It’s a proud day in Rwanda as the country takes a break from the election campaigns on Thursday to mark the 30th anniversary of the Liberation Day. It is moment to reflect on the enduring journey of soul-searching, healing, reconciliation and transformation Rwandans have embarked on since the RPF-Inkotanyi halted the Genocide against the Tutsi. Thirty years ago, today, Rwanda lay in ruins, teetering on the brink of failure, with analysts and experts having written it off. The country had just lost more than a million lives, with bodies littered across its abandoned towns and streets, while the state coffers had been emptied by the genocidal machinery that had just crossed into the Congo (then Zaire) taking with it millions of hostages. Rwandans gazed into the abyss, and it was hard to see how the country would bounce back from the brink. However, inspired by the Rwanda Patriotic Front-Inkotanyi and its gallant liberation force, the Rwanda Patriotic Army (RPA), the people of Rwanda refused to succumb. Against all odds, Rwandans rejected the idea of wallowing in self-pity and dwelling on blaming others for their misfortune and instead rose to the occasion, taking the bull by its horns. Under the leadership of the RPF-Inkotanyi, the people of Rwanda were determined to pick up the shattered pieces, one by one, going the extra mile to devise unconventional solutions for the mountains of unprecedented challenges the country faced. In a short period, the government was able to repatriate and resettle refugees (including more than two million rescued from the genocidal hostage-takers in the Congo), a homegrown restorative justice system (Gacaca) was rolled out, adjudicating close to two million cases in just 10 years, survivors answered the call of forgiveness and in the process inspired the country on its healing and reconciliation journey, while identity cards that indicated ethnicity were abolished and replaced with a unified national identity card. Soon after, the country embarked on an ambitious development agenda, the Vision 2020, which helped transform Rwanda into a forward-looking, resilient and climate-sensitive economy, firmly putting it on course to becoming an upper middle-class economy by 2035. The country rolled out several pro-poor initiatives, such as Girinka and VUP-Umurenge, to ensure no one was left behind; the hugely successful Mutuelle de Santé (a community-based health insurance); and universal basic education; while it also eradicated nyakatsi thatched housing, and significantly reduced infant and maternal mortality rates. On the international scene, Rwanda is a proud contributor of peacekeepers in war-torn regions, and an active member of multilateral and other international organisations such as the Commonwealthand La Francophonie. Indeed, as Rwandans pose to pay tribute to country’s gallant sons and daughters that did not only put an end to the Genocide against the Tutsi but also put Rwanda on the world map, it’s an opportunity to recommit to protecting the gains made and to the values of unity, accountability and a shared sense of purpose as we steam ahead on the path of transformation and self-sufficiency. Happy Liberation Day to Rwanda’s Liberation Heroes and Heroines, and to our audiences and partners!
