There is nothing as satisfying as seeing children born after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi burning with the fire of patriotism. It is a sight worth beholding, realizing that all the sacrifices were not in vain and that it was worth every drop of blood. Going by the many postings on social media, as we celebrate the 26th anniversary of the liberation, most of those praising the valour and bravery of the RPF-Inkotanyi are in that pre-Genocide age bracket. Today’s remembrance is with bitter-sweet memories. The bulk of RPF’s fighters were youth, much younger than the current so-called dot.com or post-Genocide generation. Many left their lives on the battlefields so that the current generation can evolve and grow in an environment of equality and plenty, where opportunities were created and not stifled and a country where the government invests in the youth because it fully understands the power of harnessing their potential. While our liberation came with a hefty price tag; with over a million dead and a country brought to its knees; economically, socially and spiritually, the very people who picked up the pieces were youth who are now in their middle ages. Today’s youth have been well-trained to take over the relay from their elders and there is no doubt that they are capable. Those who left their lives in the fields are not turning in their graves; no, they are rejoicing and slapping each other in the back that the country is in safe hands. So as the country remembers comrades who paid the ultimate sacrifice, let it be testimony, especially to the youth, that nothing is impossible if you put your heart to it and never say never. That was Inkotanyi’s secret weapon.
