Editor,

RE: "Genocidal mindsets have no place in today’s Rwanda” (The New Times, January 29).

Attitudes and mindsets are forged over a long period of time, and cannot be undone or reversed with the wave of a magical wand. To succeed in replacing a genocidal mindset with a more wholesome national culture takes time and unflagging concerted efforts.

In my view, we are moving in the right direction and have achieved impressive gains in this area over such a short period. But more needs to be done, and greater time is required, both to completely heal and to build the new attitudes and mindsets we want and deserve for the growing culture of a unified people to become so entrenched it can no longer be uprooted. And all of us will be called upon to make our contribution to this new Rwandaness.

I have no doubt, that in another 20 years, our years of division and propensity to mutual self-destructive reflexes will be a thing of fading memory. It won’t come soon enough.

Mwene Kalinda