A recent parliamentary report has indicated that the Genocide ideology is alive and deeply entrenched within part of our education system. This clearly indicates that it may take a lot of time and great efforts to once or eliminate this negative and dangerous line of thinking.

The ideology has in the recent history of mankind led to untold suffering and large scale massacres of human beings in the world. The Rwandan Genocide of 1994 that resulted from such a negative ideology stands out as one of the most horrific human slaughter that took place in a very short time. In barely one hundred days, more than one million Rwandan citizens had been systematically exterminated in the most horrific manner.
The Rwandan Genocide and that of the Jews in Europe by Hitler’s Nazi during the course of the World war Two have in recent history put a great and permanent scar on the conscience of the world.

Thus, the fight against the Genocide ideology is not only a national affair but an international issue. Conventions have been put in place to curb this human induced negative ideology. The fact that it has been identified in schools makes quiet a number of people jittery about the future.

This is so because our schools are the breeding grounds of the future generation. Among the current school going pupils and students are some who will at a point in future assume leadership at different levels of society be it local, national or even international. Now with Genocide ideology reportedly at a level of over fifty percent in some schools, one shudders at the prospect of such pupils or students growing up to become leaders of tomorrow.

In case they are not ideologically re-oriented, what kind of future is there for such a generation? All efforts and measures must be put in place at school and more still at the family level to curb this serious problem. Young children’s behaviour and thinking in most cases may not be distinct from that of their charges. Those who play a role in their upbringing have a role to re-orient such young people ideologically.

The authorities like parliamentarians and others have to take a look at where such young people harbouring that negative ideology come from. This will help in solving the problem among other positive interventions that have for a long time been championed through the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission.

The commitment of the government agencies towards Unity and Reconciliation as a mechanism of eliminating the negative ideology of Genocide has never been in dispute. Its commitment to solve this ideological negativity is there for all to see. But now with a parliamentary report indicating that the ideology is deeply entrenched, then it becomes very alarming.

Dealing with the issue should be a collective effort but nevertheless it can now be realised that there could be elements within the country who may be bent on frustrating the national effort towards bringing about unity in the country. Most of the Genocide ideologues of the vanquished regime that held sway prior to July 1994 are well known to still harbour their negative ideology and are bent on spreading it to the young generation.

They should not be allowed to gain foothold, be it physically or through their ideology within the country. Even where they have found sanctuary be it in Eastern DR Congo or in Europe, they should be followed there and brought to Justice or Justice delivered to them wherever they may be.

By dealing with those who initially propagated and carried out Genocide, a message will have been sent to whoever stubbornly or senselessly chooses to continue harbouring such kind of thinking. It will show the young that it is the wrong path that will lead to permanent ruin for whoever tries to live that wrong course.

The anti Semite Nazi ideology of Genocide has been ruthlessly dealt with and whoever harbours it clearly understands the consequences. Great efforts must be carried out to ensure that all that harbour the Genocide ideology in the Rwanda and outside the country are isolated and blacklisted.

This can be a national and international effort and it will send a message to the young generation among other measures, like solidarity camps to bring about oneness in the country.
fkagabo@gmail.com