The flags are flying at half mast, entertaining spots and merrymaking in the country have been put on hold and the sombre mood has brought back bitter memories. It is the season to remember our loved ones, those who were sacrificed at the altar of impunity as the world sat idly by and watched. One lesson learned from the experiences of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi was not to expect too much from others; it all begins and ends with you. That two decades have gone and the main perpetrators are walking freely on the streets of many capitals around the world hammers home the long known truth: this world is full of hypocrisy and some matter more than others. A case in point; when terrorists stormed the offices of the weekly magazine Charlie Hebdo and cold bloodedly murdered 12 people, the whole world was mobilised to condemn the attack. World leaders, even from Africa, paraded the streets of Paris in protest. Charlie Hebdo was on everyone’s lips and prayers. Closer to home, another bunch of terrorists murdered 150 students of Garissa University in Kenya, and it was just another African tragedy. The news disappeared from western media within 48 hours. There was no effusion of sympathy and anger as seen on the French streets. But at least the Pope prayed for the departed souls in his Easter homily. So, why should anyone be surprised that the masterminds of the Genocide of over a million Rwandans are strolling the same Paris streets with impunity? A simple answer; their victims were of no consequence. This kind of double standards undermines the ‘Never Again’ spirit. Global leaders must walk the talk and pay equal attention to atrocities and their aftermath wherever they have occurred. It is through collaborative effort that we will make the world a better, safer place for all.
