The Insider: These New Times

Good afternoon, or should I say ‘good Sunday afternoon’ to our dear readers. Firstly, I would like to make sure that before you presume this article is based on our very own newspaper, you’re wrong, entirely wrong! The article is actually and really about the title itself ‘These New Times’. If you’re someone who has lived in Rwanda your whole life or even for the most of it, then you and I are currently on the same page, as far as the newness is concerned I bet. If you are someone who has recently come to Rwanda on a vacation, this breeze/current should still be blowing your way. Ok, now that I’ve got your attention, and hopefully on the way to convincing you why it was wise of you to spend your 300 francs on this paper, instead of spending it on an ice cold drink to quench your thirst on what is a smashing Sunday afternoon. It’s worth the read (just you wait you’ll see), because once your done reading this, you are going to love this country just as I do. When was the last time you walked into your local restaurant or coffee shop (the one you go to everyday or every week for the last three years) and actually stopped to look around? Well, I have and the transformation over time is amazing! There you have the moth eaten curtains, flea bitten chairs and scarred table, a very similar scene in almost every other restaurant/ local coffee shop you’ll find scattered around Kigali! But the difference in these places is in the atmosphere. Almost as if the air is filled with bright hues of pink, yellow and blue. I’m talking about the people. The difference with today and yesterday is amazing. Whereas before you had to be a somebody to get some attention, today you simply touch your foot in the door and are practically pulled into a seat, received with warm smiles all simply because you are a customer! I decided to take a walk around our sparkling city one Sunday, expecting to find myself alone with nature as everyone (or so I thought) would be cooped up at home glued to the telly. Imagine then my shock when I found the streets alive, brimming with people of all kinds of smiles and sizes, carrying their own secret delight, strolling without a care in the world. Indeed it was Sunday. At that precise moment, I had an epiphany; I saw the change in the way we live. The way we no longer shy away from one another, but allow ourselves to boldly confront and accept each other’s differences. The way we meet and greet each other as equals, it’s almost as though I was in a whole new town, with new people, a place I could so vividly remember but not recognize! In these new times of ours, I have come to love the way people have opened their hearts and homes. How we as a people are gradually beginning to accept the effects of these waves of change. It is now that I finally understand what our grandparents and parents meant when they said that, living abroad is an experience, but being back home gives you that sense of warm pride that just can’t be replaced. It’s a new day in this country and precious times for us all, may we keep progressing. Let’s hope that my words of hope and pride for my nation resonate in all who read this. Let’s hope that one day we will all come to humbly accept the things we cannot change (yet) and strive to change the things we cannot accept. Yes indeed this is the Rwanda we are striving to become, a Rwanda of a people looking for something new. Lets us strive to dazzle and fascinate others as we excel in positive change. On this note dear readers, have a wonderful Sunday, and until next Sunday, keep up with the new times, with The New Times (Now I’m referring to the paper). Gotcha! Ends