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  • Inkotanyi’s role in the genocide rescue activities, part 1

    Though the RPF soldiers (Inkotanyi) might not have saved everyone on time during the Tutsi genocide, those who were saved narrate the heroism exerted by the peace-aimed soldiers led by President Paul Kagame. Igihe.com brings you an insight of some of the rescue operations conducted in the city.

    Chantal Mukanyandwi, 35, is one of the survivors who were rescued by RPF soldiers at Saint Famille church located in the city’s main roundabout. She and her family run for refuge at the church hoping the militias would spare them as was the case in the 1959 war where militias spared Tutsis who hid in religious centers.

    Venant Ntabwomvura, 80, a doctor at the Butare University Hospital noted that the reason why many saw churches as safe heavens was because the majority respected religious institutions and associated them to holly grounds thats why militias in the first war feared to attack those who camped in churches.

    The lady further explains that some of her neighbors also took refuge in the church’s enclosed premises where priests and nuns lived. They thought militias would still refrain from the known holly grounds but on contrary the evil minded killers didn’t care at all instead they took advantage of the Tutsi gatherings in the church to pursue mass murder on them.

    Mukanyandwi adds that, “at the beginning of April militias came daily to pick people who we suspect were killed since no one ever came back. Whenever we asked their whereabouts they told us that they were taken for questioning which sounded suspicious,” she remarks.

    In addition to mystery, city leaders were often accompanied by militias in taking away some of the Tutsis who were hiding in the church. Among the prominent leader who was seen in the operations was Tharcisse Renzaho who was the mayor, Odette Nyirabagenzi a councilor from Nyarugenge sector was also among the local leaders in the clique.

    To make matters worse, the leaders would on several occasions trick them that the situation was controlled, but too bad some believed in their mere lies which made them loose their lives when they left the church on 16 June 1994. The mayor had faked that peace had prevailed and that everyone should go back to their respective homes. Due to this trap Mukanyadwi claims to have lost the majority of her family members.

    On the following day the blood-thirst militias broke into the church and killed a good number of people, she was lucky since she hid herself with wounded bodies, “my God the church was full of corpses,” she recalled.

    The militias break-in was no surprise since the catholic priest Wenceslas Munyenshaka used to organize masses as a way of inviting militias who would indentify those to kill next. It is also known that the priests made sure that those hiding were present during the preaching sessions.

    To make matters worse, the priest also ordered a good number of huge pits to be dug at the church’s backyard and since it was done in secrecy, no journalist nor UN peace keeping soldiers were allowed to see what was going on, when asked the priest would simply lie that the pits were to be used as toilets. But literally the pits served as graves.

    Killings went on and militias would often commit atrocities in the church, “I remember one day they came and shot people randomly, the anger was a result of a successfully rescue operation conducted by RPF soldiers,” Mukanyandwi comments.

    Igihe.com further talked to some of the Inkotanyi soldiers who are now serving in the Rwanda Defense Forces about some of the rescue activities in the city. Major Gerald Nyirimanzi in charge of Military History Department was together with Major Emanuel Rusakara at a rescue operation at Saint Famille. He noted that among the reasons why they started the war was to rescue and remove an oppressive regime which carried out the genocide. In an interview with igihe.com they told us how they conducted the rescue process.

    Major Nyirimanzi noted that they immediately rescued Tutsis who were hiding at Saint Famille after receiving intelligence reports that there were plans to kill them. RPF mission was to rescue and restore peace in the country, Tutsis who were in the country during the war at least they had heard about the Inkotanyi’s initiatives through Radio Muhabura which was used by the rebels to communicate their plans about Rwanda’s development.

    The small team of soldiers had to find all means to rescue the Saint Famille victims despite the large presence of militias surrounding the church. Of course penetrating through the militias required some skills and among the tricks they used concentrated on corrupting the enemy’s radio communication system. Nyirimanzi noted for instance they tricked that the RPF soldiers were about to attack the presidents house, the aim was to disorganize the large number of militias at the church with the majority rushing to the presidents house, the trick worked and the Inkotanyis fought their way into the church. 

    Major Nyirimanzi disclosed that the rescue operation was a challenge since the victims hesitated to open the door even after explaining to they came in peace , it seems they didn’t trust them given that in the past militias have used a similar statement. Inkotanyis didn’t spend much time on the doors since they were working on a deadline hence they proceeded to rescue those who were hiding in neighboring Sainte Paul premises, here the rescue process was fair since they broke windows and saved those who were inside including the ones hiding in nearby bushes.

    Rescuing those in the city centre also required more military coverage in other suburbs. In this respect a group of soldiers attacked from Gisozi sector were later on supported by a battalion known as Bravo from H Coy three platoons. The first platoon was in charge of taking the lead while the second platoon was assigned to rescue people at Saint Paul premises which is close to Saint Famille Catholic Church and the third took the back cover and also assisted soldiers and civilians who were affected in several cross-fires with the militias. The soldiers rescued more than 500 people who were taken from Gisozi to Kabuye for treatment.

    The major added that ”saving everyone wasn’t easy because they were some who wanted to carry their property along which delayed the rescue process elsewhere . It is due to this delay that some military police from the militia side started shooting at the RPF soldiers in various parts of the city. The crossfire led to injuries of some of the rescued people which made even some to halt their movement due to serious injuries. Those who were left in the swamps were rescued the previous night..

    The rescue process from the city’s Catholic Church and Saint Paul wasn’t the only operations in the city. Details about other hiding spots and how the saving process was conducted will be disclosed in our second part of the story. The second series will highlight rescue activities at Stade Amahoro, Sainte Andre in Nyamirambo and Rebero.

  • An Eternal Burning Memory: The story of a genocide survivor

    It was the 7th of April, when the radio announced the breaking news of the death of President Juvenal Habyarimana. It was the beginning of the last precious moments for millions of Rwandan Tutsi’s, it was the beginning of a journey of survival for a young genocide survivor, who would forever have to live with the engraved memory of the unimaginable scenes she now sees every time she sleeps. From the darkness she passed through, today she lives among us to tell her story, to remind us when we forget her soul wrenching story.

    A young woman small in stature, Francine Uwera, 27, moves with graceful small steps. Her dark skin is in contrast to the whiteness of her teeth. From afar, she seems as ordinary as any other young female Rwandan ; beautiful, graceful and timid. But Uwera is all those things and so much more, she is full of despair and hope combined, she smiles yet her eyes are sad, she holds herself up with dignity yet she is full of resignation, she is the past combined with the future. As she sits fidgeting with her fingers, she seems anxious, yet when she opens her mouth, her voice comes out strong and confident, in her words you can hear, anger, sorrow, confusion but most of all conviction. This is her story, this is her memory. 

    “It was the 7th of April when my mother and I were at home waiting for my father to arrive to have our supper, my mother was ill at the time and instead of going to school, I stayed home in order to care for her. That was when we heard the news on the radio, the president’s plane had been shot down, and that was when the hour of death arrived at my door. In that instant by seeing my mother’s face, I knew that something terrible had happened, but I was young and didn’t understand the real impact of what this meant.

     My father came home shortly after, and without pause or explanation told us to leave the house and start running, he started shoving me out through the back door telling me, “Run, run Francine……… and don’t stop until I tell you, don’t stop for anyone else”.

    My mother gave me her wrapper and told me to carry it to shield me from the rain. In the rush and confusion, I couldn’t possibly comprehend that they were not really following behind me, so I ran. When I got as far as the bushes at the end of the road, a sudden and terrible fear came over me. I could hear thousands of people screaming from what seemed like miles away from every corner, voices of crying women, men, and children. Even dogs were barking incessantly. I was terrified and hid crouched in the bushes.

    I was not going to continue without my parents, so I decided to wait. I waited for what seemed like forever, then I saw them, the men who marched into my home and killed my parents. I could hear them say “we should kill them, kill them all.” I will never forget the sound of the cows crying as they were being slaughtered, and since then never have I been able to eat any kind of meat.

    I knew I couldn’t stay there for they were sure to find me. I gathered all the courage I had and started running, all the while, mentally reciting all the prayers I knew. I ran till I could not run any more. But there was nowhere to go, and no one whom I knew. I did what many Rwandans were doing during the 100 days of massacre ; I lay down with the bodies of the dead and pretended what at that time I only wish were true.

     It would be impossible to tell you all the things I saw because most of the time, my face was buried in the ground, laying down next to the corpses, waiting for the militia to find and kill me. While praying to God, I started to doubt whether he even existed to save me.

    All I can tell you is that Rwanda had become a real living hell ; the beautiful hills you see now were all on fire. Screams of thousands of people all in pain and agony rent the air, leaving your mind to imagine the horrible things these people were going through and what might happen to you too. If you want a clear picture of what the hell in the bible is described like, any genocide survivor can tell you.

    I cannot explain to you why I had the will to continue or let alone live but I got up and continued walking half running, my feet were swollen and I thought I would die of thirst before the Hutus found me. As I was trying to evade the main roads the militia were driving through erected with roadblocks, a Hutu woman whom by the grace of God seemed to take pity on me located me. She hid me in the pit latrine in her house ; she would tie a long rope around my waist and throw some unripe banana leaves down. As I sat there for days in faeces, I asked the Lord over and over again, why he would allow this to happen. I wondered if we had committed a sin so great that God wanted to wipe out everybody as he did in the bible. But there is one question that I don’t think I can ever find the answer to. “Why did God spare me ? Why did a Hutu woman become my saviour.”

    The days and nights had become one to me. I had become immune to the smell that had made me wrench a few days ago. Then one day, I heard men’s voices above me. As I sat in the latrine waiting, I looked up but could not see clearly. I waited for a grenade to be thrown down. I knew the final hour had come but then a man threw down a rope, telling me that they were ‘Inkotanyi. They had to coax me until the old woman, came and told me it was safe.

    I climbed up wondering what they meant by “safe”. Had the killings stopped or were these men simply going to help me escape. I reached the disembarked from the pit and finally breathed fresh air.Have you every known what it is like not to remember what breathing clean air feels like ? No I believe you haven’t.

     I will never forget seeing the RPF soldier who stood in front of me as he pulled me out of the darkness into light. Of all the horrible things I saw and heard, of all the memories and sounds that still haunt me till today, the one I don’t ever want to forget. The memory I will always keep through that whole ordeal is the voice of the soldier and the way in which he told me : “Humura” , I was so overwhelmed that I collapsed. I sobbed uncontrollably. I yelled out. I felt my heart could take no more. I cried so hard I was left with no energy to even stand up.

    All this time, the soldier was holding me gently repeating to me those words that have become a balm to my wounded heart. Since then, I have taken it a step at a time, with the help of the government and various organisations. I have been able to go to school and find work. After 17 years, I am beginning to let go of the pain. I have begun to believe that our country can recover and from testimonies such as mine. No survivor out there should ever feel alone as we did, and this, the world should know. 

  • 100 days and nights of remembrance and forgiveness

    Humankind is the most complex creature that God could have ever created, a creature so complex that every day is a new discovery into the minds and souls of man. The lengths they will go to to survive, the evil they are capable of, the things they will do in the name of love, but the most astonishing and beautiful act I have ever seen in mankind is the capability to forgive.

     We have all done wrong, and been wronged once in our life, and yet forgiveness doesn’t come easy. The story of the genocide in Rwanda is but one of the perfect example’s of the evil man is capable of, how man can turn on his neighbour, kill and hack both parents and infants that have been sharing the same air, roof and food with them without any remorse.

     Over 1 million Tutsi’s were mercilessly massacred, raped, and burnt alive and left for the dogs (and this I mean literally). The same goes to the attempt to exterminate the entire race of Jews by the Nazi’s, thousands of Jews were gathered and put into gas chambers, and left to die by Hitler and his henchmen. There are thousands of stories with similar cases around the world proving once again mankind is evil. There is only one story in the world though that can be told of a nation overcoming evil and finding peace and prosperity after such atrocities and teach the world the true meaning of forgiveness. That story is the story of Rwanda.

    Rwanda recently marked the 17th commemoration of the genocide that was committed on the Tutsi’s in 1994. Every year, we remember those we lost, and every year it never gets easier. The first commemoration I ever attended was on the opening of the genocide memorial at Gisozi and I will never forget what I saw. Seeing and hearing the testimonies of the survivors, seeing a room full of children’s pictures with their names, hobbies and future dreams that will never come true and then reading how they were murdered was heartrending. I will not lie that when I left that place I was not sad nor disturbed, I was enraged. I had evil feelings and thought of the ways I would exert revenge on those that did this. I could have sworn that if I was one of the survivors, I would never, and I mean, never forgive the perpetrators, until I witnessed the story of two genocide survivors named Chantal and Rosaria and my evil thoughts and angered heart was silenced for good. During the memorial, they made us watch a documentary called ‘as we forgive’. It is a documentary about two women, who learnt not only to forgive those who murdered their families, but work and reconstruct their lives together.

      Rosaria lost her husband and four kids in the genocide. She remains with one child whom she calls ‘kadogo’. She says she so named her child because she is the last of her children. Rosaria is a practicing Christian but she says that after the genocide, she didn’t know if she would ever be able to talk about God’s graciousness and goodness after what she had experienced.

     The same goes for Chantal, a mother of one who lost her husband and is now fending for herself and her child. Moreover, she has no relative’s left alive. Chantal says she would never step into a church again. Even then, she wonders how God could have allowed this to happen. In the documentary, we witness the struggle, pain and suffering these two women have endured over the years after the genocide.

    We watch Rosaria as she tries to begin her life all over again and we see her reading the bible, some captured scenes of her smiling. We then meet a man called Saveri, the man who butchered her family. He lives in the same neighbourhood and when asked if she would be able to forgive Saveri, she says she would do so. She reveals that the man even let him help to construct the house she now lives in. Later, we see them working and walking the streets together as though nothing ever occurred.

     Chantal, however, views things differently. When she was asked to forgive the man who killed her family, she could not even fathom the idea. As time passes by, my heart is full of questions as to whether I would be able to do what they were asking Chantal to do. I am in awe when several years later, we see pictures of Chantal and the perpetrator laughing and genuinely chatting.

     There is no other nation in the world that can claim to have ever recovered from genocide where perpetrators and victims actually shake hands, sit down and calmly chat as one asks for forgiveness and the other pardons.

     They say God travels by day and comes home to sleep in the hills of Rwanda by night. Otherwise, how else could you explain how a person can mourn their lost loved ones by day, and forgive those who took them away by night ?

  • Our future leaders looking to have no future?

    Today in every paper across our nation, you read about Kayumba et al, about Rwandans support to Somalia, about the East African Community, yet there seems to be little concern about the dilemma that is happening to our university students.

     Last year, Rwanda’s government approved the decision to cancel bursary loans used by government supported students. The Education Minister Dr Charles Murigande also announced that in the 2011 academic year, they will be no more merit scholarships for university students based on excellent secondary school results. SFAR,( Student Financing Agency) which covers students’ accommodation and living expenses, would loan 250,000 Rwandan francs to students, who would then reimburse the money once they find employment but now all that is being taken away.

    This has now become a great source of concern for the students who depend on government’s financial support. Many students were planning to request an appointment with the President Paul Kagame to discuss their plight, saying they are worried about their future, some are saying that this was a hasty decision and they believe the government should have considered the impact that this will have on the levels of education, as well as the impact it shall have on the number of students, who claim they will be forced to drop out of university, because without the financial support, they have no support at all.

    Minister of Education, Dr Charles Murigande, said that the government will continue to support students financially and the money which was supposed to be used for student loans is simply being reduced not abolished. He says that in future, students will be expected to carry their own weight, and pay for their own university costs. . The student population, believe there will be no students left in university in the future, except for the students who have private funding.

    “The education budget has been shortened and the government decided that students, from next year, must accommodate on their own. The money they were given by SFAR must develop newly implemented education policies like Nine Years Basic Education and technical education training, to give a chance to those who did not attend university,” said the minister.

    Rwanda now has free primary education up to the third year of secondary school, amounting to nine years of free education. This has made Rwanda’s primary school enrollment the highest in the region.
    Rwanda one the few African countries that has considerably contributed to developing higher education, will at the same time help in the development of information, communication, technology, and Internet infrastructure in the country. Yet there is still the expressed concern from students and parents about the latest developments, especially the fears of university costs, and the worries of how students will survive without the Government’s financial support.

    While the government expects the students to be able to support their own weight in paying for their university costs, the students are expecting the government to provide jobs so that students can study and make a living at the same time, but they say the only available jobs are those such as, waitressing, working in supermarkets, cleaning houses. They say that none of these jobs are in the least capable of financially helping a student pay for their school fees, their rent, let alone the monthly fee for food. The government must find a solution to this problem, before our nation finds itself with no leaders to govern our nation in the future.

  • Unforgettable Injustice

    The media in Rwanda is guilty of playing a major role as perpetrators of the 1994 genocide. However,we must honour and remember the innocent journalists who perished during the mass killings.

    The genocide of Rwanda has shattered the world’s perception on Rwanda’s media ethics because of the undeniable part they played in leading the country to destruction and virtual standstill. Today, as Rwanda commemorates the lives of the people we lost in 1994, we especially pay tribute to our fallen comrades, who were killed in just the same way as the other million Tutsi and moderate Hutu victims.

    We all have either heard, read or even experienced the atrocious acts of 1994 by the interahamwe extremists who rampaged the country savagely slaughtering and torturing Tutsis and their sympathisers. As the world remained silent, our nation was screaming out from both sides of the massacre, the screams of the people who were being killed, such as the 70 innocent Tutsi journalists, and those of the perpetrators who were screaming out for the blood of the Tutsis to be spilled.

    The media in Rwanda had not only incited the violence but encouraged it by sending hate messages over the radio and TV stations such as radio the Rwanda and Radio- Television Libre de Mille Collines, which would broadcast messages of accusation, demonisation and dehumanisation, becoming the main apparatus of the genocide, creating a false and unjust image that anyone affiliated with the media were involved and guilty.

    Today, the Media High Council which is an autonomous body regulating the press in Rwanda, has a whole new code of journalistic and media ethics, that aims at promoting and upholding a true and free flow of information. This is a promise that should lead any country towards true democracy and development. The first acts of such promise began with what seems to be the release of the names of the 70 Tutsis who were working as journalists at the time of the genocide. The release of the list has helped shed some truth that not ‘all’ persons who were working for the media then were Hutu, nor working for or towards the hate propaganda that was otherwise the media’s main occupation.

    Not only is the MHC busy cleaning up the image of the Rwandan media’s integrity in the eyes of the world but at home as well. One of these benevolent acts is honouring the victims as well as the families of the innocent journalists who were brutally killed in the genocide. Patrice Mulama, the Media’s High Council Executive secretary, said the MHC would help the families of these fallen journalists, which lies under the regulatory body’s social responsibility programme.

    Frances Ndoli a reporter for the New Times quoted Patrice Mulama in an article written on the 12 March, 2011 saying “”We want to come up with something in conjunction with other media organisations as we identify the families which are mostly in need of support, We will collaborate with the National Commission for the Fight against Genocide and IBUKA, to agree on what to provide ; it could be shelter or something else’.

    These journalists, whose honourable work has been besmirched by the ghosts of a terrible past, should be remembered as a beacon of truth. They area also a reminder that not all honour and proper journalistic code was lost during the genocide and write. On the behalf of our fallen comrades, whose names are written below, may their souls rest in eternal peace.

    Media houses and names of Journalists

    ORINFOR 1 RUBWIRIZA Tharcisse

    2 MWUMVANEZA Médard

    3 GASANA Cyprien

    4 KARAKE Claver

    5 KARAMBIZI Gracien

    6 KARINDA Viateur

    7 RUDAHANGARWA J. Baptiste

    8 SEBANANI André

    9 KALISA Callixte

    10 NSABIMANA Emmanuel

    11 BUCYANA Jean Bosco

    12 MBUNDA Felix

    13 MUNYARIGOGA Jean Claude

    14 NSHIMIYIRYO Eudes

    LE PARTISANT 15 HABINEZA Aphrodice (SIBO)

    LE TRIBUN DU PEUPLE 16 MUKAMA Eugène

    17 HATEGEKIMANA Wilson

    18 GAKWAYA Eugène

    19 RUGAJU Jean Claude

    LE FLAMBEAU 20 BAZIMAZIKI Obed

    21 KARINGANIRE Charles

    22 MUNANA Gilbert

    23 RAFIKI KAYIHURA Octave

    24 NTAGANZWA Alexis

    25 KINYAMATEKA NKUBIRI Sylvestre

    26 MUGANZA Clement

    27 KAYINAMURA M.Beduwa

    28 SERUVUMBA Anastase

    29 LE SOLEIL KAYIRANGA Marcelin

    30 MUKAMUSONI Jeanne d’Arc

    31 BURASA Prisca

    32 ISIBOMURERAMANZI Néhémie

    33 KANYARWANDA NKUNDIMANA Joel

    34 MUTESA Donat

    35KANGUKA RWABUKWISI Vincent (RAVI)

    36 MBARAGA Wellars

    37 KIBERINKASHABAKAKA Vincent

    38 NYIMBUZI Aloys

    39 KAMANAYO Théotime

    RWANDA RUSHYA 40 KAMURASE Martin

    41 MUDATSIKIRA Joseph

    42 KAMEYA André

    43 L’OBSERVATEURMUNYAKAZI Bernard

    44 Free lancers MBUGUJE Sixbert

    45 MUKAMANA Winifred

    46 RUKUNDO Emmanuel

    47 RUTSINDURA Emmanuel

    48 RUTSINDURA Alphonse

    49 RWEMARIKA Claude

    50 TWAGIRAMUNGU Felix

  • Do you take Rwanda to be your lawfully wedded country?

    Rwanda, Rwanda, Rwanda, we should all be so proud. Over the past ten years, I have seen Rwanda grow before my eyes, but It feels like only yesterday when I came to this green hilly heaven that I then thought was the end of the world and my parents sent me here as punishment for not doing my homework. I arrived here in 1996 when the streets were still empty, the population consisted of mainly elders whom I believe were here for retirement, the President and his government and the few newborns that were wailing am sure after sensing that their youth was going to wasted on Sunday swimming lessons and football and mabigibigi.

    There really wasn’t anything going on except the re-construction of our nation,, for which I commend our president for not only redeeming our nation, but also the excellent work he has done and is still doing for our country. There was the occasional concert once a year, there were the few nightclubs but since I was too young, I will cross that out from the list. Ok maybe I am exaggerating a little, they may have been things one could do but am not exaggerating when I say, Rwanda was dead boring to me personally. I don’t know about you, I know my father loved it so much that a 45 minute drive to Muhazi was like taking a kid to Disney World (it was beautiful I admit).

    The living conditions were awful in some places. There was a lack of jobs for returnees and those struggling in school and work at the same time. There was internet, but it was uncommon and many didn’t know how to use the internet at that time. There were a million reasons why Rwanda was not a place I saw myself living in for long. But I think the most important reason would be that I behaved like any young teenager from abroad. I didn’t realise what my country could become. I wasn’t interested in being part of the rehabilitation but only inhabiting in it.I had no faith in believing that Rwanda would not only survive after the genocide but also be better than before( I bet that none of you saw this coming either).Today, I feel I am not only sure that I can live here but I am confident that this is where I will be buried (unless I die in a plane crash somewhere over the Atlantic ocean).

    I have heard many Rwandans who have returned proclaim such statements as ‘oh my God Rwanda has become so civilized’, like they were expecting to see men with spears and woman running bare-chested in the middle of the roads or what ? Caucasians might be ignorant about Africa but never an African. Most of my friends left because they felt they could not live on the meager salaries that they were making. You can imagine, that these same people have said that they now realise that earning our ‘so called’ meager salary here, is a hundred times better then working long hours, in Western capitals, while having to commute from one city to the next. They have credit limits, but still after paying off all their bills and tuition fees, they still are most of the time in debt. This obviously doesn’t mean that it is every one.

    But this is not just about how good our broadband connection is or how great our coffee is (though you do know how good our coffee is). No, this is about Rwandans and their immense dedication in proving, home is where the heart is. After what this country and its people have been through, I walk the streets and see all kinds of people and the kinds of work they do to survive everyday and yet most of them are happy. I was going home by bus the other day when curiosity got the better of me and I asked a construction worker how much he gets paid. He told me he earns “1500 francs per day. ” I asked him how he survived on such a meagre amount and he responded, “I can afford to buy food for my family have transport to go home, and buy myself a beer at the end of the day, why would I complain, I have everything I want and what I do is important, your ministers wouldn’t have where to work if it wasn’t for people like us. ”

    To that in French we say ‘chapeau’(hats off to you.) He continued that not only was it more than he expected to get paid but he feels proud when he walks past the buildings he has helped put up. But what I respected the most was the way in which he was more proud in having said he worked on the Parliament buildings, than being concerned with the amount of money anyone else would dismiss if told to do the same job this man does. Imagine if one lowly construction worker is that content in his life, imagine what it would be like if you had your dream job here in Rwanda ? Would you want to go ?

    In my opinion, hell no ! Just have to find my dream job first. Our country is not only physically beautiful but there is immense loyalty that one can’t help but feel it grow in you no matter how far you run. Well, I know that I have run my course and know that I do take Rwanda as my lawfully wedded country, through sickness and health, through economic, political, geographical ups and downs, till death do us part !

  • Gisozi Memorial Site: Voices of the past immortalised

    Overlooking the terraces of Kigali lies a long stretch of road that leads from Gisozi to the Rwandan genocide memorial. As you walk along this road, you can feel the atmosphere in the air change. As you get closer to the gates, the sounds of the busy streets of Kigali begin to slowly drown out, and all you hear are the rustling of the leaves. Once you enter the gates, the first thing you notice as you start to descend the polished tiled steps is the torch carrying the eternal flame burning bright, reminding everyone who walks through, that this is not a tourist attraction but a memorial site.

    The memorial was officially opened on the 10th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide on the 7 April 2004 genocide, a burial site built to honour the 250,000 Tutsi’s who were killed during the genocide. The planning and management was handled by the UK based charity organisation known as Aegis trust in collaboration with the Kigali High Council.

    Aegis which signifies ‘shield’ or ‘trust’ is an organisation which campaigns against crimes against humanity and genocide, which was established in 2000, their activities include research, policy, education, remembrance, media work and campaigns involving humanitarian support for victims.

    The memorial comprises of a main historical exhibition, a Children’s Memorial exhibition and an exhibition on comparative genocide, called Wasted Lives. It also has over four acres of memorial gardens containing ten mass graves, as well as, the National Genocide Documentation Centre.

     The majestic principal building has been structured by design to represent three different eras : before the genocide, during and after the genocide. The main building has three exhibitions, the first room entitled, ‘Our history’, introduces the world to the history of Rwanda with huge pictures showing people of all ages, depicting the cultural lifestyle of Rwanda before the genocide, women breastfeeding their children, old men playing traditional games, different hairstyles, attire and even an almost life-sized picture of Rwandan King Yuhi V Musinga standing tall and proud. Alongside these pictures is a stanza quoting, ‘this is about our past and our future, our nightmares and our dreams, our fear and our hope, which is why we begin where we end, with the country we love.’

    As you are guided from one showroom to the next, through a series of corridors lined with millions of short notes with detailed information, there is a feeling of going on a real journey through time, as though experiencing the genocide through your own eyes. Original and unedited videos of people being massacred, testimonies of survivors and perpetrators, Gacaca court proceedings are mounted on walls. Alongside them is a timeline of pictures of Rwanda’s history.

    From ‘Our history’ room, you are then lead to a room entitled ‘Descent to Genocide’ a dimly lit room full of graphic pictures of bones and dead bodies from all over Rwanda. On one side of the wall stands a 3ft image of a mass grave at Kigali’s Saint Famille, where over 30,000 people were burnt alive, with detailed information of how Rwandans priests, who were meant to be custodians, were responsible for the massacre of millions of Tutsi’s, who had sought refuge in their churches.

    You walk on as if turning the next page in a storybook, eager to reach the part where the criminal is caught and is forced to face justice, thinking that the worst is over, till you reach the room entitled ‘After the Genocide’,. Before you even cross over, the word ‘Reactions’ is emblazoned in huge capital letters. There is a picture worth a thousand words, a scene where thousands of children are gathered together all staring into the camera, all orphans.

    This leads to a circular corridor where a famous artist, Ardyn Halter, has created two stained glass windows, which not only shows, a link between the survivors of the holocaust and Rwanda, but a link between the beginning of the genocide with skulls craved at the bottom to the top that implies a new Rwanda looking to the future.

    There are rooms where people have put pictures of their loved ones, a room dedicated to children who perished in the genocide with a quote reading “we did not make ourselves orphans”. At the end of the tour, you enter into the beautiful and intricate memorial gardens.

    The gardens have fountains and waterfalls with a rose garden, where each rose represents a loved one lost now blossoming in our bright future. The gardens were put up in such a way that people could sit outside in reflection. A sense of calm and peace suddenly grips as you walk through the gardens. A sense of hope for the future, everywhere is green, everything is budding as though each leaf represents a new and brighter future, which lastly leads you to the documentation centre which actually is the best part of the tour.

    The centre is a place where many of the youth come together to debate, learn, acquire knowledge, and deal with issues on how they can help prevent Genocides like Rwanda’s from happening again, here at home as well as abroad. The best and most important part about the memorial is the programmes it is establishing for all to benefit from the development centre basing its main objective on reconciliation and unity. Indeed this is a place where those unfortunate souls can lay in peace and harmony.

    Besides the Gisozi Memorial Centre, there are over 200 genocide sites in Rwanda marking the places where nearly a million people were murdered. It is hoped that Rwanda would develop seven key sites into meaningful memorial centres including Murambi, Nyamata, Ntarama, Bisesero, Nyanza and Nyarabuye.

    As the memorial centre’s management aptly states, “these are everyone’s places as much as Rwanda’s. They should remain as a warning for future generations, both in Rwanda and in the rest of the world about the consequences of hatred and division. ”

  • Pulling together: Gikondo residents join hands to rehabilitate road

    Residents of Kanserege 1 and Kanserege 11 in Gikondo Sector, Kicukiro District have come together to rehabilitate a road that passes through the two cells.

    The residents are set to raise a total of RWF20 million for the rehabilitation of the road that connects to the main Gikondo-Nyenyeri road.

     The 500 metres stretch of the road has for long been characterised by potholes that make it impassable during the rainy seasons, hence resorting to the use of alternative routes. 

    “During the rainy season, I do not get customers because my shop is along this road and few people pass through it, mainly when it has rained,” Pascal Habinwari, who owns a shop along the road told Igihe.com.

    He welcomed the idea of fundraising towards the construction of the road, adding that he was among residents who contributed cash, and was awaiting progress.

    Several civil engineers, who are residents of the two cells, offered free consultancy services towards the construction of the road.

    Almost all area residents including prominent personalities contributed towards the project through cash and/or construction materials depending on income levels.

     The Chairman of the Itorero National Task Force, Boniface Rucagu, formerly the Governor of Northern Province, who is also a resident in the area, responded to the call by hiring road construction machinery.

    Gerald Ndayisenga, the Chairperson of Kanserege1, who is serving his second term said that he was glad about the local community’s efforts to work towards a common cause.

    “Am very happy with my people when it comes to sharing developmental ideas ; whether directly or indirectly,” he noted.

    The new chairperson of Kanserege 11 Dina Mukamusoni similarly expressed her gratitude towards the residents’ contribution towards development in the area.

    “Am pleased that we are working as a team to contribute towards the development of our area,” she commented.

    The residents of the two cells have certainly taken up the government’s clarion call to always pull together their efforts towards a common cause as a means to ensure the country’s progress. 

  • The science behind framing effects

    We commonly hold the assumption that our memories are an accurate representation of the past and the rational decisions we make are based on pure logical reasoning.

    Little do we know that we are victims of a cognitive bias, a manipulation initiated by our own minds that can distort our thinking and even alter our memories. If in the past you thought you made a logical argument based on facts or you think you recall precisely precedent events, then it’s time to think again. Chances are that at some point or another your mind has been framed, a process known to psychologists as the framing effect.

    The concept behind this framing effect is simply that the same option presented under different conditions will produce different decisions or perceptions. A phenomenon that can be observed in our everyday life. Is the bottle half full or half empty ? That is not the question. The question is which one you will be more willing to drink when looking to quench your thirst on a sunny afternoon if your friend offered you a half empty or half full bottle of water. Conditions which mean the same thing but if which presented under different contexts might result in different reactions.

    Consider this study conducted in two different scenarios.

    You work for the Disease Control department and there is an outbreak of a deadly disease in a village of 600 people. All 600 people in the town are expected to die if you do nothing. Someone comes up with two programs to help

    With Program 1 : 200 people in the town will be saved.
    With Program 2 : There is a 1/3rd probability that 600 people will be saved, and a 2/3rds probability that no people will be saved.

    Which would you pick ?

    Now consider these two programs :

    With Program 3 : 400 people in the town will die
    With Program 4 : There is a 1/3rd probability that nobody will die, and a 2/3rds probability that 600 people will die.

    Unless your critical thinking skills are superior to those of the average mind or you have been going along with what I have been saying then you most likely picked program 1 and 4. In the study conducted, 72 percent of people picked program 1 and 78 percent of people picked program 4. On close inspection however you will realise that program 1 and 3 mean the exact same thing so do program 2 and 4. The only difference is the way the conditions are presented. So why not pick program 1 and 3 or 2 and 4. In one case 78 percent of people pick program 4 while in another only 28 percent of people picked it, illustrating the framing effect.

     This presents the fact that many of the decisions we make are based on emotions implying that our reasoning is very susceptible to the way in which options are presented or framed. This consequently puts a question mark on human rationality and the extent of its reliability. Economists and marketers have long discovered this loophole in our reasoning and exploited it to their full advantage. We all know the powerful effect that advertising can bring with the way marketers try to make their products or services as attractive as possible.

    In the world of politics is where this concept is most prevalent. Since the dawn of time, politicians have always framed information and presented it to the public with the intended purpose of not only reaching out to us but to our emotions as well with the goal of stirring them to mediate our decisions. Whether it is for inciting the public to vote for one candidate over another in an election, or driving people towards a specific cause. We have known one too many politicians that have been great orators and used this skill to not only control people but also drive them by the numbers to do at times good, but regrettably despicable things as well. This leaves one to consider if their great power and talent didn’t perhaps lie in our greatest weakness.

    This cognitive bias does not only alter our reasoning but also our memories. Emotions play a substantial roll when it comes to recollection of past events. A study conducted by a famous psychologist consisted of having participants watch a traffic accident. They were then questioned about the accident. Some people were asked ‘About how fast were the cars going when they contacted each other ?’ Others were asked the same question but the verb ‘contacted’ was replaced by either hit, bumped, collided, or smashed. So there were 5 different ways of framing the question. Even though all of the participants saw the same film, the wording of the question had an impact on their answers. The speed estimates were 31mph for contacted, 34mph for hit, 38mph for bumped, 39mph for collided, and 41mph for smashed. One week later, the participants were asked whether they had seen broken glass at the accident site. The correct answer was ‘no,’ but 32% of the participants who were given the ’smashed’ condition said that they had. This is evident of the far reaching consequences that framing effects can have on us.

    Framing effects are powerful and can have major influence on us with substantial results. However awareness of the existence of this cognitive bias can prevent us from being controlled by it. Knowledge is power and we can use this to overcome this psychological partiality that we are ceaselessly being subjected to. The next time you listen to a politician, an advert, or even anyone else, remember to always pay attention and ensure that you have the proper rational interpretation.

  • Food prices affected by other forces, not fuel increase-Traders

    As fuel prices continue to affect the East African region leading to political unrest in some of the countries, Rwanda remains unperturbed as Government delinks the cost of fuel to that of food items.

    In a recent interview, the Minister of Trade and Industry, Monique Nsanzabaganwa warns that oil products would always directly or indirectly affect other commodity prices but added that such a stretch should not exceed 0.4 percent to one percent increment arising out of an equal increase on fuel prices. The Minister however says that food prices are expected to remain stable.

    “It will depend on the behaviour of the market but food prices shouldn’t change, even last time when fuel process increased, they remained stable,” she says.

    On the lack of mechanisms to protect consumers, the minister though admits that there is no law to protect consumers’ interests against overpricing as local consumer watchdog Consumer Rights Association of Rwanda appeals to the government to give it more support to deliver on its mandate.

    According to the Acting Managing Director of Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Agency (RURA), Regis Gatarayiha, there have been ongoing discussions and negotiations with the business people not to rapidly increase prices of their products as they wait for the situation to calm down.

    Igihe visited various markets in Kigali including Kimironko, Nyabugogo, and Gikondo market among others to ascertain how the mounting fuel prices may have affected the cost of food.

    According to the survey, both traders and consumers indicate that there are various other factors like food deficiency that may have impacted on the increase of food prices. 

     “In recent days, the price of beans had increased to RWF 700 per kg but has since fallen back to RWF 600 per kg,” says Rosaria Mukarurinda, a trader in Kimironko market. She notes that inconsistent rainfall has led to a food shortage, that has in turn helped food prices to soar to levels high, a situation she says cannot be blamed on fuel.

    For Yeluminee Mukasindambiwe, who vends rice, groundnuts, sugar, millet flour, cooking oil among others, though there is a hike in fuel price, the major problem is a shortage of produce from farmers, who claim little harvest.

    “Increase in fuel prices is adding salt to an injury,” Mukasindambiwe says, adding that though food prices have increased, the situation cannot be compared to the neighbouring countries like Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.

    According to the farmers that we interviewed, the price increase of food prices rose by a small margin among almost all food products. For instance, the price of a kilo of matooke rose from RWF150 to 170 per kg.

    Due to the fluctuation of food prices, many of the traders claim that they undergo a lot of challenges as. “We make very little profits but when we deduct taxes, rent and so forth, coupled with the soaring of price in food items, we get almost no profits but still we have to persist until the prices have stabilised,” says Marie Louise Kagoyire, a matooke and Irish potatoes trader at Gikondo market.

    A Kigali resident similarly echoes the concerns of the traders saying that they are often forced to reduce on the quantity of the food items due to price the increase.

    “When we go to the market hoping to buy, for instance, 50 kgs of posho and find that the prices have been hiked, we reduce on the quantity and purchase little according to the little money we have in our pockets and compared to the income one has,” Vincent Dusabimana, a resident of Jari Sector, Gasabo District, who had come to Nyabugogo food market explains.

    For Pierre Bizimana, the increase in food prices is dictated by a decrease in production. He says that he used to purchase 50kgs of sweet potatoes per month but has since reduced this to 30kgs due to this predicament..

    On her part, Jeanne Mukakamanzi, who used to purchase 25 kgs of rice for her family says, “I just quit from buying rice because of the price increase which keeps worsning. I will be buying posho until the prices stabilise ,” Mukakamanzi says.