Western Province

The country experienced a turbulent history of bloodshed, hatred for one another and insecurity in the past regimes.

What should dwell in to people’s mind is that we need to jealously protect the current peace for it can diminish in a moment if not guarded.

However, to restore hope to a fragile citizen; genocide survivors and the poor, there is need fro reassurance that they would be safe as Rwandan citizens. But most paramount is to wipe out the genocide ideology.

"If in 1994 Rwandans had not been divided by the previous government which instilled hatred with phrases that implied that a good Tutsi was a dead one, the genocide would have been avoided,” said Francis Ngendahayo, a local defense leader.

 "Likewise if it was not for the Belgians to encourage ethnic divisions all Rwandans would be one without divisions,” he added.

At a seminar at ETO technical school in Karongi where over 500 are attending lectures on different topics of good governance, the genocide ideology still prevalent among residents in the province has raised prominence.

Take an example of a teacher who bluntly speaks out in a class room of 50 students:

"I am worried of the incessant Gacaca jurisdictions, my whole family will be jailed yet they are innocent”. 

One local leader once observed that there were serious manifestations of the genocide ideology which the country needed to address before thinking of any other developmental issue.

In his recent address to participants attending solidarity camp, minister of Aids and other infectious diseases Innocent Nyaruhirira urged patriotism and the fight against genocide ideology which he described as a ‘cancer’.

"We have to fight for our own freedom and that of other compatriots by fighting the genocide ideology for it’s a cancer that can’t let us have peace,” he said.

He stressed the need for nationals to have a common goal in achieving the country’s vision.

However, without peace, accumulation of wealth becomes elusive.

There is need to focus on bottlenecks to development like fighting the HIV/Aids virus and embark on productive methods of farming and tree planting to avoid desertification.

Leaders need to live an exemplary life than dividing the subjects.

Ngendahayo says in good leadership, reconciliation and love for each other should be the core.

As people in the solidarity camp expressed gratitude to the current leadership, their major point of appreciation was the government restraint to avenge the acts of genocide after assuming power.

"Imagine if the spirit of ‘an eye for an eye’ was employed by the current leadership who would be settled in Rwanda now?

The country would obviously be empty because the culprits are enormous compared to the survivors,” they observed.

The genocide ideology is more harmful and if the perpetrators were forgiven there should be no reason to nurse grudges, instead concentrate on gaining what was lost. Be responsible citizens and work towards vision 2020 with the rest.

Ends