Exactly 20 years ago today, many who survived the mass slaughter of the Tutsi were in shock. The Rwanda Patriotic Army had overrun Kigali and taken over, effectively stopping the Genocide against the Tutsi. The nightmare was ended, but those limping out of their hideouts had lost the will to live. Life was meaningless. It was a reverie from which they had to be slapped back into reality. The liberators did not waste time in re-instilling hope in the masses. Together, a new nation was built from the ashes of the Genocide. Today, Rwandans are celebrating not just the end of the Genocide but also the new hope that was bestowed upon them. The second chance they had received in July, 1994 was put to effective productivity that leaves the nation united in saluting the men and women who put their lives on the line to liberate the masses. Today, the nation reflects on two sides of the coin: the tail showing how destructive human beings can turn to if misled, with the head showing the human virtue of selflessness in the face of challenge of the magnitude of a genocide. The fruits of the sacrifice of the liberators have seen the tranquility and transformation that the nation enjoys today. In just 20 years, Rwanda got up from nothing into so much; socio-economic and political changes. Today, no one will be tagging another by their ethnicity, instead the leaders are urging the youth to shake off the low expectations attached to them and believe in their abilities to transform the continent. Such is how far the country has come that there will be less of nostalgia but rather more of comforting and gratitude. With the Rwandan spirit that has shored up unity, today is a moment to wish one another a happy Liberation Anniversary and an everlasting Never Again spirit.
