Why Rwandans in Diaspora should embrace Kinyarwanda

Editor, RE: “How the priceless Kinyarwanda reconnected me to motherland” (The New Times, April 21). This is a simple, yet, incredibly powerful story for all Rwandans but, mostly those in the diaspora. I spent 26 years in the United States, and I have been a witness to so many Africans losing their identities—not entirely of their making, but because of a strange environment that forces you to assimilate or die. When it comes to young people, the pressures are even more abundant. Young people get to learn foreign languages, which leads many of them to completely ignore their native language; and that’s the beginning of forgetting your culture and tradition. Mr. Mutabazi’s grandmother was a genius, one of the unsung heroes who helped maintain the Rwandan identity of this generation. I hope she is still alive. For her to understand the need to teach you and your brother Kinyarwanda at such a tender age and in a challenging environment and in a strict manner suggests that she is a visionary. Please, if she is alive, pass on my gratitude. And, to you, thank you for sharing a wonderful and powerful story. Eugene Nkusi

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Why Rwandans in Diaspora should embrace Kinyarwanda