Rwandans Disappearing?

Today, I continue my 100 day series remembering the twentieth anniversary of Rwandan genocide. Please join me in prayer for those lives lost and impacted in this tragedy. #NeverAgain. LMH

Because it was recommended to me, I spent some time today reading and pondering the recent New York Times Opinion piece Why Are Rwandans Disappearing?

The article brings up some disturbing issues, opening with the disappearance of Rwandan educator Virginie Uwamahoro and moving on to discuss the wider concern of “forcible disappearances” as reported by Human Rights Watch. It offers a nod to economic and health strides made under the presidency of Paul Kagame, but then goes on to implicate President Kagame. It even includes a quote from Paul Rusesabagina (of Hotel Rwanda fame):

Among foreign aid workers, the level of fear is so high that no one dares to talk about the government in public. “We call it the 24/20 rule,” a health expert said in an interview in Kigali in April. “You say something wrong and you get 24 hours to leave the country with 20 kilos worth of stuff.” The political activist Paul Rusesabagina, who saved the lives of at least 1,200 people during the genocide, providing the inspiration for the film “Hotel Rwanda,” said in a phone interview: “It’s like this government is swallowing people who disagree.”

If reading this opinion article gives you one impression, when you read the comments section in reaction to the piece perhaps you will be left with the same reaction I have: confusion. As with all things related to the Rwandan Genocide, there is not total clarity here. It’s hard to find and fully understand the absolute truth.

So today, I find myself reserving judgement and turning instead to prayer. For lasting peace. For full healing.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.