Youth have been urged to maintain the legacy of the unity and reconciliation, togetherness, co-existence and social cohesion that has been built, 23 years following the Genocide against the Tutsis. The unity is attributed to government’s efforts to establish a national framework towards sustainable and peaceful society as well as to consolidate the present and future of the country.
The call was made by the Executive Director of Never Again Rwanda, Dr. Joseph Ryarasa Nkurunziza, during a public lecture aimed at equipping young people with critical thinking skills. The public lecture held at Tumba college of technology centered on the healing journey, pillars of unity and reconciliation and the role of youth participation in peace building.
In his remarks, Dr. Nkurunziza said that genocide was possible because of the hate ideology that was indoctrinated by the authoritarian governance which introduced divisions among Rwandans. More to that was the fact Rwandans were never taught about the concept of unity and reconciliation which impeded their ability to resist the inculcation of the genocide ideology. He reiterated that in the aftermath of Genocide, leaders have concerted efforts to heal the wounds and establish social cohesion among Rwandans which is a strong pillar that young Rwandans will build on in the future.
“The role of the youth is to maintain the legacy of unity and reconciliation while avoiding the divisionism and hatred ideology. It could be hard to influence your parents who grew up in a line of negative ideology but as a youth, you have no excuse, because you have leaders who are supportive towards inclusiveness and participatory governance”. Dr. Joseph said
He also told youth to express their concerns using different avenues like writing their own stories through new media channels, sensitizing the principles of human rights as well as working hard to maintain the legacy and vision offered by the current leadership.
Olivier Camarade Mazimpaka, President of GAERG, also urged the youth to upload the principle that Genocide will never happen again by fighting genocide ideology, inequality and injustice in their communities. “I can assure you that based on the good leadership we have, Genocide will never happen again, unless the youth do nothing to prevent it and sustain what we have achieved so far. You have all the responsibility of the country’s future which means that your behaviors of today reflect how Rwanda will be in the future”.Mazimpaka said
A female participant shared her testimony by saying that “I had a privilege to talk with my parents on different occasions. They told me that in the past, Rwandans were consumed by the hate ideology in schools which negatively encouraged many to commit crimes against humanity without any hesitation”.
She added that “Our generation has a privilege to grow in an environment which teaches us what is an offense, its impact and the price to committing crimes. I think we need to use this opportunity to create long-lasting peaceful communities”.