Zachariah Muturi, a young man from Kenya, shares some of his experiences learnt from his recent visit to Rwanda.

On 29 March 2011, I took off for a visit to Rwanda, feeling extremely happy as it was my first time to be out of my country, Kenya. I had gone to visit friends that I met during the first Eastern Africa Youth Conference which took place in Kenya in February.

The first thing that captured my interest in Rwanda was the environmental cautiousness. At the entry to Rwanda, they check your bags to make sure that you do not bring in polythene papers. This is something that really amazed me. The exercise at the border is definitely having an impact as the town of Kigali is very clean.

For the 2 weeks that I was there, I learnt and experienced different things, but the climax of my learning was on 7 April, 2011, the annual day of Rwanda Genocide Commemoration. It is a special day for many families who have lost their families, neighbours and friends. I was impressed by how those taking part expressed their love to the people who lost their lives and to those who had major losses. To show love to the deceased, they gather in various places such as the stadium, to have a moment of silence and to give thanks to God for their lives.

One of Rwanda’s musicians lost all of his family – not just is immediate family but also his extended family. He is the only one remaining in his whole family lineage. This really touched my heart and I could not hold back the tears as I listened to his music. Though I could not clearly understand the language, I could read the message from his face. It was very touching to see him even trying to comfort others. This is pure strength and love. But I could tell that he was still in pain, that he still had love for his country.

They do not point fingers to those who did it (genocide), they embrace them and thank God it happened. This really challenged me and provoked me to write an article on the commemoration day. Here in an extract of my article;

“Today the whole country here in Rwanda is flashbacking on the incidence. I am personally very moved by the love of this people. They are holding hands in Unison to prove that everyone counts. They are showing love to those who succumbed to the chaos. I feel very much touched by the Commemoration songs. I cannot imagine that my country Kenya wanted this to be the case. Being in Rwanda on this day, I get one message to take home, love is the big thing that we can show to one another. It is from lack of love and understanding that chaos arises.

To all Rwandese, feel very strong and remember that God is with all of you. To all those who lost their loved ones, I mourn with you. It touches my heart to see that you can still hold on to the love you had for your loved ones even after so many years of being deceased.

 As I write this, I am actually weeping inside my heart. I do not understand how this happened. The message I want to share with my fellow countrymen, is let’s avoid chaos. Even as we approach an election year, let us keep in our hearts that peace is the way. I would not want to see Kenyans weep. I have seen how painful it is. Rwanda experienced far more than we did in 2007/2008. What they experienced was beyond animosity. Let us learn a lesson from them.

Let the whole world know that LOVE is the best thing you can show to your brother. “