Rwandans will this week celebrate for the 29th time, the anniversary of the liberation of the country, which, in all likelihood, exemplifies the country’s rebirth. On July 4, 1994, forces of Rwanda Patriotic Army, the armed wing of RPF-Inkotanyi, which is the ruling party currently, liberated the country that had sunk into the abyss as the world watched with indifference. The liberators were young, many of them in their 20s. They not only succeeded in extracting Rwandans from the anarchy that had prevailed for decades, but most importantly stopped the Genocide against the Tutsi, which was planned and executed by the then government. Unfortunately, by the time the Genocide was stopped by these gallant fighters, over one million innocent lives had been lost during one of the most virulent murderous campaigns in recent world history. Thousands of survivors of the genocide were injured, and more thousands of traumatized children were left orphans, with their former homes looted and completely destroyed. Nonetheless, the young liberators picked up these ruins and began the unenviable journey of rebuilding the country that was badly destroyed by the murderous regime. With national coffers left empty by the genocidal regime, and a badly scarred country, all odds were stacked against them succeeding. They however managed to build the country to what it is today. On days like these, we are all challenged to remember those gallant sons and daughters of Rwanda that lost their lives during the four-year liberation struggle. Most importantly, we are reminded to reflect on our individual roles in sustaining the gains made post-genocide. We do not have to pick guns like the young liberators did three decades ago, which means that our job is much easier. All we need is to put the country first in everything we do. We all have a role to play to make this great nation achieve its ambitious targets of significantly improving the quality of life for Rwandans and to build a solid, united community that will for generations to come, withstand any attempt to sink them back into the abyss of 1994. Doing this will make the sacrifices by our liberators, especially those who paid the ultimate price, worthwhile.
