Abstract
There have been times during which humans have been up against each other. Humans are known to be competitive with each other, a fact that is both advantageous and disadvantageous. An advantage of the fact is that, in terms of economy, the competitive nature of human beings has helped countries move forward and be able to offer their citizens with all that they need. It, however, becomes a disadvantage when greed sets in. There are times when some people feel that they are not complete when they are not ahead of others. This is in most cases reflected in terms of leadership. With the onset of democracy, it became tougher for leaders to grab power at will and also put the safety of the general public at risk.
In the pro-democracy era, it is required that any leader be elected and has to win if he or she gets the majority vote. It is the case in the countries that uphold democracy. Democracy has not, however, been entirely a blessing. Leaders hungry for power have found dubious ways to seize power from their rivals. The use of violence has become the in thing with the onset of democracy. It is the case that happened with Rwanda in the 1994 genocide. Lack of tolerance can be said to have been the main cause of the violence that left thousands of innocent people dead. Twenty years down the line, it might be time that all that is put behind and people learn to forgive each other and move on. The task might not be as easy as it sounds but it is a good start towards recovery.
The words “I forgive you” by the perpetrator to the victim always do signify the end of the matter according to the perpetrator but to the victim, they mark the beginning of the forgiveness process (Larson 2009). The victims of the genocide underwent much hurts. Seeing their fellow tribesmen slain to death cannot have been a pleasant view or experience. In the course of the fight, they had to travel long journeys to refugee camps where the conditions were rather safe and habitable. Further, the traveling had to be done in the course of the night to avoid confrontation with the enemy. All these events cannot go away just because someone says that he or she has forgiven the other. The victim has to be given time to undergo a healing process and try to forget what was done to him. Much time has passed since the genocides and it is, perhaps, time that the victims let goes of the title “victims.”
Of course, one cannot talk of the victim letting go of the past if the offender has not asked for forgiveness from the victim. Even when the victim is unwilling to hear or receive any apologies, the offender is obligated to seek forgiveness (Larson 2009). The request for forgiveness marks the beginning of the reconciliation process. The fact that the offender takes the step to repent means that he has already appreciated the fact that he did something wrong. From a critical point of view, it feels right when someone that has wronged another takes the step to admitting his or her mistake. In addition to creating a room for a habitable society, it increases the bonds between the two since the offender is always working towards showing the victim that he or she is sorry for what he has done. In the case of Rwanda, there have been programs being run by the government as an effort to reconcile the people of Rwanda.
The Gacasa program is a program in Rwanda that was initiated as a way to see to it the reconciliation of the Rwanda nationals post the 1994 genocide. The program gets the people to reconcile through having them meet and talk about the violence (Clark 2011). They get to say who was responsible for the violence and the guilty [people also get to confess of their deeds and seek forgiveness from the victims (Clark 2011). This way, the program, achieves building of trust between the people. Getting to talk openly of one’s misdeeds with no fear of prosecution is a great leap towards forgiveness and reconciliation in the country. The program has achieved buildup of trust since, having known about a fellow citizen’s dark past; there is no need to fear him or her.
The reconciliation programs in motion, in Rwanda are a step into reconciliation in the country. This is the reason as to why every victim should take a step and forgive the wrongdoer of whatever evil they did to him. The perpetrator might have wiped out victims entire family and left him all alone, but this should not be a reason not to forgive him. After all, keeping the hate will not bring back those that were killed in the genocide. Forgiveness, however, is the first step to living in a happy society, free of mistrust and fear. It is the first step towards building a new and cohesive country and forgetting about the past misfortunes.
References
Clark P. (2011). The Gacaca Courts, Post-Genocide Justice and Reconciliation in Rwanda: Justice without lawyers. London: Cambridge University Press
Larson C. C. (2009) As We Forgive: Stories of Reconciliation from Rwanda. Michigan: Zondervan
