Two short days and nights but the devastation was immense. Nearly one third of Rwanda’s districts, all in parts of the north, west and south of the country, were scenes of untold destruction of property, infrastructure, and human life. Landslides in the dead of night buried families alive. They flattened buildings, crushed into parts of others, blocked or carried away sections of roads, and covered farmland. Swollen rivers burst their banks, created new courses, or formed mini lakes in people’s shambas. Water and mud flowed into houses, schools, and business premises and covered or carried away crops. It was distressing to watch distraught residents of those areas lost for words at the speed and scale of their loss. Some had lost members of their families and could not find their bodies or even know where to look for them. Others had lost everything they owned and did not know what to do next. The rest of us were equally in shock. Not just because of the disaster. Floods and landslides in that part of the country are not uncommon. The scale of destruction over a wide area was simply immense. For two days, and much longer earlier, it rained without let up. Not the usual heavy tropical type that falls suddenly in torrents, lashes the land, lasts a short time, and then as suddenly as it came stops. This was a continuous, steady downpour that lasted two days. The earth drank it in, was soon glutted, and could hold no more. That, together with the nature of the terrain and perhaps type of soil, and probably reckless, thoughtless, even malicious human activity could only result in one thing: landslides and floods and accompanying destruction. The tragedy, however, triggered something else that is characteristically Rwandan, but which we tend to forget or that sometimes goes missing as happened nearly three decades ago. The shock, grief and anguish did not immobilise Rwandans, but rather spurred them into action. Response to the disaster was swift. Neighbours quickly came to the rescue, offered shelter and other help to families that had lost everything. They helped in the search for survivors and bodies buried under the mud. President Paul Kagame, though far away on state duty, comforted the bereaved families and reassured citizens that he was closely following what was happening and that everything would be done to ensure they got help. Indeed, government officials, led by the prime minister, were quickly on the scene to console affected citizens and offer hope and relief, and to assess the damage. Relief supplies quickly followed. Ordinary citizens across the country chipped in. Some gave clothing and other items; others money through MoMo. Foreigners too – individuals, countries, and organisations – expressed shock at the loss and more importantly, solidarity with Rwandans. Even some who usually wish us ill and never see anything good about Rwanda today sent words of comfort. They are not completely lost and may yet be redeemed. We saw a Rwanda that we had always known existed and are rebuilding. Unity, solidarity, compassion, caring for one another – these were on full display. You could not help but say: this is who we are, not the other sort that some have wanted us to be and indeed tried. It was heart-warming even in the midst of tragedy. Which makes one wonder: what happened to this aspect of our Rwandanness 29 years ago when vices opposed to these virtues were let loose and resulted in the worst tragedy in this country’s history? How did we allow ourselves to banish those traits that make us human? This was, of course, the result of close to a century of systematic dismantling of the Rwandan social fabric and cutting the bonds that held us together. Every experience, even the most tragic, perhaps even more so, is a learning experience. Response to the disaster last week was fast, but it must also have revealed some weaknesses and gaps in preparedness, mitigation and relief measures in the event of such emergencies that must be addressed quickly before the next one happens. When it does, we should be better prepared and handle it more efficiently and effectively. This is crucial. Nature seems to be always ahead of humans in these matters. Even when it is not, it acts in unpredictable ways. Still, we cannot allow ourselves to be outsmarted. At the very least, we must be prepared for multiple eventualities and have ready requisite plans, materials and competent human resource to deal with them. If we cannot stop them altogether, which we cannot, we should be able to limit their frequency and severity of their occurrence. The rains came and wreaked havoc. They may be worse next time. Next time might be a prolonged drought with its own form of destruction. That kind of next time should not be allowed to happen. Yes, we can count on the spirit of Rwandans to see us through some of these. Better still, we should count on our preparedness for dealing with emergencies of all kind. That should be the lasting lesson from last week’s tragedy.
