Editor,

On several occasions, I have come across many people in my line of duty and once I pronounce my name, eyebrows are raised and then comes the famous question,

"urumunyrwanda se”?  Meaning, "are you really Rwandan?”
For heavens sake, we are living in an integrated economic bloc. Does it matter whether or not my name is what you would expect to hear?

Instead I believe everyone should be more receptive of the services they expect from the person in question.

Besides, we have so many Rwandans with names that might not really be of Rwandan origin.

Events in our country’s history forced most people especially our forefathers to migrate to various countries. While out there, they could have given their children names that belong to people in those different countries.

The children are back home and are working proudly for the prosperity of their country but unfortunately the questions about names continue to go on!

I personally believe that if one is so interested in confirming one’s origin, they should ask for their national identification (which we did not get by mistake) rather than murmur suspiciously.

I know that I am Rwandan by nationality and by blood so stop questioning my name and getting surprised that I speak my language so fluently.

We must work towards a common goal which is, to build our nation and obviously names are trivial issues.

Concerned Citizen