When reading Albert Camus and his portrayed plague, thinking of Athens and the 1630 plague ravaging Europe of the time, I yesterday liked Kofi Olomide and his Pupabro singing to save blood!
Reminding compatriots to wash hands and not kiss and keep in confinements to save lives though in crying homes, empty kitchens, I meditated and thought of many Rwandans remembering their 1994 Calvary under the heavy rains, fear and roaming death around their hiding places!
While giants thinking of Vodka, others running for Chloroquine, many compatriots helplessly watching closed mosques and churches and silent choirs with no offerings, my latest call came from one street boy who borrowed a phone to ask me where I was hiding as he desperately heard my usual bar entourage “abavumbyi” always escorting for a rare ” surudiwiri ” their daily village drink, seeking for another RPA not with guns but with food and medicine.
Not thinking of the 900 millions of people confined all over the world including my beautiful mother land Rwanda and its 12 millions of compatriots , in a helpless voice my dear “mayibobo” asked me if I was home so that he could come to see me and get anything to eat from the generous patriotic son of the soil.
It is at this juncture that I remembered the hard and perilous days of my fellow Rwanda Patriotic Army men and few women braving the volcanoes, the genocide calvary raining cats and dogs throughout the country.
Not thinking of those who died in the liberation struggle, I went to my knees in my confinement and prayed not as the holy scripture says ” mwiririre mwebwe n’urubyaro rwanyu “, cry for me and mine but begged the Almighty of all creations to bring new and heavenly Rwanda Patriotic Army to save us from Coronavirus pandemic and get us out of this confinement to block it and avoid bodies of hunger and zombies of fear and despair and humanitarian catastrophe.
Hoping for the day the calamity will have passed and gone forever to see and hear many calls from my healed and survived people singing Alleluia for God has saved Rwanda again! And this time not alone like in the Genocide perpetrated against ” Abatutsi” but the entire World in total solidarity. Strongly believing in the Omnipresence, Omniscience and Omnipotence of “Imana” I can only confidently say: Amen! Inshallah!
Professor Pacifique Malonga,
journalist and Writer
