Think about a state where life expectancy has more than doubled in twenty years, where a million people have overcome poverty, where 63.8 per cent women are the majority of the legislators, where 95 per cent of the people have health insurance, and which is ranked as one of the safest places in the world to live in, according to Gallup's Global States of Mind poll. The name of this state is Rwanda which is also called the African Singapore.
 The most amazing fact is that this is the country (Rwanda) where close to 800,000 people were slaughtered in genocide just 20 years ago in 1994. The situation has improved, as though magically, in less than just two decades. The Rwandans these days live longer than most of the people in neighbouring countries. They have greater access to education. They have grown healthier too, and are participating actively in nation-building activities.
Courtesy of the media, the Rwandan genocide had been well circulated throughout the world, and although it is frightening to recall, the fact is that it was the largest genocide since the end of World War II. Rwanda is a small country with an overwhelmingly agricultural economy and one of the highest populations in Africa. About 85 per cent of its population is Hutu; others are Tutsi, along with a small number of Twa.
In 1994, nearly 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were massacred barely within 100 days by the rival Hutus. Despite the irreconcilable animosity, the process to calm down the rivalry and proceed with a workable reconciliation process that continued during the last 20 years is impressive. Based on their traditional justice system, the Rwandans have amply demonstrated the success they have been able to achieve, and for all the good reasons it stands out exemplary for the rest of the strife-stricken world. In the wake of such a gruesome tragedy, it is indeed hard to imagine how a society can mend such deep wounds and begin the process of resolving its deep-seated conflicts.
The reconciliation processes in Rwanda focuses on reconstructing the Rwandan identity, as well as balancing justice, truth, peace and security. The Rwandan Constitution now states that all Rwandans share equal rights. Laws have been passed to fight discrimination and divisive genocide ideology.
Despite the lack of resources and skilled manpower, the country has demonstrated many positives, particularly for curbing corruption. The country's law and order situation has also improved significantly. Compared with the neighbouring countries, crime rate has gone down considerably. Rwanda has in the past years experienced an annual growth rate of 8 per cent. Survivors and perpetrators live side by side, and the memories of those gruesome events are still fresh in many people's minds.
It may, however, seem strange how perpetrators and survivors can work together for their community and their nation with the all-inspiring "I am Rwandan" identity. Now, a woman rests her hand on the shoulder of the man who killed her father and brothers. In another, a woman poses with a casually reclining man who looted her property and whose father helped murder her husband and children.
The progress that Rwanda has achieved since the genocide may be the most significant example of human development in the past 20 years. This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the Rwandan genocide. It stands as a model for other nations seeking reconciliation and peaceful co-existence of all citizens.
Rwanda, however small it may be as a country, has given a massage to the world that very few nations were ever capable of.
The writer is a student, Department of International Relations, University of Dhaka. badrul_51@yahoo.com