Leading on from Tuesday’s PSA appearance, now the Metro has a message from Natalie about the Rwandan genocide.

The year 1994 should have gone down in history as the year when hope and equality triumphed over oppression and racial division.

But, as the world celebrated the end of apartheid, elsewhere on the continent a genocide was about to commence. About 1million Rwandans were murdered and the international community chose to ignore it.

But ordinary people showed remarkable courage and resilience in the face of total despair. Now, 15 years later, it is that courage which has paved a new path for Rwanda.

But there is still work to be done. There are still schools to furnish, medication to administer and lives to rebuild. We must pledge to stand together in our mission to remember the atrocities.

We all share a duty to honour those who were murdered and support those who survived. We must pledge that crimes against humanity in a far-off country need just as vigorous a response as trouble on our own doorstep.

Really nice hearing Natalie talking about important issues. It’s so frustrating that after the whole “never again” we all dropped the ball again with Sudan.