Rwandan President Paul Kagame attends a commemoration ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of the 1994 genocide in Kigali, Rwanda, on April 7, 2024.
Jonathan M. Hansen is a Harvard historian, currently at work on a new book titled “Mission Impossible: Paul Kagame and the Rise of Post-Genocide Rwanda.”omething is happening in Rwanda right now that is rare in human history. A phoenix is rising from the ashes of colonialism and genocide in defiance of virtually all predictions, sympathetic or critical.
In the midsummer of 1994, the Rwanda Patriotic Army , which defeated the genocide, was the only authority in town. An effective military machine, the RPA had no experience in public administration, peacekeeping, or trauma care. Sweeping down through the country in pursuit of the killers, the RPA encountered a slaughter bench whose victims included many of the soldiers’ friends and families.
Despite their diversity, there are some things most Rwandans can agree on. First, that the country is increasingly stable and secure, capable of defending its borders. Second, that it is headed in the right direction, out of the identity politics that determined people’s outcomes for centuries. And finally, that no matter how much progress the country has made since 1994, there remains immense work to be done.
It seems every Rwandan you talk to has an unforgettable story that brings to life the challenge, stakes, and hope of Rwanda’s ongoing ascent out of the abyss. Consider one such story from a Rwandan living in the United States. Even in the dry season, much of Rwanda remains breathtakingly verdant, its lush and hilly landscape at once intimate and awe-inspiring. Butare Province is as beautiful as any, and yet as Uwimana approached Mulinja he hardly noticed. When a car pulls into a rural village there is no concealing it and Uwimana had no time to collect his thoughts. He was immediately surrounded, the initial excitement yielding to tortured silence as the locals recognized an exile in their midst.
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