RWANDA : My vision and sentiments – unadulterated

Yes, you are reading this correctly. And why should they?

Every Rwandan, wherever they are, whatever their background and history, and all we have been through has a different take and perception of The Motherland. I say all positive.

We have had a tortured history. Not because of our making. It has wounded our bodies and souls, has left permanent scars, but it has made us stronger. We refused to bend, or be broken. And never will be.

In the words of President Kagame; “A HISTORY WRITTEN IN BLOOD CANNOT BE ERASED BY LIES WRITTEN IN INK”.

Yabwiye abohasi ngo nabohejuru bunve.

Our determination and resilience define us in no uncertain concrete terms and our decades in exile have molded our vision while at the same time forcing us to work together in concert. Look at what we have achieved in the last twenty nine years.

Speaking for myself, all this puts a smile on my face. I wake up every day deeply assured that Rwanda’s better days are ahead. We have been to hell and back and there is no other place to go. And why should we go anywhere?

Look at our leadership. I never believed in political miracles, but the Man at the Helm has turned me into a believer.

Is Rwanda a Utopia? Not even close. But we have learnt from our mistakes and continue to, and have not compromised our principles nor our values. And never will.

Noteworthy: we have resisted victors’ justice. We must never fall prey to arrogance of success. That is not who we are.

Even though our resources are limited we have learnt how to work with what we have. Home grown solutions is our mantra. We will not fail. We will never give in, and because of this resolve and philosophical wisdom our detractors have been caught unaware. Their empty pronunciations and threats are mere bogus cries in the wilderness: desperate efforts to remain relevant on the political stage.

Of late, in big numbers, they have been flocking in the middle of the night to go to the DRC to kiss Tshisekedi’s ring. No shame, no honor among traitors. They have put all their hopes in a man that has failed to put his house in order, yet presides over one of the richest countries in the world.

Poor Rusesabagina got cold feet. He was invited to tag along but he is afraid to leave his house or hop on another flight, destination unknown. You can’t make this stuff up. If it wasn’t true it would be comical.

The music has changed but the ignoramuses they are refuse to change the dance. They insist on listening to the demons in their heads.

But, I digress a little from the theme of my argument. I say, patriotism is no vice.

I left Rwanda at age five, that was sixty eight years ago. But Rwanda and all things Rwandan never left me. This is true of many millions of Rwandans who were forced to leave The Motherland. We were told there was not enough room for us, in our homeland. Just imagine. Because we are who we are we refused to accept permanent exile.

Statelessness is no condition for a free People.

The Rwandan diaspora is stronger, more united than ever, and has become a force to contend with — a reflection that Rwandans have taken a sense of ownership in the glowing example Kigali has set.

My visits home are always short but sweet. And that is well and good. But they are a meaningful and strong tonic for my belief to continue believing that our cause is just, our journey necessary and part of our history to reconstruct The Land of A Thousand Hills that was entrusted to us by our forefathers, which we must, in turn, leave to the new generation of Rwandans devoid of hate and sectarianism.

I often listen and watch Twagiramungu (whose lips are always dripping with hateful anti-Tutsi epithets) and Rusesabagina (the convicted felon), to name but a few ailing losers, masquerading as political leaders spew out venomous hateful genocidal views and I am assured that we don’t have a fight on our hands. These are nothing but desperate and ignorant men desperately looking for political oxygen.

Rudasingwa has been missing in action. May be poor fellow has finally realized that there in no worse sin than betrayal? Your guess is as good as mine.

The man in South Africa has fallen silent. I never understood his beef, or political argument, if he has any. The harder they come, the harder they fall. I did not coin that, Jimmy Cliff, legendary Jamaican musician did.

Ingabire has become an embarrassing voice of “free” speech, but an example that there is room in Rwanda for all manner of people: clueless fools and charlatans, pseudo politicians, and heartless people who have ignored the tragedies of our history. But the music plays on.

Rwanda will shine and rise again. Our development and reconstruction is testament that those who paid the ultimate price for a Free and New Rwanda did NOT die in vain.