“Be Accountable. Think big. Stay Together”
A two-hour Oscar-nominated film cannot fully illustrate a nation’s complicated history.
Hotel Rwanda debuted in 2004 — 10 years after the country’s civil war that resulted in millions of lives lost. Film viewers saw, though enthralling retelling, how war and genocide left “Rwanda’s economy and social fabric in shambles.” Fast forward to today, the country is booming. Its “difficult and complex transformation” is accredited to current president Paul Kagame.
Kagame visited Jamaica on an official visit last week between April 13 and 15.
Rwanda also celebrates its 60th year of independence this year.
Kagame’s leadership is lauded as the principal element by which Rwanda became the “Switzerland of Africa.” He is serving his third seven-year term as Rwanda’s president. A constitutional amendment may allow him to stay in power until 2034.
In its capital Kigali, the economic boom is awe-inspiring. As Jamaican Governor General Sir Patrick Allen said in his address, Rwanda “rose like a phoenix from the ashes to become a model of economic growth for other developing countries.” Since 2000, when Kagame took power, global economists have noticed that the country’s economy has grown “by about eight per cent every year.”
The capital is one of the safest on the continent. Per the 2020 World Bank Doing Business Report, Rwanda ranked the second-easiest place to do business in Africa after Mauritius and 38th globally.
As a child living in a Ugandan refugee camp, Kagame became passionate about “justice and ambition.” In his 2014 address commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, Kagame reminded his people what went to infrastructure rebuilding and ethnic reconciliation efforts. “…we chose to stay together …we chose to be accountable to ourselves… we chose to think big.”
During last Thursday’s function, President Kagame noted that he and his delegation felt “truly embraced and welcomed here in Jamaica.” On the dual celebration of 60th independence anniversaries, Kagame encouraged Jamaican leaders to “commit to expanding ties of friendship and brotherhood.”
