Renowned Rwandan Poet Junior Rumaga has released a poem in collaboration with singer Bill Ruzima that talks about challenges faced by the diaspora. “But even though its hard, I wont lose your cut though it gets to you as my pockets get empty. And they say we made it, we are living our best life, and we quickly forgot about them. I wish they knew our struggles with landlords here paying bills and taxes every season, are some of the words in Umudiyasipora, a poem that was released yesterday, September 9, by Junior Rumaga featuring Bill Ruzima “We are talking about the living conditions of the diaspora, trying to do an overview of how they live daily,” Rumaga told The New Times. Rumaga further explained that ‘Umudiyasipora is a poem that depicts the life that many individuals (mainly Africans) go through when they leave their home countries to seek opportunities overseas, and how they suffer, particularly in these Covid-19 times. “Those who left, returning isn’t easy for them at all especially in this covid-19 times. The poem is calling on those who went abroad not to be prideful, but if things aren’t going well, it’s still okay to come back to their home country ,” he said. Rumaga is a Rwandan-based poet, who has since 2019done many poems that talk about different subjects. These include; Ayabasore, which many people enjoyed, Tugane Iwacu, Inkovu y’urukundo, and many more. All of them add up to 10 pieces. He shared that he draws inspiration from what people go through and instantly composes a poem to help them. Rumaga referred to the whole project as a creation of art inspired by stories shared by different people. Rumaga, who normally collaborates with other artists, collaborated with a musician for the first time, who he felt was a good fit for the concept he had, and is eager to collaborate with various musicians since it gives a special touch to his poems. He also intends to release his first collection of poems, titled Mawe (Mother) and will continue writing more fresh poems.
