{"id":65090,"date":"2024-02-10T18:05:16","date_gmt":"2024-02-10T18:05:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/rwanda-is-indeed-where-rwandans-are"},"modified":"2024-02-10T18:23:47","modified_gmt":"2024-02-10T18:23:47","slug":"rwanda-is-indeed-where-rwandans-are","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/rwanda-is-indeed-where-rwandans-are","title":{"rendered":"Rwanda is indeed where Rwandans are"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. <\/strong><\/span>Rwanda Day is a time when Rwandans in the diaspora, their families, and their friends gather to enjoy each other\u2019s company and exchange ideas for developing our country. In short, as President Kagame put it, \u201cthe reason for Rwanda Day, to start with, is to make sure that every Rwandan, who is outside of Rwanda, is connected with his or her home wherever they are. You can leave Rwanda and go wherever you want to go, but Rwanda should not leave you\u201d.<\/p>\n

Oh, to be with Rwandans, speak Kinyarwanda again, and catch up with one another! So many people will hug you tight and ask, \u201curacyabaho?\u201d We share tidbits on whose children got married, who moved back to Rwanda, and who finally struck that much-coveted business deal! You finally get a chance to ask or be asked the all-time unsettling and intrusive \u201cko wabyibushye?\u201d<\/p>\n

Rwanda Day to me is a reminder that Rwanda is wherever Rwandans are because for us, Rwanda extends beyond its territory. It lives in our togetherness.<\/p>\n

I remember that when I was a young girl living as a refugee, one of my dreams was to contribute to the development of my country, but I could never fathom, even in my wildest dreams, that things like Rwanda Day could ever happen.<\/p>\n

You see, at that time, I thought of Rwanda as the only place where I could be truly Rwandan. My idea of home was a little piece of land somewhere in Southern Province, formerly named Butare. This is where I was born, raised, and spent most of my early childhood. Acute nostalgia and longing for our homeland at times unbearable were tempered by our ability to connect through our core traditions and culture.<\/p>\n

Colonial powers and previous governments that tried to divide us mistook Rwanda for a mere territory when, in reality, our country is its people. The origins of the name itself come from \u2018kwanda\u2019 (to expand, enlarge). For our ancestors, \u2018kwanda\u2019 meant growing the size of our territory, but it has since come to symbolize a strong affinity and kinship that draw Rwandans together wherever they are.<\/p>\n

People were and are still the foundation on which Rwanda is built. Hence, sayings like \u2018uracyabaho\u2019, \u2018waramutse\u2019, and \u2018urabeho\u2019 make sense even today because when one Rwandan dies, our Rwanda shrinks, and when one Rwandan is born, Rwanda grows.<\/p>\n

People who were born in the 1950s or before may have come across another saying \u201camahanga arahanda\u201d (foreign land is rough), but Rwanda Day is a powerful reminder that Rwanda is wherever we are. Being together reminds us that while business deals are made and dream jobs are landed, there is no feeling that beats being with your own.<\/p>\n

Rwanda\u2019s diaspora has spread all around the world. We have expanded in our ambitions and capacity, and in every possible way one can imagine. On Rwanda Day 2024, we saw our children dancing with excitement. They are proof that Rwanda lives in us and in our families. Many have now started saying that Rwanda Day is every day, and I will add that it is anywhere, whether in-country or abroad, because Rwanda is us.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s Rwanda Day was hosted by the Embassy of Rwanda in Washington, D.C., and attended by more than 6,000 Rwandans and friends of Rwanda.<\/p>\n

Amb. Mathilde Mukantabana is the Ambassador of Rwanda to the US.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Rwanda<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. Rwanda Day is a time when Rwandans in the diaspora, their families, and their friends gather to enjoy each other\u2019s company and exchange ideas for developing our country. In short, as President Kagame put it, \u201cthe reason for Rwanda Day, to start with, is to make sure that every Rwandan, who is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":65088,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,29,14],"tags":[760,763,1013,5015,3254,758,4925],"class_list":["post-65090","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-rwanda","tag-diaspora","tag-mathilde-mukantabana","tag-president-kagame","tag-rwanda","tag-rwanda-day"],"yoast_head":"\nRwanda is indeed where Rwandans are - Rwanda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Rwanda Day is a time when Rwandans in the diaspora, their families, and their friends gather to enjoy each other\u2019s compa ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/rwanda-is-indeed-where-rwandans-are\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rwanda is indeed where Rwandans are\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Rwanda Day is a time when Rwandans in the diaspora, their families, and their friends gather to enjoy each other\u2019s compa ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/rwanda-is-indeed-where-rwandans-are\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rwanda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-02-10T18:05:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-02-10T18:23:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2024\/02\/sm_1707576779.917514.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"666\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/rwanda-is-indeed-where-rwandans-are#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/rwanda-is-indeed-where-rwandans-are\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Rwanda is indeed where Rwandans are\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-02-10T18:05:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-02-10T18:23:47+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/rwanda-is-indeed-where-rwandans-are\"},\"wordCount\":581,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/rwanda-is-indeed-where-rwandans-are#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2024\/02\/sm_1707576779.917514.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Rwanda\",\"Diaspora\",\"Mathilde Mukantabana\",\"President Kagame\",\"Rwanda\",\"Rwanda Day\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"head lines\",\"Policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/rwanda-is-indeed-where-rwandans-are#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/rwanda-is-indeed-where-rwandans-are\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/rwanda-is-indeed-where-rwandans-are\",\"name\":\"Rwanda is indeed where Rwandans are - 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