The official 18th commemoration week for the Genocide against the Tutsi will come to a close today, with special tribute to politicians who were killed in 1994. Nonetheless, commemoration activities will run for three months – the period during which one million Rwandans were butchered. The theme for this year, Learning from our History to Build a Bright Future’, embodies the same spirit that has spurred Rwanda on in the wake of the tragedy. Looking back at the scale and intensity of the Genocide, it’s obvious that there’s no form of sympathy, no amount of compensation that can adequately console survivors and the nation. Yet Rwandans have demonstrated that they have moved on and worked tirelessly to build a prosperous country and future for coming generations. We must not despair, there are still various challenges ahead and we’ll have to confront them, with the same resilience and belief that has brought Rwanda thus far. The country’s history offers immense lessons not only for Rwanda but the world at large. How we use the lessons learned has a bearing on how sustainable the progress registered will be. Most importantly, we must reject and get rid of any attempts to take the country back to the dark days.
