Never Again: New bottles for new wines

But who knew………. For 100 days, Rwandans were wasted. No one came to our rescue. We watched our friends, children, and loved ones groan in agony and the trauma still torments us. But who knew our nation would rise again and even be a major tourism destination. Blood flowed in our streets while wounded and torn bodies were all the country. No one trusted the other then for fear of betrayal to ‘enemies’. But who knew that Tutsis and Hutus could re-marry and live together again under the emblem of the Rwandese nation. Everyone was running for their dear lives, with no attention paid to riches or friends left behind. We lived in the Diaspora without our own, while laughter of defeat was our daily mock from all people. But who knew we could again be proud to be called Rwandese. When peace was a far away history and everyone was afraid to live in their country. Tutsis and the generous Hutus locked up in their homes or hiding places, while there was no sign or ray of hope. But who knew we could live in our country peacefully with no fear of hearing gun shots in the neighbourhood or in your home. During the recent Genocide commemoration, different countries joined Rwandans. They relayed many messages of hope. On closer observation, they were also saying they were ready to embrace the new Rwanda. Major Felix Kulaije (spokesperson for the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) and the Ministry of Defence) during a recent Banyarwanda Association’s party in Uganda, credited Rwanda for having ushered in development and the radical social, political and economic changes that are already felt. “New Rwanda ought to focus on marketing herself, strengthening ties with her neighbours and utilising the Diaspora to strengthen its role in Rwanda’s development,” he said. “Remember the bad to avoid it and the good to strengthen it, because where you came from is where you derive your strength.” One day I was in church and the pastor told us a story that went thus: “There was a bachelor who lived in a two roomed apartment. He loved cleanliness and always washed all his utensils before he went to work. On one morning, he realised that he was too late to wash his cup in order to have a glass of juice before he rushed to work. When he poured the juice in the glass, it tasted so weird and different from the usual fruit drink. He failed to finish it and all he did was to pour it away.” I didn’t wait for the pastor to interpret this story for me but all I could think of was my desire to progress and be someone different yet I couldn’t let go of my past failures and disappointments. This story gave me a new revelation that when solving problems, digging at the roots is important instead of just hacking at the branches. Now that Rwanda has set a target of 2020 to be a country with many developments and at a stage of take-off in growth, new bottles will be needed for these new wines to be tasty and scrumptious for all the people. Some people are ready to cuddle the change and make dreams or hopes real while others are still clinging to the past. Even today, Rwanda attracts many people to witness the beauty of the country and its intensification in almost all spheres. That clearly means that new wine is ready but it needs to be filled in the new people of Rwanda and that is you. New people neither mean wiping off the ones in the country now nor bringing other people form the other country to occupy the land, but changing the attitude of Rwandese. In agreement with what Elbert Hubbard said, “The world is moving so fast these days that the man who says it can’t be done is generally interrupted by someone doing it.” Those who are for us should be for us because no one can get in the way of Rwanda’s escalation to greatness. Major Felix Kulaije, also among the Rwandese community in Uganda called upon Rwandese of tomorrow to avoid undermining others, but to support and learn from them, too. “Malice shouldn’t exist in our vocabularies nor linger in our societies,” he said. I concur. Ends