Heroes Day: Residents speak out

Say we can honour fallen heroes by emulating them WESTERN PROVINCE KARONGI — A day before this year’s Heroes’ Day celebrations, residents of Karongi District said the day should be used to reflect on how best to emulate the fallen heroes, as a way of honouring them. Eric Hakizimana, 23, is a senior five student at Kibuye Technical School (ETO Kibuye). When he first heard of Heroes’ Day celebrations in 1998, he knew it was only meant for remembering heroes like late Fred Rwigema and others. He has however, since learnt that the day should be used to reflect on the past heroes as well as making positive changes in our communities, using the fallen heroes as models. ‘Before, I had only known this day as one of pain and sorrow and a day of remembrance for our heroes who died while struggling to liberate our nation from Genocide that left many people dead. My thinking has now somehow broadened. As a member of the young generation, we should build from them and help the society to develop our nation,” he says. Florence Niwemutoni, Hakizimana’s colleague, says the day should be dedicated for prayers. “This day will be celebrated on Sunday (Tomorrow). I will use this opportunity to pray for the souls of our heroes who died for our country including my late father who was a soldier. On this day, I used to spend it in bed crying while remembering my father. But I noted that it is a day of celebrating the state of heroism which delivered this country from certain aspects of our bad history and I have taken a positive stand on this,” she says. At Bwishyura Sector grounds in Kibuye town, Turwubake Women’s Association members held a meeting aimed at organising how the celebrations would be held. According to them, Heroes’ Day should be used to set development goals that will help in the country’s reconstruction activities. The women believe the heroes day should be used to deliberate on issues of common interests to society. ‘To me, this is a great day. It is a day that helps me to strive to be a better citizen,’ says Claudine Mukankusi, a genocide survivor. Mukankusi’s relatives died while resisting the killers during the 1994 Genocide. ‘They are great heroes to me,’ she says. She adds that she will work hard to fill their gap, and their demise often comes back in her mind during this day. ‘This day will not be a day of pain and sorrow to me again. It will be a day of happiness because our heroes including my relatives died for a cause and I will work hard to fill what they would have done now,’ Mukankusi says. At former Ecole Secondaire Pedagogique Nyange (ESP) now Nyange Secondary School in Nyange Sector, excitement fills students who are eager to speak out their mind about Heroes Day. To them, it does not take long to gain heroism. The history left behind by their fellow fallen students is enough. After the genocide, the Interahamwe militias raided this school but many students endured death while resisting the orders of the killers to identify themselves according to their ethnic groups. ‘I am sure that these students left a good example that we should all follow. They exhibited heroism not for their own interests but for us who are still alive and we should emulate them,’ Calixte Nsengimana, one of students at Nyange said. Marie Grace Natete, another student at the same school says the spirit of their fallen colleagues should remain alive. ‘Their spirits have remained in all students and the entire Rwandans at large,’ she said. Ends