“It might not seem possible for a nation to heal from genocide...

“It might not seem possible for a nation to heal from genocide so quickly.  And some might think that our reconciliation is surface level.  But it runs deeper than that.  If we were truly a nation playing ‘make believe,’ our progress would have been impossible.  Rwanda’s per capita GDP has grown nearly 500% since the genocide.  And I understand that economics might seem like a dry subject, but you must consider what it represents.  It represents Rwandans working together.  And trading together.  And trusting each other.  It represents a consensus that our best future is a shared one.  Without true reconciliation, we’d have never come this far.  Do tribes still exist in Rwanda?  Of course.  There will always be divisions between us.  I can’t ask people to forget about these things.  But I tell them: ‘Consider the ways that we are a single tribe.  We all speak one language.  We all have the same culture, and dances, and behaviors.  So be proud of who you are.  But also be proud of being Rwandan.  Because that is something all of us are.”
(Kigali, Rwanda)