A message to those wishing ill on Rwandan society; you waste only your time

I am often amused by those people or groups that spend time on social media as well as other Internet forums, wishing violence on Rwanda - like has been the case the past few days with a few misguided souls attempting to plant seeds of chaos. ALSO READ: Tshisekedi delivers comedic gold in Brussels speech These are groups and individuals for whom, to mention the obvious, Rwanda’s progress in the past three decades is unbearable. Top of the list are the supporters of past regimes that plunged this country into the abyss in 1994, and well before: fugitives that fled justice to Europe, North America, and elsewhere, as well as their offspring. ALSO READ: Open-visa, infrastructure-ready: Why Rwanda is rewriting hosting rules Next are the professional denialists and negationists of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. They are propagandists that will do everything in their power to smear the administration in Kigali. They write books, newspaper articles, and social media posts promoting the hideous lie that “Kagame and the RPF are the ones responsible for the genocide.” ALSO READ: The former Rwandan Armed Forces' central role in preparation of 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi They will write a lot of stuff that has zero resemblance to facts, asserting that Rwanda is some sort of hellhole, and other allegations that won’t stand a minute of scrutiny. (Recently amongst first-time visitors that were here for the world cycling championship, there were some that wondered “there were no soldiers in the streets”, and that policemen and women were unfailingly polite and helpful. It was contrary to the drastic image many had been fed). Most recently a lot of the negationists have found a sugar daddy in Kinshasa that pays – very handsomely apparently – for all the smears, misinformation, in their never-ending attempts to tarnish the Rwandan leadership. Last are the “small fish” moving to Europe or elsewhere in the West in hopes of finding a better life, whose most fervent prayer is that something bad (something violent) happen to Rwanda, so they can jump to exclaim: you see, we are telling you all is not well there! And then there are the random, poorly informed anonymous “X” accounts usually run by individuals - fellow Africans that seem very poorly informed about the social dynamics; about what makes Rwandans tick; their attitudes on what’s good or not for their country, and more. Some of these not-so-well-informed individuals think they somehow can infect Rwanda’s youth or able-bodied to engage in chaos and violence. It’s as if they just woke up and have no idea what this country is about, these days. They should know. But for some reason – probably jealousy, envy, pure ill will, or all of it? – they prefer to ignore the fact Rwanda as a society is completely focused on its progress: social, economic, and all other indicators of human wellbeing. In any case few countries could achieve what this one has, in the context of its not-so-distant past. But I need not go into any of that here. Anyone with half a working brain knows. The naysayers too probably know they too are fighting a losing war. Yet this probably is a good moment to remind them: no one knows more than us Rwandans the awfulness; the pure hell that’s violent upheavals and strife in a country. No one. A lot of us were born refugees; children of exile because demagogues of earlier decades thought the best way to gain power, and hold onto it was through acts of mass violence. They plunged Rwanda into its miseries (with a massive assist by colonial masters and church leaders of dubious moral ethics) with ideologies of hate and genocide. Once those terrible politicians chose that path for Rwanda, they almost doomed the country. Each time a demagogue felt they had to consolidate their power, they wheeled out the mass ethnic violence card. That was what Kayibanda did. That was what Habyarimana did. They incited mass uprisings, amplifying hate speech against the Tutsi, fellow citizens, at every turn. Every Rwandan of a certain age knows what it is like when this country descends into mass political violence. Absolutely none of us want that, ever again. Except the fugitives in the West, and their offspring, or other political opportunists that wouldn’t hesitate to burn the country down as the only means to power. But there are other, very tangible, material reasons why no one has less of a reason to engage in upheavals or riots than us Rwandans. Things work in this country. There is law and order here; a law and order moreover that discriminates against none. There is security, for everyone. Basic services – electricity, water, medical care and so on – work. Plus, there is a vision that the political leadership has drawn up, explained, and we Rwandans have bought into. Rwandans trust it will take the country to greater heights of development than ever before. No, nothing can take us back. Those that wish this country ill only waste their time.

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A message to those wishing ill on Rwandan society; you waste only your time