Forgiving and understanding

AS we commemorate our loved ones who perished during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, we need to understand why there is need for forgiveness. Forgiveness carries more meaning if parents, teachers and the entire community apply the lessons associated with forgiveness and pass them on to the children. Children are tomorrow’s generation. They need to know the magnitude of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, and why it should never happen again in Rwanda and elsewhere. This year’s 16th commemoration of the genocide saw all meetings and discussions done at the sector level countrywide. At my locality, I was very much embarrassed at the sight of adults only. I stand to remind everyone that our children need to understand their country’s past more than we do. Do you only want them to learn history in school? These are boring written records, yet, there is first hand information at our disposal. Children learn through real examples and not abstract ideas. Rwanda’s children need to understand their history in its true perspective. In this way, they can learn to forgive with a reason. I have realized that people who can’t understand and forgive themselves will probably not be able to understand or forgive others. I was not taught anything about forgiving myself while I was still at school. However, children today have the chance to learn that forgiveness is an essential element of life. Sometimes people become unforgiving after years of unproductive resentment. I say unproductive because I believe it is possible for resentment to be productive, depending on how we use it. I recall of how a friend of mine helped me to learn to be more forgiving. He did this through simply setting the example. It reminded me of the old adage, ‘Actions speak louder than words,’ even when it comes to forgiving. The author is a teacher at Kagarama secondary school shebs10@yahoo.com