Emanuel Cleaver: “My Special Order deals with the very difficult and even painful subject of Rwanda. Mr. Speaker, there is an ancient…”

“My Special Order deals with the very difficult and even painful subject of Rwanda. Mr. Speaker, there is an ancient story about Rwanda. It is one from which a number of meanings can be extracted. We are here today because we remember the victims of the horrific events in our world's history. We honor survivors and recognize the steps that have been taken to remedy the atrocities that have occurred. Over and over, you will hear people on this floor, Mr. Speaker, say that things that have happened in our history that were horrific and inhuman shall never happen again. Things like American slavery and the European extermination, mainly by Germany, of Jews throughout Europe should never happen again. {time} 1745 So we must continue to fight for justice as the international issues come to our consciousness. And we know that, as time moves on, there will be additional tragedies around the globe. Rwanda has certainly experienced its share, if not more than its share, of tragedy. This ancient parable in Rwandan is, God spends the day elsewhere, but he sleeps in Rwanda--Imana yirirwa ahandi igataha I Rwanda. For those of us who are familiar with the creation story, we know that God worked for 6 days and then rested. The Rwandan people believe that God, on the seventh day, came to Rwanda to rest from his work the previous 6 days. Rwanda is 1 mile above sea level, about what Denver, Colorado is.…”