Written by Georgia Mugisha
April 7th is the start of the commemoration period for the 1994 Genocide against the
Tutsi in Rwanda. This year marks the 32nd year. We all navigate this period in our own way, and
it is always accompanied by a deep sadness and heaviness. I am mourning more than a million
people that I do not know. I am grieving the futures that they were robbed of, and I am in horror
of the way they were stolen from. I am growing up and living a life of peace and security that
they never knew.
The difference in our realities is only a matter of ten years. Every act of bravery, all their
suffering, and decision to endure allowed me to exist. Similarly, the hard work and the drive of
our parents’ generation is what we owe to the life of hope that my generation has been blessed
with. Ten years before I was born, the Rwanda I have always known would have been
unimaginable. When I take a moment to put my life into context and reflect on my history – both
that of my country and my family – I am amazed that things have unfolded for me the way they
have.
Being Rwandan feels like walking around with the weight and duty to millions: the ones
that were killed in the Genocide against the Tutsi, the ones that fled their home to live
unimaginable realities as refugees, the ones who stayed and were reduced to a letter on their
identity cards, the ones who gave up their lives to fight for the liberation of the country, and
those who have to live a life without their best friends, mothers and fathers, their children, their
neighbors, husbands and wives, girlfriends and boyfriends, but still choose to keep living. I am
amazed by the strength of the Rwandan people.
Very few know what it is like to carry the weight that our country does. Having nothing
to prove to anyone but ourselves, the sun continues to rise over our hills every day, and our pride
is well earned. We owe it to the loved ones whom we never met, and to those who have chosen
hope every day, and we owe it to ourselves. It means something to have grief rooted in purpose
and a legacy to bring to fruition.
