Every year on October 1, Rwandans celebrate Patriotism Day, an event that coincides with the launch of the armed struggle when young Rwandans took up arms and launched a struggle in 1990 to liberate the country from decades of anarchy.

In an exclusive interview with The New Times, the Executive Secretary of the Chancellery for Heroes, National Orders and Decorations of Honour (CHENO) Déo Nkusi said Patriotism Day is a moment when Rwandans should reminisce about the true love of their nation.

The Executive Secretary of the Chancellery for Heroes, National Orders and Decorations of Honour, Deo Nkusi. Courtesy

According to him, on such day, every Rwandan, most especially the young generation are reminded of their duty to uphold the culture of patriotism with proven integrity including the sense of courage and sacrifice to support positive actions geared towards nation building.

Patriotism in national curriculum

Asked about the issue of imbedding patriotism in school curriculum so that it is taught as has long been discussed in different forums, Nkusi explained that it’s a very important aspect in as far as building the core values of civic education among the youth is concerned.

"Teaching patriotism in schools can be a very good aspect, but it should not only be in schools…it should be inculcated right from the family level because family is the foundation; however much you try to build a strong house without a foundation, that house will not last for long,” he said.

1st October is symbolic

Meanwhile, speaking to The New Times, Lt (rtd) Joseph Sabena, who participated in the armed struggle that liberated the country said that 1 October was a symbolic date for Rwandans in such a way that it opened a new chapter for the country.

He said that this is the day that initiated change in almost every aspect of the country’s development discourse, be it in infrastructure, economic, social, political among others.

"Unlike in the past, today there is nothing like discrimination in schools and other institutions like it happened before and this situation was ushered in by the liberation that started on this day 31 years ago,” he said.

Besides demonstrable patriotism exhibited by the forces that liberated the country 27 years ago, over the years, there have been Rwandans who over the years have espoused patriotism in different ways.

Among them are students of Nyange Secondary School in Ngororero District, who in 1997 were attacked at their school by extremist armed insurgents, asking them to separate themselves according to ethnic groups.

They refused and were shot indiscriminately by the attackers, killing many among them.

According to Aime Barihuta, the director of the school at the time, his students had traits of patriotism despite the fact that majority of them were still young.

Six students died on spot, one died later and a big number of others were injured, some permanently. In 2001, Nyange students were recognised as National Heroes in the category of Imena.

In an interview, Emmanuel Urimubenshi, one of the 40 students who survived the attack of March 18 1997, told The New Times that there were different reasons pushed them to refuse to separate themselves.

One and most important, according to him, was the horrific experience the country had just emerged from hardly three years back where over a million people had been killed due to such ethnic profiling.

"The school administration at the time played a very important role in uniting us, because, it organized regular meetings in which they sensitized us to always embrace the culture of unity amongst us.

These factors made our decision easy to stand as one and firmly tell the attackers that we are all Rwandans and would therefore not be separated despite facing death.”

He added that the youth of today should also strive to make the right choices and put the country’s interests ahead of individual which he said will lead to a not only peaceful but also prosperous nation.

Meanwhile, the Executive Secretary of CHENO said that the day is a special occasion to reflect on what has been achieved so far in terms of national unity and reconciliation and to celebrate various aspects of economic transformation, and good governance among other areas, where Rwanda has become an example to many Africa countries and the entire world.