Of about a dozen-and-half books I have read and documentaries I have watched on the history of the Africa’s Great Lakes Region – and Rwanda in particular, none of them, in my humble opinion, so vividly depicts the war-and-Genocide history of Rwanda better than Philip Gourevitch’s “We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families”.
Perhaps, just perhaps, because the author is an established, world-class war reporter and he has this unique way of packaging the message in a quite moving style, a style that brings a real story into a tangible life.
In the book, Mr. Gourevitch, through a series of in-depth interviews corroborated with previous research pieces, dedicates some pages to illustrating how the politics of segregation and divisionism, among others, has been causing mayhem in Rwanda until it climaxed into the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. The politics that used to consider some Rwandans more important than their other countrymen and which had been keeping thousands of Rwandans in exile because, to paraphrase one top official by the time, Rwanda was already as full as a glass full of water and that allowing more Rwandans back into their homeland was impossible; just as more water that could spill over the glass!
That era is now a bygone era. And like the English saying goes, let bygones be bygones. Rwandans must remember for the sake of knowledge and history but they cannot cling to such hatred. They Rwandans are focusing on better future, a future that has positively begun.
19 years after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi − and as Rwanda continues to rebuild itself in different spheres like economy, education, health and good governance, this progress, so as to be sustainable, has to be inclusive of all Rwandans, even those in the Rwandan Diaspora community. That’s the reason for Rwanda Day, a day to feel at home once again, to stand a prestigious chance to ask questions about your country to your President along with other government top officials, to contribute ideas on how things in the country can be bettered and even to have that occasion to relax a bit by dancing and swaying to the rhythm of traditional and modern songs by artists from back home.
At the recent Rwanda Day event held in London, UK, on Saturday 18 May 2013, there were jubilation scenes as, according to some local media reports, over 3,000 Rwandans and friends of Rwanda met – some Rwandan delegations had been flown from Rwanda’s capital, Kigali, all the way to London, while others are based in the UK and some more Rwandans had come from other European countries.
“I’m very happy to be interacting with our President [Paul Kagame] face-to-face now”, one woman just said, close to spilling emotional tears.
This woman’s words clearly show how, irrespective of where she is currently based [in Europe], she is still very much attached to her homeland, Rwanda. And the Rwandan leadership possibly understands that better than anybody else.
From Paris in France, Chicago and Boston in the USA, to London in the UK, meeting with the Rwandan Diaspora and friends of Rwanda has always been not only an occasion for Rwandans to reconnect and discuss the way forward as they continue to own their destiny, dignity and develop their country together; but also a clear-cut indicator to vindicate President Paul Kagame’s position that the first wealth of Rwanda is THE PEOPLE.
And, as it was published in December 2012 in the book “Rwanda Inc: How a devastated nation became an economic model for the developing world” by Patricia Crisafulli and Andrea Redmond − a book that discusses the stunning progress of Rwanda since the war and the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in 1994, President Kagame operates more as a Company CEO (Chief Executive Officer) in a company [Rwanda] where “there is no room to err and where any flaws, complacency or lack of accountability is punished because the CEO is always watching”.
“President Kagame operates more like a company CEO than a political leader. He is totally focused on the attainment of goals, building strong institutions, security, discipline and good governance, more like what a real corporate leader would do”, Crisafulli was quoted as saying.
And consistently reconnecting with the Rwandan Diaspora and friends of Rwanda through Rwanda Day events, just epitomizes the “CEO”’s spirit of valuing all Rwandans and considering them a valuable workforce for the continued development of Rwanda.