Rwanda: today

"There are no us and them;

there are Rwandans"

During the war and genocide, millions of Rwandans fled to neighbouring countries or were displaced within Rwanda. Twelve years later, they are still returning and inevitably bring with them a powerful mix of traumatic experiences, hopes, fears and uncertainties.

But Rwanda has changed. David Kabuye wrote recently, "Over the last twelve years Rwanda has developed so much that a person who left the country before the war and genocide would barely know his way around."

"We are jointly building a new Rwanda," he said. "We should strive to have modern Rwandans irrespective of when and where they lived during those dark days. We should share our experiences in a mature... informative way, which will help us understand things that we did not understand."

"One cannot be an expert in other people's experiences... we can only be experts in what we lived."

David Kabuye is the Managing Editor of The New Times Publications. These quotes are from several articles he wrote in June 2006

www.newtimes.co.rw

Rwanda is moving towards becoming a "knowledge-based economy", with rapid development and training in information technologies. This presents the challenge of developing a high tech communications infrastructure alongside the basic needs for clean water, sewage disposal and power generation. The 1994 genocide is never far away...

Students raise funds for survivors education

June 25 2006

"Students from Green Hills Academy in Kigali City have contributed over Frw1.4m to an education trust fund for the survivors of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. Mr Joseph Habineza (the Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture) urged the youth to stay away from genocidal ideologists. "In 1994, the bad leaders sensitized and convinced the youth to kill innocent people and to destroy their belongings. But though we can't change the past, together we can build a bright future."

Linda Mbabaze and Berna Namata

The Sunday Times, Kigali

www.newtimes.co.rw

Rwandans have taught me that even though we have awful capacity for evil, that deep in the human heart there is a core - that everybody has - of truth, of dignity, of love, and the ability to reach out and create a bridge with even our worst enemies."

John Steward

Images and video of Rwanda today. A cross-section of everyday life and people >>