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I grew up in a refugee camp in Uganda, and I lived there for 30 years. That shapes one's character.

Paul Kagame

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Paul Kagame
Age: 66
Born: 1957
Born: October 23
Military Officer
Politician
President Of Rwanda
Years
Uganda
Refugee
Camp
Camps
Shapes
Lived
Grew
Character

More quotes by Paul Kagame

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Such problems are not solved in one day but there is a great step toward peace and security in the region.
Paul Kagame
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The West is anything but altruistic.
Paul Kagame
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Rwanda is not over needing aid, but we can survive with less aid than before.
Paul Kagame
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Listen more to the one who criticizes you and less to the one who praises you. Learn from them and do something about it.
Paul Kagame
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When people accuse us of taking coltan from Congo, I don't understand what they mean. The quality of our own coltan here from Rwanda is much better. But still people from the UN come here, we show them our coltan mines, we show them the documents, then they go and say: Rwanda smuggles coltan.
Paul Kagame
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The situation in Congo shows nothing for which you could hold Rwanda responsible.
Paul Kagame
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Infrastructure is key, but also how it's used, and that's political.
Paul Kagame
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Rwanda has its own problems and never sought to blame others or cause others trouble. I advise Burundi to do the same.
Paul Kagame
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Reconciliation takes time. Sometimes many decades, as the example of Europe shows. It is hard work.
Paul Kagame
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Human rights groups are locked in a fierce competition for big checks from wealthy donors and they need to generate big headlines.
Paul Kagame
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I do not want to be cynical, but if developing nations are kept backward by being told, again and again, you belong to the poor and you are there, where you actually belong, then nothing will change.
Paul Kagame
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My purpose is to develop a country, to empower its population. It's from that same population that will emerge the man or woman who will succeed me. And they will be chosen based on the consensus that they have the capacity to lead the country.
Paul Kagame
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A strong leader is not necessarily a bad leader.
Paul Kagame
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We cannot turn the clock back nor can we undo the harm caused, but we have the power to determine the future and to ensure that what happened never happens again.
Paul Kagame
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My own experience from a decade ago taught me I cannot trust the UN. But it is a world body and we have to live with it and tolerate it. But I can't hide my feelings about its inefficiency and its not being productive.
Paul Kagame
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Politics is not only about personal choice. That one also needs to take into consideration what the people want because in the end, they are the ones who decide.
Paul Kagame
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The new Rwanda is about building an economy that delivers prosperity and opportunity for our citizens based on a robust private sector. Foreign adventures would be costly and counterproductive distractions from these challenging objectives.
Paul Kagame
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I had to fight hard for everything. I wanted to get out. I want to take my destiny into my own hands and escape the vicious cycle of retaliatory violence. This struggle has shaped who I am to this day.
Paul Kagame
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Let no one think that flexibility and a predisposition to compromise is a sign of weakness or a sell-out.
Paul Kagame
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Reconciliation has taken place here in Rwanda and was successful because Rwandans reconciled themselves internally. If the tribunal had taken place in Rwanda, it might have helped. People could have watched justice being done.
Paul Kagame