Hundreds of thousands around the country have since the eve of Good Friday been engaged in religious rituals that lead up to Easter Sunday, when Christians around the world mark the resurrection of Jesus Christ over 2000 years ago. Easter is an occasion for believers to reflect on Jesus’ love for mankind, the price He paid to reunite man with God. But we should also draw lessons from His love and sacrifices to become better members of our communities. Now, Rwanda is a predominantly Christian society. But even long before the advent of Christianity, Rwandans were always believers. They actually believed that God was more ‘Rwandan’ than anything else, a belief exemplified in the old Rwandan saying, ’God spends the day elsewhere but returns home at night roost’. Rwandans were also godly people and the young ones were always groomed to grow into loving, sociable and caring people. Strangers would not be allowed to travel at night, instead they would be welcomed home, given a meal and a place to rest and then allowed to continue with their journey in the morning. Rwanda was a nation-state of ‘Ubumuntu’ (humanness) and courteous people long before the arrival of missionaries and colonialists, long before we adopted western names and values. It was not long before the missionaries who asked us to convert to their religions proved to be agents of colonialism and all that it stood for. Rwandans were divided along fictitious ethnic identities and the Church became part and parcel of successive repressive regimes that entrenched hate and later genocide ideology. Otherwise, how do you explain the fact that so many senior clerics, let alone the rank and file of the Church, took part in killings even at the alter inside places of worship during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi? Many betrayed their faithful and did not even forgive children or pregnant mothers and their foetus. One of the reminders of that despicable situation are several Catholic Churches that have since been turned into Genocide Memorial Centres – places that hundreds of thousands of victims had ran to in search of refuge. Twenty-five years later, Rwandans are still a strong Christian community despite the failings and betrayals of the past. And the clergy still occupy an influential position in society. So, thousands upon thousands will flock to churches this Easter Weekend eager to hear from their religious leaders. We urge clerics to seize the opportunity and preach love, repentance and reconciliation. Among the faithful are Genocide survivors and perpetrators, some of whom have never reconciled with their past and continue to hide the real truth of what happened in 1994. Some know where victims were dumped but have never volunteered information so they can be retrieved and accorded decent burial. Some have never showed remorse and apologise to those whose loved ones they killed. This Easter should be an opportunity for repentance and renewal. And the Church should be both an enabler and active participant in this journey to healing and reconciliation.
