Fidel Castro said, in 1961, that: “A revolution is a struggle to the death between the future and the past”. The Liberation Day celebrated in Rwanda on July 4 symbolizes the same truth because it was a political victory for the worth of a historic cause we won at an extremely high price of hardships. The struggle was really between the future and the past, and it still continues! ALSO READ: Liberation generation have played their part in Rwanda’s story; youth must now write the history of the future Since 1990 the world witnessed a successful struggle against the terribly mediocre political ideology that the people of Rwanda have lived through for almost four decades which in result culminated into the genocide against the Tutsi. ALSO READ: For one genocide survivor, liberation began with a walk After the genocide was stopped by the Rwanda Patriotic Army in 1994, began another heroic journey; one of reconciliation, reconstruction, and transformation, with the participation of multiple political parties united under the leadership of the RPF. ALSO READ: Three decades later, RDF continues to inspire a nation The society is stable today thanks to the ideology of the RPF that prioritizes the inclusion of each and every citizen in politics, ensuring that all members of the society have equal opportunities to participate in and be represented in processes that shape policies and decisions that affect their lives. From the trap of political fatalism to empowerment Before the RPF came into the political scene, debates that existed in Rwanda regarding strategic choices to make as a people were always distorted by the divide pitting different segments of the society against each other. ALSO READ: ‘Patriotism is not about dying, it’s about defending’ – Gen Rwivanga The political elite of that time also believed that the worth of our country is proportionate its small size, its landlockedness, with a few natural resources as compared to the worth of other counties that are more gifted by nature. Therefore, the dominant mindset has been driven by high aid dependence. ALSO READ: Rwanda’s ambitious future depends on value-driven youth Such a deficit in national self-esteem, perpetuated a societal perception that endemic poverty was unsurmountable and fostered political fatalism, which rendered futile some scattered efforts to solve societal problems. This was the problem underlying the political structures established by the regime that actively produced and sustained people’s disempowerment. ALSO REEAD: What Kwibohora means to Rwandans living abroad It is important to note that, disempowerment was not due to a mere lack of visionary leadership. Calculatedly rather, poverty functioned as a tool of control, fragmenting the society and discouraging collective action. Similarly, the regime deployed minimal effort in addressing ignorance in the society – even in simple terms of compounded level of illiteracy and educational service available in the country. It allowed systemic ignorance to thrive because it had interest in ensuring that citizens lack the knowledge and means to challenge elite dominance or unfair systems. In contrast, since inception the RPF considers poverty and ignorance as profound injustices because they restrict individuals' ability to make choices, trapping them in situations of vulnerability. Indeed, ignorance prevents people from understanding, addressing, and solving the very problems that keep them impoverished. All over the world, it is proven by research that poverty is not simply an unfortunate condition—it is the result of flawed institutions, unchecked balance, and widespread ignorance. Poverty and ignorance together, dehumanize, exclude, perpetuate structural power imbalances, and leave people vulnerable to exploitation by politicians and a corrupt societal elite. RPF's empowerment ideology has transformed citizens into active agents of development, breaking their old mentality of passive beneficiaries. In this regard, one most remarkable example is prioritizing gender equality and youth development as core drivers of national recovery and sustainable development. A struggle for freedom and justice To liberate a country, one of the most important imperatives is to liberate the minds of the young people and adults alike. For the youth, this imperative is even more pronounced because investing in their enlightenment is building the leadership of tomorrow. The RPF’s liberation struggle created the awareness for Rwandans to discover their situation and their possibilities as a people. It included armed campaigns and continued popular education programs, which helped Rwandans to achieve a deeper understanding of the social reality which shapes their lives and their capacity to transform that reality. Indeed, as aptly observed by James. A. Garfield, the 20th President of the United States of America, “next in importance to freedom and justice is popular education, without which neither freedom no justice can be permanently maintained”. The unique character of the young fighters who liberated Rwanda was nurtured by clear ideology. This was key to overcoming enormous challenges encountered both during RPF’s armed struggle and under its government. Inkotanyi, the liberating force, had been shaped with emancipative values. It was trained to turning hardships into own most valuable asset. Difficulties encountered in different phases of the struggle taught the actors to discover that will allows humans to drive monumental societal progress, transcend physical and mental limitations, and fundamentally define a desired destiny. This enabled RPF to have a steady moral infrastructure that supports the material progress in achieving its objectives. Unquestionably, after experiencing a totalitarian rule which culminated into a total break of social cohesion in the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, Rwanda has quickly mutated to become a united society, stable, reconciled, and geared towards sustainable development with freedom and justice being its core ingredients. In the past, social cohesion broke because a government decided that the protection and rights of citizens in their capacity as citizens had to be limited and selective. Instead, their protection and rights were mainly determined by other factors such as ethnicity, social status, social and political affiliations, and economic and political resources. People’s validation History of liberation struggles shows that the successful ones often foster a strong sense of national unity, shared identity, and patriotism, as citizens work together toward common goals that include sustainable security and accelerated socio-economic development. However, central to people’s validation of being liberated is the extent to which they feel freedom and justice valued by the new political system. It worth reminding that when liberation started in Rwanda, citizens were experiencing injustices in their daily lives, where judicial procedures often see the highest bidder prevail; where entry into secondary and tertiary education is the result of money and influence rather than knowledge; where the best jobs are allocated not on the basis of competency but connections, and where cases that manifest incompetence or abuse of power often end in promotion of their perpetrators based on their state and aid connections. In fact, the governmental apparatus had retained the exclusion character inherited from the colonial period. It built the features of its civil and military bureaucracies on the colonial exercise of power using permanent political violence to make sure that democratic aspirations of Rwandans do not disturb the order that suit their interests, where rules allowed to deny certain categories of people opportunities which are open to other persons who are comparable; where grave human right violations were trivialized with impunity as some people were entitled to protect perpetrators against the law. In 1992-1993, the RPF used its military strength and the platform provided by the Arusha peace talks to negotiate a comprehensive legal and political framework that fundamentally reshaped Rwanda's governance towards its aspiration to the Rule of Law. Since the day RPF took power in 1994 after defeating the genocidal regime, the struggle continued towards establishing constitution guarantees for fundamental rights, equality before the law, and separation of powers, with the new government framing its governance within these principles. Subsequently, transformational results attained today send a powerful signal from the RPF-led government that its political commitment and institutional discipline are focused on ensuring that progress is felt by citizens in their daily interactions with public services sustainably. Palpable indicators of success include: the decision-making process is open and transparent; the rules, according to which the government acts, are general and universal, and they are enforced effectively; the citizens are encouraged to organize themselves autonomously in associations, interest organizations, parties, and so on, which provide channels for popular participation in political decision-making; and, the legal system aims at protecting the citizens and many channels of access to the state apparatus are provided together with possibilities of appeal. True Liberation began when the guns fell silent Today, as Rwanda advances from recovery to consolidation, liberation calls for renewal beyond saluting the victory of both living and fallen heroes who paid the ultimate sacrifice for Rwanda to be free and safe. Renewal must be regarded as a legacy to adapt with evolving circumstances. This requires for the youths to understand that the liberation struggle still continues in a process they are totally part, not perceive it as a success of the older generation in shaping the civic life they are proud of as beneficiaries. Indeed, through participation, empowerment and support, national transformation is really moved by young people with innovation and creativity. President Paul Kagame emphasized this urge at Kwibohora 30, when he said: “Real liberation only begins when the guns fall silent.” He further accentuated that “Rwanda’s struggle today has a bigger scope than just surviving. It is about living well, with success. Succeeding against poverty, dependence, and indignity. Succeeding as an upright nation of Africans who play our part to build a better continent and a fairer world”. In fact, the so-defined mission for the youth is in line with creating self-worth “Agaciro”, which has been the backbone of Rwanda’s current policies and politics under the inspirational leadership of President Kagame. Active identification and use of own resources with the determination to build our nation to the point that no one sees us as below others constitute a historic outcome. It is the spirit young Rwandans are being been raised in, with dignity and for dignity, featuring RPF’s philosophy - valuing one another and contributing to the well-being of your neighbor the same way he or she contributes to yours – The continued struggle for the ideologically-renewed Rwanda is to keep the momentum of emerging as a strong nation on the move towards self-reliance, refusing to dwell in the past but instead blazing the trail ahead towards a promising future of freedom, justice, and prosperity. In that process, young patriots must always play the foundational role. Undoubtedly, the Gen-Z of Rwanda have the way and the will. The writer is a Member of Parliament.
