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Kigali, Rwanda Visitors looking at Claudette Kamikazi’s store are witnessing Rwanda’s desire to present itself to the world. Business has grown steadily as the country has invested heavily in tourism, bringing more visitors to its doorstep. But Kamikazi sees something different: a world whose darkest head still changes her life.
The 29-year-old was born after the genocide of the Tutsi people in 1994, where about 800,000 people were killed in 100 days. However, he said, the genocide did not exist as history.
On July 4, Rwanda celebrates Liberation Day, commemorating the victory of the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF), led by President Paul Kagame, which ended the genocide and brought the group back.
“My father was in prison since I was young, my younger siblings and I were raised by my mother who survived the attack.
His story illustrates one of the most pressing challenges to death. While some Hutu extremists killed their Tutsi wives and even their children, others risked their lives to protect their relatives despite the violence. Kamikazi’s mother survived, but her father was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1998.
He said: “Releasing means the survival of my mother, it means my life, but it also reminds me why my father is here.” It’s hard to explain.
Different meanings
Since coming to power in 2000, Kagame has said Rwanda’s recovery was more than rebuilding after the genocide. His government has presented it as a long-term project of a country based on unity, economic reform and the legacy of what he calls the struggle for freedom.
The economy has grown by about 7 percent annually over the past decade, led by tourism, technology, mining and agribusiness. Young people, who are more than 65 percent of the population, are expected to advance the vision.
However, not everyone feels the benefits of that progress.
For Christopher Teganya, the release is something to be proud of and a reminder of the challenges that remain.
“Liberation was a good start for the new Rwanda, but the government needs to do more,” the 26-year-old, who recently completed a master’s degree and is unemployed, told Al Jazeera.
“We honor Independence Day as an important part of our history, but everything loses its meaning when you look to the future,” he said.
An unfinished promise
Rwanda’s landscape and economy have changed dramatically over the past three decades. Investments in infrastructure, technology, mining and tourism have also transformed other parts of the country, while major projects, including an international airport under construction about 40 kilometers outside Kigali, have created thousands of jobs.
However, creating enough jobs for the youth is one of the government’s challenges. According to the latest government survey, youth unemployment is around 14 percent.
“The freedom we want is the 200,000 jobs that the government promised to create every year, which, in my opinion, has not been fulfilled,” said Teganya, referring to the most important promise made by Kagame’s ruling Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) during the 2024 election campaign, which he won with more than 99 percent of the vote.
The Rwandan revolution has also drawn criticism from human rights groups for restricting political dissent, free speech and public space. The ongoing trial of opposition leader Victoire Ingabire continues to divide opinion within and outside the country.
Hidden wounds
For Sabrine Gatesi, Rwanda’s recovery will not only be measured by what has been rebuilt, but also what many people continue to carry within them.
“Liberation is more about healing wounds that we can’t see but live with every day,” the 30-year-old nurse told Al Jazeera. “Near-fatal trauma still affects many people, and recovery is a long journey.”
A study conducted by Rwandan health officials found that one in five people in the country has a mental disorder, and the number rises to more than half of the people who survived the genocide. Thirty years after the disaster, psychiatrists are still missing.
“Yes, we celebrate the liberation that stopped the genocide, and we celebrate the incredible change in the world,” he said. But the state of mental health shows that we are still recovering as a nation. For me, liberation is not yet over.
Looking ahead
For the government, Independence Day has come to represent more than a military victory that ended genocide. Officials are increasingly calling it a national effort to transform Rwanda into a high-income country by 2050.
Despite the rich history, many young Rwandans say they find hope in the country’s determination not to return to the divisions that led to the genocide.
For Kamikazi, that hope is personal.
As Rwanda continues its reconciliation process and gradually releases some prisoners held for genocide after rehabilitation and reconciliation programmes, she hopes her father will return home before the end of the year.
His return, he says, will close a chapter that has defined much of his life.
For Kamikazi, liberation is not a day or a political statement. It’s something he lives with every day.
“The release is a sad past and a happy hope for a better future,” he told Al Jazeera. “In it, I see the mother who endured the attack, I see the father I knew as a prisoner but now I hope to see him as free, and I see my shop, which defines my life today.”
