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Rwanda Quotes

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Rwanda Quotes

“George Bush made a mistake when he referred to the Saddam Hussein regime as 'evil.' Every liberal and leftist knows how to titter at such black-and-white moral absolutism. What the president should have done, in the unlikely event that he wanted the support of America's peace-mongers, was to describe a confrontation with Saddam as the 'lesser evil.' This is a term the Left can appreciate. Indeed, 'lesser evil' is part of the essential tactical rhetoric of today's Left, and has been deployed to excuse or overlook the sins of liberal Democrats, from President Clinton's bombing of Sudan to Madeleine Albright's veto of an international rescue for Rwanda when she was U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Among those longing for nuance, moral relativism—the willingness to use the term evil, when combined with a willingness to make accommodations with it—is the smart thing: so much more sophisticated than 'cowboy' language.”

EvilUnited StatesMoralityIraqLiberalismAnti WarUnited NationsIraq WarRwandaLeftismSudanAbsolutismPeace MovementMoral RelativismBill ClintonGeorge W BushSaddam HusseinRwandan GenocideDemocratic Party United StatesMoral AbsolutismBa Ath PartyMadeleine AlbrightOpposition To The Iraq WarPresidency Of Bill ClintonAl Shifa Pharmaceutical FactoryPresidency Of George W Bush
Book:Christopher Hitchens and His Critics: Terror, Iraq, and the Left
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“Remembering​ ​is​ ​something​ ​God​ ​asks​ ​us​ ​to​ ​do​ ​over​ ​and​ ​over​ ​in​ ​the​ ​Bible:​ ​“Remember the​ ​Sabbath​ ​day​ ​by​ ​keeping​ ​it​ ​holy”​ ​(Exod.​ ​20:8).​ ​​ ​“Remember​ ​your​ ​Creator”​ ​(Eccles.​ ​12:1).​ ​​ ​The Israelites​ ​were​ ​experts​ ​at​ ​remembering,​ ​building​ ​altars​ ​of​ ​thanks​ ​and​ ​celebrating​ ​festivals​ ​to​ ​be mindful​ ​of​ ​God’s​ ​mighty​ ​acts​ ​of​ ​provision.​ ​​ ​They​ ​had​ ​much​ ​to​ ​celebrate:​ ​​ ​the​ ​parting​ ​of​ ​the​ ​Red Sea,​ ​the​ ​supply​ ​of​ ​manna​ ​in​ ​the​ ​desert,​ ​the​ ​cloud​ ​by​ ​day​ ​and​ ​the​ ​pillar​ ​of​ ​fire​ ​by​ ​night.​ ​​ ​In remembering,​ ​they​ ​knew​ ​God​ ​was​ ​faithful,​ ​and​ ​it​ ​fortified​ ​their​ ​faith​ ​for​ ​the​ ​next​ ​battle​ ​ahead. All​ ​of​ ​us​ ​who​ ​are​ ​Christians​ ​are​ ​asked​ ​to​ ​remember​ ​too.​ ​​ ​The​ ​violence​ ​of​ ​the​ ​cross​ ​is​ ​in front​ ​of​ ​us​ ​each​ ​time​ ​we​ ​take​ ​communion--”Do​ ​this​ ​in​ ​remembrance​ ​of​ ​Me”​ ​(Luke​ ​22:19). Though​ ​it​ ​isn’t​ ​easy​ ​to​ ​face,​ ​we​ ​are​ ​asked​ ​to​ ​remember​ ​the​ ​blood​ ​He​ ​spilled​ ​out​ ​for​ ​us.​ ​​ ​When​ ​I embrace​ ​His​ ​suffering​ ​for​ ​me,​ ​it​ ​gives​ ​meaning​ ​to​ ​my​ ​own.​ ​​ ​I​ ​know​ ​it​ ​also​ ​forces​ ​me​ ​to remember​ ​the​ ​pain​ ​of​ ​others.​ ​​ ​And​ ​God​ ​doesn’t​ ​want​ ​me​ ​to​ ​forget​ ​the​ ​innocent​ ​blood​ ​that​ ​was shed​ ​over​ ​the​ ​hills​ ​of​ ​Rwanda.​ ​​ ​The​ ​act​ ​of​ ​remembering​ ​holds​ ​something​ ​very​ ​sacred--it​ ​makes us​ ​more​ ​grateful.​ ​​ ​We​ ​have​ ​to​ ​be​ ​willing​ ​to​ ​remember​ ​our​ ​pain​ ​so​ ​we​ ​can​ ​comfort​ ​and​ ​offer​ ​a place​ ​of​ ​healing​ ​for​ ​others.​ ​(pp.​ ​152-153)”

RememberSufferingHealingComfortCommunionRememberingRwandaLord S SupperRwanda Genocide
Book:My Father, Maker of the Trees: How I Survived the Rwandan Genocide
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“I once spoke to someone who had survived the genocide in Rwanda, and she said to me that there was now nobody left on the face of the earth, either friend or relative, who knew who she was. No one who remembered her girlhood and her early mischief and family lore; no sibling or boon companion who could tease her about that first romance; no lover or pal with whom to reminisce. All her birthdays, exam results, illnesses, friendships, kinships—gone. She went on living, but with a tabula rasa as her diary and calendar and notebook. I think of this every time I hear of the callow ambition to 'make a new start' or to be 'born again': Do those who talk this way truly wish for the slate to be wiped? Genocide means not just mass killing, to the level of extermination, but mass obliteration to the verge of extinction. You wish to have one more reflection on what it is to have been made the object of a 'clean' sweep? Try Vladimir Nabokov's microcosmic miniature story 'Signs and Symbols,' which is about angst and misery in general but also succeeds in placing it in what might be termed a starkly individual perspective. The album of the distraught family contains a faded study of Aunt Rosa, a fussy, angular, wild-eyed old lady, who had lived in a tremulous world of bad news, bankruptcies, train accidents, cancerous growths—until the Germans put her to death, together with all the people she had worried about.”

FamilyMiseryGenocideExtinctionAngstShort StoriesBorn AgainAnonymitySurvivorsNazisRwandaClean SlateGermansSigns And SymbolsRwandan GenocideNabokov
Book:Hitch 22: A Memoir
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“Kiswahili ni lugha rasmi ya nchi za Tanzania, Kenya na Uganda. Ni lugha isiyo rasmi ya nchi za Rwanda, Burundi, Msumbiji na Jamhuri ya Kidemokrasia ya Kongo. Lugha ya Kiswahili ni mali ya nchi za Afrika ya Mashariki, si mali ya nchi za Afrika Mashariki peke yake. Pia, Kiswahili ni lugha rasmi ya Umoja wa Afrika; pamoja na Kiarabu, Kiingereza, Kifaransa, Kireno na Kihispania. Kiswahili ni lugha inayozungumzwa zaidi nchini Tanzania kuliko nchi nyingine yoyote ile, duniani.”

CultureLanguageAfricaKenyaRwandaMother TongueUgandaArabicTanzaniaArabsKolonia SantitaEnock MaregesiAfrikaEast AfricaMozambiqueSwahiliAfrican UnionBurundiKiswahiliAfrican LanguagesLughaUtamaduniAfrika MasharikiSwahili LanguageAfrican Great LakesDemocratic Republic Of The CongoBantuAfrika Ya MasharikiAtlantic Congo LanguagesBantu PeopleBantu PeoplesBantusBenue Congo LanguagesComorian LanguageComoro IslandsEastern AfricaFamilia Ya Lugha Ya KiswahiliHistoria Ya KiswahiliJamhuri Ya Kidemokrasia Ya KongoKiarabuKibantuKiprotoKusini Mashariki Mwa AfrikaLugha Ya AsiliLugha Ya KibantuLugha Ya KisabakiLugha Ya KiswahiliLugha Ya Visiwa Vya KomoroLugha Ya Visiwa Vya NgazijaLugha Za AfrikaMsumbijiMto SabakiNchi Za Ukanda Wa Maziwa MakuuNiger Congo Language FamilyNortheast Coast BantuProto BantuSabaki LanguageSabaki RiverSoutheast AfricaSouthern Bantoid LanguagesSwahili HistorySwahili Language FamilySwahili PeopleSwahili PeoplesUmoja Wa AfrikaVisiwa Vya KomoroVisiwa Vya NgazijaWaarabuWabantuWaswahili
Author:Enock Maregesi
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“Kiswahili ni lugha ya Kibantu na lugha kuu ya kimataifa ya biashara ya Afrika ya Mashariki ambayo; maneno yake mengi yamepokewa kutoka katika lugha za Kiarabu, Kireno, Kiingereza, Kihindi, Kijerumani na Kifaransa, kutoka kwa wakoloni waliyoitawala pwani ya Afrika ya Mashariki katika kipindi cha karne tano zilizopita. Lugha ya Kiswahili ilitokana na lugha za Kisabaki za Afrika Mashariki; ambazo nazo zilitokana na Lugha za Kibantu za Pwani ya Kaskazini Mashariki za Tanzania na Kenya, zilizotokana na lugha zaidi ya 500 za Kibantu za Afrika ya Kusini na Kati. Lugha za Kibantu zilitokana na lugha za Kibantoidi, ambazo ni lugha zenye asili ya Kibantu za kusini mwa eneo la Wabantu, zilizotokana na jamii ya lugha za Kikongo na Kibenue – tawi kubwa kuliko yote ya familia ya lugha za Kikongo na Kinijeri katika bara la Afrika. Familia ya lugha za Kikongo na Kibenue ilitokana na jamii ya lugha za Kiatlantiki na Kikongo; zilizotokana na familia ya lugha za Kikongo na Kinijeri, ambayo ni familia kubwa ya lugha kuliko zote duniani kwa maana ya lugha za kikabila. Familia ya lugha ya Kiswahili imekuwepo kwa karne nyingi. Tujifunze kuzipenda na kuzitetea lugha zetu kwa faida ya vizazi vijavyo.”

CultureLanguageAfricaKenyaRwandaMother TongueUgandaArabicFuture GenerationsTanzaniaArabsKolonia SantitaEnock MaregesiAfrikaEast AfricaMozambiqueSwahiliAfrican UnionBurundiKiswahiliAfrican LanguagesLughaVizazi VijavyoUtamaduniAfrika MasharikiSwahili LanguageAfrican Great LakesDemocratic Republic Of The CongoBantuAfrika Ya MasharikiAtlantic Congo LanguagesBantu PeopleBantu PeoplesBantusBenue Congo LanguagesComorian LanguageComoro IslandsEastern AfricaFamilia Ya Lugha Ya KiswahiliHistoria Ya KiswahiliJamhuri Ya Kidemokrasia Ya KongoKiarabuKibantuKiprotoKusini Mashariki Mwa AfrikaLugha Ya AsiliLugha Ya KibantuLugha Ya KisabakiLugha Ya KiswahiliLugha Ya Visiwa Vya KomoroLugha Ya Visiwa Vya NgazijaLugha Za AfrikaMsumbijiMto SabakiNchi Za Ukanda Wa Maziwa MakuuNiger Congo Language FamilyNortheast Coast BantuProto BantuSabaki LanguageSabaki RiverSoutheast AfricaSouthern Bantoid LanguagesSwahili HistorySwahili Language FamilySwahili PeopleSwahili PeoplesUmoja Wa AfrikaVisiwa Vya KomoroVisiwa Vya NgazijaWaarabuWabantuWaswahili
Author:Enock Maregesi
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“We want to stay in Ruanda-Urundi because in the lives of peoples and people there are interests other than purely economic interests. We want to stay there just because there is still much to do, because we have begun a great human work in that country that we want to bring to a successful conclusion; because we have accepted a mission of guardianship that we want to fulfil to the end. And when the objectives laid down in the [UN] Charter are achieved, thanks to us, thanks to our help, that people will be able to decide its future in full awareness and in full freedom.”

United NationsCongoRwandaUnBurundiRuanda Urundi
Author:Pierre Ryckmans
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“Il y a quand même des objets du patrimoine qui parlent de l’histoire, qui parlent du passé. Et le passé permet de voir l’évolution du pays. Il donne aussi une perspective de l’avenir. Quand on a un monument aux morts, on doit prendre conscience que ce pays a connu des guerres. On a en ce monument des problèmes avec le Rwanda. Mais vous savez qu’avec ce monument, on allait se rappeler les victoires du Congo sur le Rwanda. Le Congo avait gagné la guerre, occupé le Rwanda, le Burundi et même Tabora qui était la capitale des Allemands”

CongoRwandaAllemandsForce PubliqueTabora
Author:Marcel Yabili
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“The world powers made it clear in 1994 that they did not care to fight genocide in central Africa, but they had yet to come up with a convincing explanation of why they were content to feed it. The false promise of protection represented by the camps placed Hutu civilians, as well as Tutsis and everyone else in the region, in mortal peril, and it was no comfort that this state of affairs was not brought about by a malevolent international policy in central Africa but by the lack of any coherent policy.”

GenocideUnited NationsRwandaRefugee CampsNgos
Book:We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families
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“Many signs point to the fact that the youth of the Third World will no longer tolerate living in circumstances that give them no hope for the future. From the young boys I met in the demobilization camps in Sierra Leone to the suicide bombers of Palestine and Chechnya, to the young terrorists who fly planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, we can no longer afford to ignore them. We have to take concrete steps to remove the causes of their rage, or we have to be prepared to suffer the consequences.”

PoliticsInternationalTerrorismPalestineRwanda9 11Suicide BombersChechnyaSierra Leone
Book:Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda
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“The last time I heard an orthodox Marxist statement that was music to my ears was from a member of the Rwanda Patriotic Front, during the mass slaughter in the country. 'The terms Hutu and Tutsi,' he said severely, 'are merely ideological constructs, describing different relationships to the means and mode of production.' But of course!”

IdeologyMarxismRwandaRwandan GenocideHutusTutsisRwandan Patriotic Front
Book:Hitch 22: A Memoir
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“The UN lacked the ability to act without the support of its more powerful members, notably the United States. The American government wanted to avoid a repetition of its unsuccessful intervention in Somalia, in which thirty American troops were killed. President Clinton issued a directive on UN military conditions. The operations would also have to be directly relevant to American interests. These conditions excluded American support for UN intervention to stop the genocide [in Rwanda].”

AmericaGenocideUnited NationsRwandaAmerican Foreign PolicyRwandan Genocide
Book:Humanity: A Moral History of the Twentieth Century
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“Rwanda’s Muslim community is an example of a group (a full community rather than isolated individuals) that resisted the appeal of dangerous speech and other pressures to participate in the genocide. The Muslim community, which had both Hutu and Tutsi members, not only refused to participate in the genocide but actively opposed it. Its actions during the genocide included rescuing, hiding, and taking care of Muslim and non-Muslim Tutsis, and providing safe haven in mosques. Muslims also rejected commands to kill or reveal Tutsis hidden in their communities, on several occasions going so far as to fight back and be killed themselves.”

IslamMuslimMosquesRwandaMuslimsRwandan GenocideHutusTutsis
Book:Defusing Hate: A Strategic Communication Guide to Counteract Dangerous Speech
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“This hypothesis, believed by many Western scholars at the time, held that there were two races present in Africa: the Hamitic race and the Negroid race. The Hamitic race was thought to be a superior race of people who originated in northern Africa. British historian C. G. Seligman went so far as to claim that all significant discoveries and advancements in African history, including those of the Ancient Egyptians, were achieved by Hamites. He argued that Hamites migrated into central Africa, bringing more sophisticated customs, languages, and technologies with them. Hamites were believed by Westerners to be more closely related to white people. Tutsis were believed to be descendants of Hamitic people because they had more "European" features. Hutus were believed to be Negroid. Tutsis were therefore allowed better educations and jobs. Ethnic identity cards were introduced to ensure tribal division. Many have argued that this division was at the root of the Rwandan genocide of 1994, during which members of the Hutu majority murdered as many as eight hundred thousand Tutsi people.”

RacismDivisionRwandaRwandan GenocideRacial Division
Book:Aftershocks
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“Almost 30 years before Rwanda, before Darfur, more than 2 million people - mothers, children, babies, civilians - lost their lives as a result of the blatantly callous and unnecessary policies enacted by the leaders of the federal government of Nigeria. It's this charge that's dominated the book's Nigerian press, so far as I can see, the accusation, on the one hand, that Awolowo hatched "a diabolical policy to reduce the numbers of his enemies significantly through starvation - eliminating over two million people, mainly members of future generations.”

PeopleYearsChildrenI CanTwoBookHandsGovernmentMotherLostResultsNumbersLeaderEnemyMillionsGenerationsPolicyBabyMembersPressesUnnecessaryFederal GovernmentFuture GenerationCiviliansStarvationNigeriaAccusationEliminatingRwandaDiabolicalCallousMother ChildDarfur
Author:Chinua Achebe
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“Perhaps we have failed as human beings. Perhaps we have embarrassed ourselves to the natural world. We have been rigorous and willful in all the wrong ways. But it doesn't have to be this way. Maybe you don't want to deal with (marching), the permanent marker and poster board. But try something else. Carry someone's groceries. Chat with the custodian in your office building. Donate blood. Live in Rwanda for a year. Write letters to the Department of Buildings. Learn to knit. It is only going to get better from here on out.”

WorldWayWantWritingTryingYearsHumansHas BeensNaturalHuman BeingsDealsBloodBuildingOfficeLettersPermanentGet BetterBoardsDepartmentEmbarrassedNatural WorldGroceriesPostersWrong WayDonateMarkersRwandaCustodiansOffice BuildingsDonating Blood
Author:Sufjan Stevens
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“I can't say that you should extract this or that value from my books explicitly. They are up for interpretation. In terms of the obligation, I think we're all individuals on this planet, trying to scratch our way through the day, and if you're writing a book exposing atrocities in Rwanda or writing a murder mystery set in a mountain village, I think both ways of spending you time are valid and both books are probably fine to read.”

IfsThinkingWayShouldWritingTryingI CanBookValuesIndividualTermMysteryPlanetsFineMountainMurderSpendingObligationInterpretationVillageScratchesWriting A BookAtrocitiesExposingRwandaMurder Mysteries
Author:Colson Whitehead
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“Human rights are not the preserve of Western activists: The definition must extend to encompass the right to the dignified life; the right to send your kids to school, for that child to get health care, for access for greater prosperity for generations to come and to have a say in the destiny of your community and country. Under that definition, Rwanda has nothing to learn from advocacy groups who think they own the copyright on what constitutes human rights under all conditions in every corner of the world.”

ThinkingWorldHumansChildrenCountryCareKidsSchoolCommunityDestinyGreaterRightsGenerationsGroupsConditionsWesternHuman RightsDefinitionsProsperityCornersAccessHealth CarePreservesActivistCopyrightAdvocacyRwandaCorners Of The World
Author:Paul Kagame
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“Rwanda is a very open and free country. Key to our recovery as a nation has a range of grassroots, citizen-centered polices we call "homegrown solutions." The idea that Rwanda is highly controlled from the center belies the reality, which is that citizens in every village have a powerful say in how things get done. We prize accountability and Rwandans are quickly adapting themselves to the possibilities of a digital economy.”

IdeasCountryDoneRealityNationsPowerfulEconomyPossibilityKeysCitizensSolutionsRecoveryRangeDigitalPrizeAccountabilityVillageControlledAdaptingGrassrootsRwandaFree CountryHomegrown
Author:Paul Kagame
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“The West has institutions that can punish the misconduct of individuals. What drove Rwanda and Africa into decline was the fact that certain people weren't held accountable. When we move to make corrupt mayors or officers answer to the courts, people always immediately say that we are repressive. But should we allow these people to continue to get away with it?”

PeopleShouldFactsMovingCertainIndividualAnswersInstitutionsCourtWestGet AwayOfficersDeclineMayorsRwandaMisconduct
Author:Paul Kagame
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“I know that the fact that I am candidate to my own succession in 2017 can be perceived to be a bad thing by some part of the public opinion outside Rwanda and I don't mind because I know that I am doing it for a good cause. It really doesn't matter to me that my name is associated to those critics as long as I know that I am doing the will of the people.”

PeopleKnowsMindLongMatterFactsNamesCausesMy OwnOpinionCriticsCandidatesBad ThingsPublic OpinionSuccessionGood CausesRwanda
Author:Paul Kagame
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“I am not responsible for creating an opposition, neither am I responsible for appointing my own successor. My job is to allow for the opposition to exist within what the realms of the law. There is space in Rwanda for political parties - if fact we have about a dozen of them - as long as their objective is not to take us back twenty two years. On that point, we are and will always be very vigilant.”

IfsYearsLongTwoFactsJobsLawPoliticalMy OwnSpacePartyCreatingTwentiesResponsibleObjectivesRealmsOppositionTwo YearsDozenPolitical PartiesVigilantSuccessorsRwandaTwenty Two
Author:Paul Kagame
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