Top Tweets for #NoDoubleGenocide

I remember April 1994 as if it were yesterday. This short testimony goes to the youth, but especially to those who dare to speak of a “double genocide.” I was not hunted. But I remember how Tutsis were hunted. I remember conversations with my Tutsi peers. Fear in their eyes. Total despair. Wondering where to hide. I remember Tutsi neighbours trying to return to their places of origin, hoping to find safety, and never making it. Some were killed on the way. Others were killed when they arrived, in places they believed would protect them. I remember churches becoming places of animosity. Places of slaughter. And I remember not understanding how people could suddenly become so cruel. There was a roadblock near our home. People were stopped and asked to present their IDs. If your ID said Tutsi, you were to die. If you had children, they were to die, no matter their age. If you were pregnant, the unborn child was to die first. The unspeakable had become normal. There was a nearby forest. Killers had given it a name, CND. And we would hear them say they had taken people to CND. That is how death was spoken about. Casually. As if it meant nothing. No one questioned it. Those who could ask were the same ones killing or giving the orders. At no point during the Genocide against the Tutsi did I hear of Hutus being hunted for being Hutu. Tutsis were hunted. Systematically. Ruthlessly. Yes, some Hutus were killed because they were mistaken for Tutsi. Yes, some Hutus were killed because they refused to kill, or because they chose to hide and protect Tutsis. Yes, many Hutus died on the way to exile, mostly from cholera. But they were never hunted to death for being Hutu. Let us not distort history. Let us not equalise what was never equal. To the youth, Rwanda was once dead. What you see today did not exist. And yet, we rose. We rebuilt. We chose unity over division. Today, Rwanda stands strong, among the fast-developing nations, guided by visionary leadership under H.E. Paul Kagame. Under Inkotanyi, who stopped the genocide when the international community failed to act. Our dignity was restored. Today, amahanga aratwubaha. This is not something we can ever take for granted. We must stand together to protect our country and our leadership. We must stand together to fight any harm against Rwanda. We must stand together against any form of genocide ideology. We must stand together against denial, so that “Never Again” becomes a reality. Today and forever. As our President said, Rwanda cannot die twice. #Kwibuka32