NPR

In Rwanda, July 4 Isn't Independence Day — It's Liberation Day

It's a national holiday commemorating the day in 1994 when the killing stopped, marking the end of a 100-day genocide that left nearly a million Rwandans dead.
Thousands gather to celebrate Liberation Day in Shyira, Rwanda. Twenty-three years ago, a rebel army led by Paul Kagame, now the president, marched into Kigali to end a genocide against the Tutsi minority.

Shyira is a picture-perfect Rwandan village, surrounded by luscious green mountains. No matter where you look, even at the tip of some of the highest mountains and along the precipice of the most dangerous slopes, there are houses.

On July 4, while Americans celebrate their independence, Rwandans are celebrating Liberation Day — commemorating.

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