Heroism and the Heroes of Rwanda

11 February

Every year on 1 February, Rwanda celebrates Heroes' Day (Umunsi w'Intwari). On that morning, Byiringiro asks his grandmother, "Is a hero someone who is very strong?" She shakes her head. "A hero," she says, "is someone who does what is right for others, even when it costs them a great deal."

2Hero, heroine and heroism

• A hero is a man or boy, and a heroine is a woman or girl, who shows great courage and sacrifice for the good of others and of the country. In Kinyarwanda, a hero is an intwari.
• Heroism (ubutwari) is that courage to do right, even at great cost.

3What makes a national hero?

Rwanda's Chancellery for Heroes, National Orders and Decorations of Honour (CHENO) uses nine qualities to decide who is a national hero: integrity, patriotism, sacrifice, vision, courage, being a good example, truthfulness, a generous and forgiving heart, and humanity.

4The three categories of heroes

5Their stories, in short

• Fred Gisa Rwigema led the struggle for liberation that began in October 1990, and died at the front at its very start.
• The Unknown Soldier stands for all the fighters who gave their lives for the country and whose names we may never know.
• King Mutara III Rudahigwa stood against the colonial rulers' policy of "divide and rule".
• Michel Rwagasana refused divisionism and discrimination, and was killed in the 1960s because of it.
• Agathe Uwilingiyimana, a Prime Minister, opposed the ideology of hatred and was killed at the start of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
• Félicité Niyitegeka protected people who were being hunted during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. She refused to abandon them, and she was killed.
• The students of Nyange (in today's Ngororero District): in March 1997, attackers ordered the S5 and S6 students to separate into groups by ethnicity. They refused, saying they were all Rwandans. Some of them were killed for it.

6Heroism in everyday life

You do not need a battlefield to be brave. You show heroism when you tell the truth though it is hard, stand up for a classmate who is being bullied, return money you find, protect the environment, or work hard for your family and community.

Try it yourself