsthebund.blogspot.com

New Pirate Hot Zone Could Cause Higher Gas Prices

An increasing number of pirate attacks off the coast of West Africa could lead to rising prices at the pump.

Sources:WINK-TVTheEastAfricanAllAfrica

ChristianScienceMonitor

Watch video: http://www.newsy.com/videos/new-pirate-hot-zone-could-cause-higher-gas-prices/ 

By Jessica Siebert

Anchor: Lauren Zima

Link courtesy of Newsy.com