July 4, 2021 marked the 27th Anniversary of Liberation, celebrating the day which put an end to 100 days of the Genocide against the Tutsi in 1994.

After 27 years, "Genocide widows are proud of recovery efforts and are still praising RPF-Inkotanyi for liberating the country and helping them to come out of their shell and began to rebuild themselves.”

The New Times’ Abraham Uwimana interviewed Valerie Mukabayire, the president of the National Association of Genocide Widows (AVEGA), who explained what liberation means to them.

Excerpts:

What does Liberation Day mean to you?

Liberation means a lot. Someone is liberated because they were bonded and then they free themselves. Liberation Day is an anniversary that marks the remembrance of the day of July 4, 1994, when Rwandans were without freedom and hope for the future. The country was in a mess, many people were dead and survivors didn’t know what to do next. That is when Inkotanyi came in and consoled us telling us that it was over.

That was like the resurrection day for many. That is why I can define liberation as moving from worst to best things, from darkness to light and from sadness to happiness.

What do you personally remember about that day?

I remember I was in one family where I fled with my two kids, where the head of the family was one of the leaders of Interahamwe, but before the Genocide he was a so-called friend of our family.

During the night of July 3, they had a patrol at 2 p.m, when he got home two friends of his informed him that Inkotanyi took over the country. They packed their things and left. I thought that I would join them because I did not know what was going on but he forbade me and my kids to leave the house (because he knew that if we left they would kill us), instead he locked us in.

We spent a whole week indoors without any clue of what was going on outside, until I found a radio and switched it on. That’s when I came to know that Inkotanyi took over the country, but I did not know what it really meant because there was no one around to ask.

So for me, I did not know that I was liberated until after one week when people returned from the place they were gathered while Inkotanyi were managing the situation. Nevertheless, it was hard to believe that we were really liberated because of trauma. We feared that Interahamwe would come back to the extent you could hear people walking around and fear that they might be Interahamwe.

How you (Genocide widows) did embrace the Liberation?

To believe that we survived was not easy, remembering our loved ones who died, sometimes it brought trauma. We would ask ourselves, "yes, we are alive, then what about people who died? Are we not going to see them again? Are we going to be on our own?”

But slowly, we understood the meaning of liberation that people were going to have freedom. Inkotanyi never ceased to comfort us in one way or another.

 There is a speech of His Excellency, Paul Kagame, who was the Vice President at that time, he said that 'Be assured that you won’t hear bullets over you ever again. Strive for your growth and I will handle the security.'

That pushed us to start thinking about building ourselves, liberating ourselves from sorrow and loneliness. In seeking how we can start the new life, we joined together all Genocide widows and we started comforting one another in gatherings we had, for we were all shocked and didn’t know what to do next.

We resolved not to remain in tears, but to stand up and strive for the dignity of our families on behalf of our late husbands. We agreed that our survival meant God’s plan on our lives, therefore, we had to take full responsibility for our families.

Which difference did meeting together as Genocide widows make?

Starting AVEGA was the best decision because it helped all every one of us to get a shoulder to cry on, and someone to tell your sorrow assured that they understand you well.

It did not end there because there were other issues that needed to be addressed, like health issues, where some were the consequences of the Genocide.

We established a program that would resolve those issues like assigning a psychologist in every district to help with mental issues of our members, and we trained enough volunteers for the same purpose because many were in need of the services. Later in 2010, we established the clinic to take care of health problems among AVEGA’s beneficiaries.

Not only that but we were also able to help our members get justice, and we resolved social problems, with compliance to the Government program.

Through those programs and with the help of other partners and FARG (Genocide Survivors Assistance Fund), we were able to build houses for every Genocide widow who was in need. By now we don’t have anyone claiming that they don’t have shelter. We only have those who need help in repairing which they already have.

Likewise with the help of the First Lady, ageing survivors of 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, who have no immediate family members left, were given shelter known as "Impinganzima” in Nyamata, Bugesera District.

We also created small cooperatives to help our members to step up. We helped them start small businesses so that they can develop themselves and take care of their children. They were also facilitated to easily get a loan in Banque Populaire du Rwanda. In addition, some of our members were able to resume studies because they were not given the chance before.

AVEGA became like a real family, of people who love each other, sharing their problems and finding solutions.

We are proud to say that Genocide widows were not left out in the journey to the development process and they were able to take care of their families.

What are the challenges that are still in place?

We are now starting to face another challenge, which is that some of us are getting old, and that comes with some health issues that need to be addressed at a high level.

Another challenge is trauma, which is still there even after 27 years. Even though there is a remarkable decrease, there are still some who still face it and need to be cared for.

Another issue is to look for the future of the very children we raised. We have to know if they are ready to step in once we are gone. There are still challenges around that like unemployment which is famous among many youths, we are trying to see how we can address that also.

What are you (AVEGA) mostly thankful for after all these years?

We are most thankful for our president, Paul Kagame, who has been there for us since day one. He always wanted to know how we are doing, sometimes came to check on us asking if everything was fine, he supported us in many ways, both emotionally and financially.

We are also most thankful for the First Lady, she is like our sister who cares for us in everything, and she was with us in every step and is still helping us until now.

We are also grateful for other different partners of the past, the present and the future.

What is your advice to the younger generation?

The youth of today have a lot of opportunities we didn’t have in our time. They were raised in a good country, they are loved. They have to do their best in everything they are doing, be it studies or anything else. They have to use these technological advances to equip their mind because the country is theirs tomorrow, they can't lead it when they are not ready, so they better be ready.