The National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC) has released a report on the state on social cohesion in which it said Rwandans were increasingly accommodative of each other. The research which was carried out between 2005 and 2008 aimed at assessing how Rwandans have progressed on the issue of social cohesion after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. “Trust between neighbours has been increasing tremendously in the last four years. This was shown by the way people have resorted to working together to develop themselves,” said Joseph Nzabandora, director of Research at NURC said. He said the research was carried out through interviewing and questioning different individuals as well as debates in different social groups where everyone would air out their views on how they perceive the issue of unity and reconciliation. Speaking at the launch of the report, the president of NURC Dr. Jean Baptiste Habyarimana attributed the improved social cohesion to decentralisation policies where people are allowed to participate in their own governance. “Gacaca courts played a very big part in bringing out the truth on what happened during the 1994 Genocide. This helped to reduce resentment among people,” Habyarimana said. The report also showed that unity and reconciliation preachings helped Rwandans to live together in harmony and made them focus on what unites them rather than what divides them. However, the report also revealed that Genocide survivors have continued to be marginalised and some continue to live in fear. Ends
