Never Again: The Permanent Anti-Genocide

Wherever genocide happens, there is seemingly a sleepy world which is unable to come in and save the day. On top of that, there is a tendency for older people to pry on the minds of the more energetic youth to carry out their heinous agendas for them. It has been observed that the youth of a nation have the power to either create peace, or cause chaos. Without targeting the youth, any agenda can go to waste. This philosophy is known by both peaceful people and harmful people in society. Therefore, the need to involve the youth in peace building programmes is inevitable to the development of any nation.Rwanda’s youth wing that represents the fight against genocide has risen to prominence, not just in Rwanda but the whole world for their cooperation in promoting human rights. Since the attainment of her independence, Rwanda’s youth had been manipulated by myopic politicians to exterminate their fellow country men because of ethnic differences. Unlike in the past, the youth are now through an umbrella body Never Again, poised to direct their energy to stand firmly under the commitment to unite their fellow citizens for an everlasting peace. Never again, was formed in 2002 by three University Students at the National University of Rwanda as an initiative to involve their fellow youths in conflict resolution and peace building according to Programme Director at Never Again. They support the youth to carry out productive projects that are aimed at building team work, so that they can lead in the teaching of their fellow citizens the benefits of living together in harmony. Just like Rwanda, Israel’s Jews have gone through a similar genocide in the past and have a youth wing with the same name, serving the same purpose. That is why Never Again was formed- to involve the youth in creating awareness about violence and conflict, how to overcome these issues and to discuss their role in creating sustainable peace. “All universities in Rwanda and over 500 secondary schools have Never Again Clubs that carry out activities such as “Umuganda”, a sign that Rwanda’s youth have taken on important role of leading Rwandans to forgiveness and reconciliation. The historical facts we share with the Jews, make us one of the most suffering nations in the world. To have lost over 800,000 souls in a spell of just 3 months makes the genocide in Rwanda against the Tutsis one of the most grueling episodes of human life. To have recovered so fast is another episode of hope and belief. Despite what happened to the Jews, they were able to rediscover their originality that had been endangered by the Nazis, now Israel is one of the most developed and powerful nations in the world. Rwanda shares this similarity in that, despite the events of 1994, Rwanda has emerged as an example of steady and sustainable development to the rest of the East African region. The creation of Never Again has been a successful landmark in creating and eliminating the genocide ideology in both Rwanda and Israel. This achievement was realized because the concerned leaderships realized that the youth are the focal point of development and peace. Ends