Rwanda veterans to reunite

From 22 to 26 April, Townsville RSL Sub Branch will be hosting a number of events for the 30th Anniversary of Rwanda Veterans’ Reunion, designed to bring Rwanda veterans together and honour their service.

Rwanda veteran and Townsville RSL President Colin Mosch says the reunion will offer multiple opportunities for Rwanda veterans to reconnect and commemorate this significant deployment.

“Given we’ve got veterans living across the country, it can be really hard to get a lot of people together at the same time to catch up,” Colin explains. 

“So we wanted to create an event with multiple opportunities across a few days for people to reconnect with each other to make their trip up north even more worthwhile. 

“All Rwandan veterans trained here before deployment and for many of us, Townsville was where our military careers were shaped.” 

A mission that left its mark 

Between 1994 and 1995, Australia was involved in one of its most difficult peacekeeping missions ever undertaken. More than 600 Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel served on Operation Tamar as part of the United Nations’ second taskforce, United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda II (UNAMIR II). 

The mission itself was made up of Army, Navy and Air Force personnel, deployed primarily to provide medical and humanitarian support where possible.

Australian peacekeepers in Rwanda in 1994 (image credit Australian War Memorial)

These Australians made up two ADF contingents, both of which served in Rwanda for six months: one from August 1994 to February 1995 and the other from February to August 1995. This year marks a significant anniversary as 30 years ago, the two contingents overlapped, signifying a defining moment in the mission.

“Both contingents faced extreme challenges, arriving in a country that had just suffered one of the most brutal genocides in history. The cruelty the Rwandans inflicted upon each other was horrific,” Colin recalls. 

“It was a unique situation to observe – truly a bit surreal.” 

Reunion events and ANZAC Day march 

Through the support of Townsville RSL Sub Branch, the five-day reunion will include a mixture of relaxed and semi-formal events.  

“On the Tuesday (22 April) we will be hosting a relaxed meet and greet, which will be followed by the official reunion dinner at the RSL on the Wednesday evening,” Colin says. 

Veterans in Townsville 

“We’ve then organised for the Rwandan veterans to be the lead veteran group for our ANZAC Day march, followed by some relaxed farewell drinks on Saturday afternoon before everyone departs. 

“The Sub Branch will also be covering the cost of the banner that the Rwanda veterans will carry during the march, and like we with did with INTERFET veterans last year for the 25th anniversary of Australian service in Timor-Leste, we’ll encourage all the Rwanda veterans to sign their name and leave a message on the banner and it’ll go into our memorabilia display.” 

Find out more 

If you’re a veteran interested in attending the 30th Anniversary Rwanda Veterans’ Reunion, visit rslqld.org/whats-on/30th-anniversary-rwanda-reunion for details.