It is a grey April in Rwanda. The country is mourning the more than a million of its citizens whose lives were tragically cut short by a genocide machine.Nineteen years later, Rwandans reflect on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and the consequences of hate and divisive politics with a sense of deep anguish. No words can express what survivors feel. But we also remember our loved ones with enduring hope and faith in the new Rwanda.Rwandans can proudly look back at what they have achieved together as a people over the last 19 years, with strong conviction that they can go on and realise whatever they have set their sights on.From justice, reconciliation and healing the wounds caused by a deeply traumatic past, to social protection, health, education, ICT, gender and youth empowerment, Rwandans have achieved well above the expectations of many.Last year, buoyed by the achievements registered over the past few years, the government revised the 2020 Vision targets, including a GDP per capita of 1,240 – up from the initially projected $900 – that would graduate the country to a middle-income economy.And the recent National Leadership Retreat set even a more ambitious target – achieving the middle-income status by 2018, which will require the economy to grow by at least an average of 11.5 per cent per annum.Yet there is reason to believe that this target is achievable after all. For the past few years, Rwanda has maintained an average annual growth rate of 8 per cent at a time the global economy shrunk significantly, sometimes leaving even the world’s biggest economies struggling to register minimal growth. As we remember those infamous 100 dark days, we should hold our heads up high, uphold the true meaning of Never Again and march on to a future this country deserves.
