Unlike in most post conflict countries, and especially post-conflict-post genocide country, which Rwanda is the only one in Africa in modern African history, the political debate at hand takes substance over form. And as pointed out in the previous articles, the last 19 years of reconstruction has been systematic and holistic as well.

Systematic because, after genocide, all systems literally broke down, both economic as well as social. This therefore meant that, rebuilding of Rwanda after such heinous crime had to holistic.

And although the rebuilding of the economy which has been very impressive, the rebuilding of hearts and minds of Rwandans is more daunting. The later as pointed out earlier, is still a raw material, compared to the former, which is why the pace we are on now, can only be sustained, and not changed for the sake of any other hypothetic consideration, which would be to subordinate the essence of a struggle of a people, to struggle free mentality. And this all being done, in a new Rwanda. 

Rwanda: ‘A Foreign Country’

The return to normalcy from the abnormal Rwanda, which as pointed out is the handiwork of President Kagame and his exemplary leadership, took place in a foreign country, Rwanda. Foreign in that, after 1994, Rwandese who had been denied their birth rights to citizenship by the then political establishment under the guise that, the country was too small to accommodate all her citizens, came back, and in large numbers.

This meant that, we are a people drawn from all corners of the world, joining their compatriots that stayed home and we are brought together by unity of purpose for what we can do for our motherland, but we are not as adage goes ‘where the rubber meets the road’ for the political process underway to accomplish this is a startup, and any changes in the same has serious consequences to the making of a new Rwanda, where all are one, and one in one country, Rwanda. 

That this foreign country Rwanda, has had to bear the overweight burden of genocide legacy, calls for out of textbook political engagement/dispensation, that cannot not fit another country anywhere. Ignoring these facts of nation hood at the alter of expediency, and conformity would be imprudence of proportions. Which also means that, our political debate need to capture the essence off ‘a foreign country’ we are and recognize the initiatives of making it unitary in all aspects of a life of a country. 

The visionary leadership of President Kagame’s transformational attributes have been as inclusive as they can be in this process, and have indeed captured these substance of foreignness of Rwandese and tamed the same to fit the new Rwanda that all can now call home. Taking these initiatives for granted, would be irresponsible to a people that are aware of the truth and would resent this with dire consequence we can only avoid. This indeed would be a choice of idealism over realism, with serious societal disorientations that would in themselves feed negatively into our social fabric. 

Hope Un-Hoped for:

For some of us from national exile, the idea of ever coming home was merely hope against hope. Although human nature negates the pain of loss of everything human with time, ours is too short a time to forget what we went through. The most dehumanizing experience one can go through in life. A people condemned to abandon and rejected even by the so-called do-Gooding none government actors who had been accomplice to the then government policy of writing off part of her people, just because of who they were born. Ours was nobody else’s cause, and never will be. It was, and is ours, all ours now and always, .

In fact, except for diehard genocide deniers and negationists (carrying indelible scars of what they did to their own), President Kagame’s leadership has given hope to all Rwandans of goodwill as they have been accorded equal opportunities and respect so much so that, most chose to come back home. Many others are in the process of doing so. The main worry in this debate, is that, such hope becomes risky the more the pacifier is seen to leave before their decade worries subside. This would certainly ignite reversal exodus we have not witnessed in our country. 

In his interactions with our Diaspora, he has popularized perfectives of poor Rwanda, with a message of hope that has been bought above face value. This is not a permanent hope under our homework. And although in the past Rwanda’s identity or rather lack of it was kept in order or rather disorder by the impulses of religion as well as the state, two bedfellows that had been used by colonial systems to exploit Rwandans, our current dispensation has moderated these opportunistic forces, replacing them with the power of, and for the people. But this new dispensation is just budding, and any change in the same would serve to reverse our current budding order as well. We need to look at Rwanda through the prism of its miraculous return from the abyss of the darkest history for the last five decades (lost decades) if we are to rationalize our current home work, rest we do home for another normal country which is what we have not been for these decades.

Regional and International Indifference/accomplice?

Our reconciliation process which as pointed earlier, is at the core of our survival as a nation state, is still in its raw material form, too delicate to expose to uncertain political process of any form, for everything we do are subordinate to our social fabric, without which other considerations become irrelevant. This is informed by the history of our country which has been as unique as the uniqueness of Rwanda itself. That we had genocide nobody (read NOBODY) cared to understand, appreciate later on stop, before, during and even after 1994 cut-off period is a mystery that will remain unanswered. The world ignored the fate of a people who had to save themselves from themselves. What is ironic is that, even after most of who-is-who saw into the face of genocide either by visiting our memorial (at Gisozi or elsewhere in our country) or through documentary sources, most have fallen into indifference mode, unexplainable by mere logic. All powerful leaders that have visited our memorials have all argued ‘we failed in Rwanda/we failed Rwanda). But actions thereafter are of complete indifference and send us a very strong message we need to learn if we have not, as a country (many have). 

Genocides recorded in history of mankind have always been met with world-wide condemnation and serious follow-up of the perpetrators wherever they may be. Thus for instance German is still compensating holocaust survivors until yesterday, leave alone justice meted on the perpetrators regardless of their age. Ours has been isolated. Isolated in that, perpetrators roam the whole world free men and women, even when evidence has been adduced implicating the same. These criminals live both in Africa region as well as in the west, and cooperation to hold these accountable, has been muted for reasons beyond reason.

It is not only in France where these criminals have found sanctuary for obvious reasons of historical association, but also in other western capitals. These have continued to saw seeds of their genocide ideologue of unfinished business (eliminate tustis) using all sorts of media especially social media of late. They have been able to negate, redefine, and negotiate genocide to fit their tainted conscious. These undermine our national reconciliation and we need to capture this in our homework fully. Not doing so, is to fails the whole homework, and with consequences pun out, that are as certain as our horrific past.   

Extremely Dangerous Development

However, genocidal elements recently received a huge boost from unlikely neighbor who is no stranger to our genocide, President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania, who when attending AU meeting in Addis Ababa requested Rwanda to negotiate with genocidals, a very unexpected statement from a person who has been here, and ‘saw in the face of genocide’. The terms used by Minister Mushikiwabo ‘aberrant’ and ‘shocking’ statement, is simply loss of words for such a statement. What is even more shocking is that, nobody among other leaders has challenged his position, which is also telling in itself – international indifference/accomplice.  

Imagine if one was to ask an American President to negotiate with Al-Qaida and their late leader Osama Bin Laden or Jewish leaders negotiating with holocaust Nazi perpetrators. The outrage this would receive from Americans and Jews later on the whole world, would be unimaginable. For these two extremists have an ideologue to exterminate a people for who they, and no negotiation can change this. This is a faith and creed to these extremists/terrorists. No one just cannot change their faith creed of extreme hatred. 

Some have came up with simplistic explanations that, FDLR fighters are now young. This is utter joke. These are a young genocidals. As the swahiris say; ‘mtoto wa nyoka ni nyoka’ literally meaning ‘a child of snake is a snake’. These so-called young fighters (and are minority) have been feed and baptized into the genocide ideologue of extreme hate of Tutsis by their extremists/genocidal parents so much so that, they go into DRC forests with this faith and creed. This is the defining ideologue they all espouse, and their unit of purpose in the forests of Congo. Their leader Sylvester Mudacumura has $ 5 million bounty over his head as a terrorist by US government.

Compare him with Osama bin laden, or Hitler and you see the parallel. FDLR fled Rwanda after committing the most heinous crime against humanity (tustis are not part of humanity?) and their mission and vision remains the same, rest they should be home and dry like most of their comrades. Renegade Theogene Rudasingwa (who joined FDLR by association) praised President Kikwete’s statement on VOA service, was as expected. He argued that, ‘President Kikwete is not alone in this revisionism mentality’ and may be right on that only. But this development of high level sympathies to genocidals sends a dangerous message. A message that, the indifference of regional and international players is no longer a myth, but telling. Telling us that, we alone stopped genocide and we alone will manage the consequences of genocide. 

But these developments serve to remind us that, our reconciliation process has serious challenges and that, these regional as well as international forces will have to be factored into our change debate. When we do that, this change business is underwritten out of proportions. We can only maintain our stability and development if only we stay course with our visionary leadership of President Paul Kagame, an answer to our home work. Alternatives are utterly failures of this home.

The writer is an economist and a financial expert.

nshutim[at]gmail.com.