The Government of Rwanda and its partners this month completed relocation of some 12,000 Congolese refugees from Gihembe in Gicumbi District to Mahama in Kirehe District in what officials say was an evacuation exercise occasioned by the susceptibility of the now-closed refugee camp to natural disasters. The former refugee settlement was deemed to be in the eye of the storm, especially with regard to landslides, in part due to its hilly terrain and environmental degradation, a situation which threatened the safety of the residents. Following the evacuation, authorities are expected to embark on an effort to restore the pristine nature of the degraded area. Now, increasingly human activity has turned us and the environment in which we live highly prone to Mother Earth’s wrath, yet we continue to repeat the same destructive practices again and again with little regard for the negative consequences this has both on the current and future generations. All the while disasters continue to strike, claiming lives and destroying livelihoods, and injuring many people. While much of the attention in recent times has rightly been on the Covid pandemic and economic recovery, the government should continue to do everything to protect the environment. Similarly, it is imperative that individual citizens and communities remain acutely aware of the dangers that natural disasters pose and take concrete steps to mitigate them and fully partake in efforts to find sustainable solutions. One of the recent weather patterns attributed to environmental degradation and climate change has been destructive rains, with the Rwanda Meteorology Agency warning this week of heavy showers in mostly northern, western and southern regions. According to the weather alert, there were fears the heavy rainfall could trigger widespread flooding and landslides, as well as destroy infrastructure and crops. It also warned of a possible increase in accidents due to poor visibility on the roads. Such warnings should never be taken lightly even as some people have sometimes questioned the precision of forecasts. But we should not be weather conscious only when such alerts are issued, rather everyone needs to be continuously proactive and engaged on weather matters, with view to protecting lives and property. Climate change is real and its impacts are increasingly dire and widespread and we must all stay alive to the fact that the primary responsibility for one’s safety in view of the hostile environment lies with them.
