Rwandans have been urged to steer clear of all forms of discrimination and genocide ideology as a one-month drive dedicated to promotion of unity and reconciliation gets underway. The annual campaign is held in the month of October. The month kicks off with Patriotism Day, which falls on October 1 – the same day when the Rwanda Patriotic Army took up arms as the last resort to help liberate Rwanda from a fascist ad genocidal regime. The armed liberation struggle started in October 1990 and ended in July 1994. The unity-and-reconciliation campaign is informed by Rwanda’s turbulent history which was characterised by cycles of violence and expulsion that culminated into the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, which claimed the lives of more than a million people. Fidèle Ndayisaba, the Executive secretary of National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC), said the campaign was a reminder for “our collective obligation to uphold and promote unity and reconciliation.” “The first day of October marks the beginning of the journey to restore the dignity of Rwanda and the resilience of the Rwandan spirit after many years of discrimination and sowing of genocide ideology,” he said. He explained that discrimination is normally done in words, text and actions that seek to separate people on the basis of ethnicity, origin, nationality, colour, sex, language, religion, among other characterisations designed to deprive certain people of their rights. “Propagating discrimination is using words, text and actions that divide people,” he added. In a bid to eradicate discrimination in Rwanda, Ndayisaba said, “everyone needs to uphold unity and reconciliation values”. This year’s campaign will run under the theme: “Let’s join efforts to build a nation devoid of discrimination and genocide ideology.”
