I will give a report about the Liberation day, which was held on the next day we arrived.
July 4th was the Liberation day in Rwanda. So my husband and I joined the celebration ceremony, which was held in the Amahoro National Stadium. (Amahoro means "Peace"in Kinyarwanda )
This liberation day is for cerebrating 13th anniversary of liberation from the totalitarian regime and the genocide in 1994. From the early morning, a crowd of Rwandan was heading for the Stadium near our house.
When we arrived in the stadium, already a big crowd gathered and entered in the stadium. Also, we were surprised at the big crowd on the stairs leading to the stadium where crowded people were body-checked by the guards to let them in the stadium.
Seemingly, no other Asian people around except us. So what we tried to do (to enter the stadium) was very challenging. However, we did not give up to enter the stadium. Somehow, thanks to some help of Rwandan and the guards, we were allowed to enter the stadium and once we entered the stadium, we were spotlighted again by the Rwandan crowd because we were apparently only foreigners, but some kind Rwandan made space for us to have a seat.
I felt shy to be stared at by Rwandan but I tried to give smile back to them and many of them gave back to me with a beautiful smile too.
After an hour, the ceremony had begun.
Through the ceremony, we found out the unique ceremony which features praising the Rwandan Defense Force’s performances such as the Forces and the drum and fife bandies’ marching together with sponsored companies’ marching and the trained soldier’s entertainment performances, which seemed to be influenced by “Kanfu” or “Karate”. A crowd of Rwandan was rejoiced by watching those performances.
We could also see some cultural performance and local dancing in tune with drums and chorus. We found some similarities in “Kabuki” and “Shishi-mai” in their way of dances. Lastly, President Kagame delivered a speech for the cerebration. What he mainly addressed in his speech, according to a local newspaper, is that the Liberation is still halfway. We need to tackle against poverty and improve social welfare.
Further, his interesting comments for us are as follows: as long as “rich countries” still decide how they can help in the campaigns to cure diseases on African Continent, they will always “take us as sick people”. “Why don’t they embark on infrastructure development? I agree that the medicine and those other provisions are required but why only medicine. And why should they base on that to say that we are all sick? This is the time we need to ensure that those scourges are done away with by ourselves."
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