The West Ignores Rwandas Dark Side And Political Prisoners Like My Mother Pay The Price Rmy Amahirwa

She was arrested after planning to run against Paul Kagame. Its time democracies woke up to the true nature of his regime Rmy Amahirwa is the oldest son of Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza When I see the Visit Rwanda logo stitched on to the jerseys of famous football clubs like Arsenal or printed in glossy travel magazines, I feel a rush of pride for the natural beauty and warm hospitality of the country of my birth. Yet, I wonder whether the tourists being courted truly understand the darker side of Rwanda. This side has torn my family apart for nearly two decades it is the reason my mother sits behind bars, once again, as a political prisoner. My mother, Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, is a political activist who first returned to Rwanda from exile in 2010. Our family had a stable and comfortable life in the Netherlands for many years, but my mother could not stop thinking about her native Rwanda and was deeply troubled by the events unfolding there. The president, Paul Kagame, heralded as the man who stopped the 1994 genocide, was quietly becoming yet another strongman on the African continent. My mother could not silently watch from the sidelines in Europe as Rwandas citizens lost their freedoms and suffered persecution.