There is nothing worse than being stateless or living in limbo in a foreign land yet your country beckons.

Many do not choose to be refugees but are forced by circumstances; usually political upheavals, and Rwanda has seen its fair share in the last half century. The country’s latest exodus took place during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, when the rogue government, in its flight, herded millions into exile to be used as future bargaining chips.

Many endured hardships for as long as they could bear, feeding on rumours that their country was not safe, but in actual fact, were pawns in a complicated charade. But it did not last long, and most returned.

To date, an estimated 70,000 Rwandans live as refugees, the majority in African countries. But that status will be no more come June 30, when the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) Cessation Clause is invoked.

Many refugees have built new lives and integrated in their host countries, but still, having the refugee tag is cumbersome, yet their country’s doors are wide open and there is political will to repatriate them.

Voluntary repatriation has been the cornerstone in ending the refugee saga and many have embraced it, a far cry from previous regimes that used "over-population” as a pretext to keep its sons and daughters away.

Every Rwandan has a share in their country, be they living as expatriates or refugees, it’s their indelible right that no one can revoke.