Tag Archives: Rwanda

Rwanda

Taking a critical look

Several of my recent posts have mentioned the critiques and failures of the Rwandan government in its efforts to rebuild and reconcile since the ’94 genocide. I think that, as I mentioned in the last post, it is important to view a country and people through more than just the lenses of their worst moments. But, it is also important to look critically at the governments of each country and insist they do better. This applies not only to Rwanda, but the US, European countries, and every government. This post will be a critical look at Rwandan’s steps towards development and what the consequences of these steps have been.

As a refresher, in my last post, I mentioned how colonizers used ethnic identities to drive a wedge between the Rwandan people as a means of control. These ethnic divides led to distrust, and hatred that eventually ended in genocide. When the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) marched into Kigali marking the official end of the genocide (at least until the flare-ups marred the recovery) they established the current parliamentary government. The government declared that the Rwandan people would “Never Forget.” New laws established by the government included extensive funding for memorials and events regularly to remember the victims of the genocide. It also included funding to rebuild, to improve infrastructure, and bring Rwanda to the forefront of development in Africa. Here’s where it gets dicey though.

For those foreigners who view Rwanda through the lens of a short visit, it seems like a modernizing country with impressive high rises, new roads free of potholes, and modern buildings. The roads we most frequently visit are clean and paved; those that are dirt are well maintained. The houses easily seen from the road as we drive past are mostly modern in construction with tin or clay shingled rooves. We infrequently get off the main roads as all the primary destinations for tourists are on the main roads as if on a path not to be diverged from during our visits. Those who venture off these main roads see a whitewashed version of a country where subsistence farming is still the primary mode of living; where houses are constructed from mud, and often in disrepair.

Rwandans walking down a steep dirt road to return home after church.
At least the road home after church is well maintained.
One room apartments on the side of a hill used for grazing animals.
One room per family and hearding goats.
Home constructed of mud bricks hidden among the trees in rural Rwanda.
Houses made of mud are still the norm in rural Rwanda.

Now, I want to be clear. I don’t think there is any way a country goes from a post-colonial developing country, to “developed” status in 15 years. I’m not trying to say that the country is leaving those still living off the land behind. The government has a comprehensive plan for agriculture development for the country. What I intend to impress on you from all this is the ever-widening disparity. For those lucky and affluent enough to live on the main road, or in Kigali, life is often easy and luxurious. But, as we see in the United States, this rapid development has led to the pockets of the few being padded, with those doing the work being paid barely living wages. The myth of trickle-down economics and capitalism seem to have infected Rwanda, and the poor are the ones paying the price.

A direct example is my hotel. It is a landmark in my city, its owner also owning several other buildings and properties in the town. Despite that, the staff continues to make 50,000 RWF (about 55 USD) per month despite a single room costing up to 50,000 RWF per night. With just my stay, the owner could pay for a single staffer’s salary for two years. From an outsider’s perspective, it seems that Rwanda is well on track to become another version of the USA where those with wealth can consolidate that wealth at the expense of those supporting them. Those in the rural areas, often only a few minutes’ walk from the main road, live in single-room houses for an entire family. They struggle to feed their children or afford healthcare and other essentials.

Front view of hotel Credo.
Hotel Credo, photo credits to Google.
Houses on a hill in Rwanda organized from nicest on top to poorest on bottom.
In a top down economy it makes sense the houses are arranged the same.
Mosque and small homes.

Another area where Rwanda has faced criticism is the erasure of culture. As ethnic identities were the wedge that led to ’94, the new government of Rwanda, afraid of a repeat of history, banned the identification of distinct ethnicities in favor of a united Rwandan identity. The government went as far as banning the discussion of these identities (Lacey, 2004). The only visible places these identities are seen is in museums leading to a single version of Rwanda on display to those from the outside. But, with culture being such an integral part of many people’s identities, this has led to the erasure of identity and cultural appreciation in Rwanda. Those people who may identify differently do not have the freedom to dress according to their traditions or celebrate in the ways they would have historically.

Finally, there are the challenges of politics. President Paul Kagame came into power in 1994 as the then Vice President, now President, of Rwanda. Since that time, he has remained in power with little opposition. In recent elections, there have been questions about transparency, freedom of speech violations, and unfair imprisonment of journalists and opposition (Fox, 2019; Human Rights Watch, 2019). In a recent interview, President Kagame attempted to rebut the criticisms levied against his administration by the Human Rights Watch (Just Ridiculous, 2019). He contended that the Western world was hypocritical to levy such charges when they commit many similar acts, a challenge that seems fair. However, it does nothing to address the very real concerns outlined in the HRW report. While it is undeniable that the President has seen Rwanda out of some of the most difficult times imaginable and ushered in an incredible boom in the economy and development sectors. This argument does not negate the very real possibility that he is using similar techniques seen all over Africa and the world to suppress opposition and limit free elections and speech.

In this and the previous post, I have attempted to outline both the positive development as well as the challenges that Rwanda faces. I do not intend to put down or disparage the country, but rather educate the Western world while showing a fair and unbiased view of Rwanda’s recent changes. If I were to ask you to have specific take-aways from these posts, I think they would be as follows.

  • Rwanda has faced some of the most difficult challenges in recent years and taken those challenges with dignity and pride.
  • The country has seen unprecedented growth and is on track to be the shining example of sub-Saharan Africa.
  • The government has goals of bringing the country into the forefront of technology and industry in the coming years.
  • Despite these improvements, they still face questions in their methodology.
  • The seemingly quickly increasing socioeconomic disparity threatens to mirror that of the US.
  • There are very real questions regarding election fairness and journalistic freedom that need answers.

With these final thoughts, I’ll end by saying I have loved my time in Rwanda. I have seen authenticity, integrity, and genuine kindness that is hard to compare. The resilience of this country and its people are incomparable. The dedication of the Kuzamura Ubuzima staff is impressive, to say the least, and I will truly miss working with them. Rwanda has made impressive strides in recent years. I hope that they can take a critical look at the criticism it is facing and incorporate them moving forward into an age of prosperity and equality seen few other places in Africa.

Afterward: With this post, I include a list of my sources. I never want my readers to have to take me at my word. If you ever have a question about where a statement is coming from, please ask. I will do my best to justify and prove any assertion I make. Thanks for reading!

Fox, K. (2019, July 27). Opposition members keep going “missing” in Rwanda. Few expect them to return. CNN. Retrieved from https://edition.cnn.com/2019/07/27/africa/rwanda-opposition-disappearances-intl/

Human Rights Watch. (2019). Rwanda Events of 2018 [World Report]. Retrieved from https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2019/country-chapters/rwanda

“Just ridiculous”: Rwanda’s Paul Kagame dismisses EU human rights report [Interview]. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXY1ttn-4SU

Lacey, M. (2004, April 9). A Decade After Massacres, Rwanda Outlaws Ethnicity. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/09/world/a-decade-after-massacres-rwanda-outlaws-ethnicity.html

Rwanda

My Top 5 in Rwanda

I feel that many of my blog posts recently have been negatively focused. Talking about things like the genocide doesn’t make for happy reading. Therefore, I decided I would focus this post on my favorite things about this country, so here goes.

1. The people here are amazing. I’ve mentioned their resilience before. But, they truly are truly kind people despite all the challenges they face. Similarly to Ethiopia, if you see someone on the street that you know you stop and ask how they are and about their family. But, not just out of culture, but because they truly care. I feel like I am leaving yet another family as I prepare to leave Rwanda. I feel lucky to have so many people all over the world who care about, and who I care for.

Rwandans holding greens from the garden and listening to training.
Locals learning about farming and nutrition.
Rwandans watching a student grind organic pesitcide in a giant mortal and pestle.
Us doing new things is always a source of entertainment for the locals.

2. The environment here is spectacular from the weather to the green policies the country has in place. Walking down the street, you rarely see trash, and the green lushness of the country is wonderous.

Valley with rice fields overlooked by houses on the hill in the background.
The valleys here are mostly composed of rice fields while th hills are used for housing and other forms of agriculutre.
Fields of maize and houses on a hill.
Fields of maize and houses on a hill.

3. The Kuzamura Ubuzima staff could probably go under “the people,” but they are so great I feel like they deserve their own section. The KU staff went above and beyond in every sense to support us. They helped with our work, our cultural integration, and even our individual problems. They even opened up about their personal lives and agreed to be interviewed by our students so they could know more about Rwanda and life in this wonderful country. If you want a non-profit to support, these people deserve your money! About the staff.

Students and KU staff group photo.
Our amazing KU staff with the students.
Woman smiling wearing a colorful traditional dress.
Laurette, KU’s fearless leader, wearing Kitenge.
Emmanual holding a carrot from the farm.
Emmanual and Alex are affectionatley known as Emmalex.

4. Kitenge clothing is the traditional method of using very colorful patterns and styles to dress. Rwandans are very proud of their Kitenge, and it is very common to see women in dresses, and men in shirts made in this style. I even got a Kitenge vest hand made in the style, although mine is admittedly more subdued than many of the patterns.

Woman holding pot wearing a red Kitenge dress and a multi-colored head wrap.
Traditional Kitenge clothing.

5. Fresh fruit (and veggies)! I know, out of all the things I could have picked I go with my stomach. But, if you’ve ever had fresh fruit picked the day before ripe off the tree you understand. The fruit here is so tasty and fresh. I will miss eating passion fruit and baby bananas every morning with breakfast. If anyone knows where I can buy Tamarillos (known locally as Tomato Tree fruit) hit me up!

Bananas and avacados picked that morning.
Fresh veggies from the farm.
Veggies straight from the farm taste better!

Bonus: Also, it wouldn’t be me if I didn’t say BEES! Even though I didn’t get to play with any this trip. 😦

Modern beehive

I feel completely honored and privileged to have been able to participate in this program and to feel accepted into Rwanda by all the amazing people I’ve met here. It would be impossible to sum up my experience in a simple post like this, but I hope you can see from these things how rich and beautiful a culture Rwanda has.

I have one final blog post going up in a few days, so keep an eye out for it. It should be a doozy.

Rwanda

Healing from Genocide

Alright readers, it’s time to have a talk. No, not that “talk” the talk about labeling countries like Rwanda and Ethiopia. I doubt there is a DukeEngage participant, or Peace Corps Volunteer who on announcing they were going to Rwanda or Ethiopia didn’t get comments like “the genocide country,” “Isn’t that the country with all the starving kids,” and the like. While many of you have even said these things to me, I want to impress on you that these generalizations and stereotypes, while perhaps based on historical truths are harmful.
You see when you generalize a country to its worst moment, or its hardest trials you are suppressing them. You view them as inferior, as backward, and through a patronizing lens that has been so hurtful throughout history and still plagues aid and development work. Yes, the genocide happened, yes, Ethiopia had a famine and is still struggling to feed its poorest, but these are not the attributes that define the countries.
This post isn’t intended to be just a rant, rather an opportunity to learn. So instead of defining a country by its worst moments in history, here are some ways to think of them in a fairer light. When you talk about Ethiopia, why not say “oh, the birthplace of coffee,” “oh, isn’t that the place that has over 80 different distinct ethnic groups,” or “isn’t that the country where a new Prime Minister just appointed a cabinet with 50% women to increase representation?” When thinking about Rwanda you could go with “the country that has seen so much improvement in recent years that it is used as an example for a country’s capacity to improve and develop,” or “the country that is famous for its work in reconciliation and peace building.”
By changing the way you think about a country and its people you elevate them. You allow them to be more than their worst moments, and encourage growth, development, and friendship. Now, I am aware that for many of us, all we will know about a country is the major issue that stands out about them. In those situations, I encourage you to reframe your statements. One way to accomplish that is by opening up a conversation, “you know, all I really know about Rwanda is what I’ve heard about the genocide, I’d love to know more.” By intentionally putting yourself into a learning position you open yourself to conversations instead of reducing the recipient to a “yes” or “no” answer. In a world where words matter, now more than ever, using these simple strategies brings you closer to your conversation partner, as well as a culture and history that you might find interesting.
Now, all that being said. Things like the genocide are still a prominent and important part of history and deserve to be discussed. So, for the rest of this post, I want to share some observations about Rwanda in the wake of the genocide.
The students and I recently visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial Museum. There we saw some of the causes, impacts, and effects of the genocide. For those of you who ventured a guess, you’re right, colonialization played a big role in its instigation (not to mention how Western Society completely ignored the signs and direct warnings and are complicit in allowing it to happen). Colonizers exploited and worsened ethnic divides, using them as a means to divide and control the population. These fires were stoked until one day in 1994 the conflict erupted with a Hutu massacre of around a million Rwandan Tutsis. The horrors that happened during the genocide cannot be overstated. From the intentional targeting of children to ensure the Tutsis could not repopulate to people buying the bullets for their killers to use so that they could be shot instead of beaten to death.
This week the students interviewed the staff of Kuzamura Ubuzima (KU) our partner organization and suffice it to say each interviewee was deeply impacted and scared by the events of ’94. Personally, the story I will always remember is when one of the staff was giving us a tour of the farm. As we walked through a field of Sorghum and he said “Rwandans love fields of Sorghum,” when asked why he said, “because they are great places to hide…at least until they send the dogs in.” The casualness of the statement and the impact of the words left us speechless; each of our staff, along with most adult Rwandans have these stories.

A KU staff member gives us a tour of the Sorghum fields.
Sorghum fields are good to hide in.

But, these types of stories can be looked up online. What I want to highlight is the often overlooked aspects of the genocide. The healing, the reconciliation, and the mind-blowing resilience of its survivors. You see, despite each of our staff sharing these stories, what really defines them is what they said and did after; they forgave, they healed, and then turned their attention to helping others. If you want to understand more about how that happened on a country-wide level, I suggest you do an internet search. Some aspects with plenty of information you could start with include Gacaca Courts, Peace Villages, and the like. Here I will write about what individuals did. You see, many of them went home and found themselves living next to their families’ murders. You’d think that this would lead to more tension, conflict, and hate. I’m sure in some cases that’s true. But, for most, it isn’t. Instead, Rwandans (including our staff) met with their neighbors, they found common ground, fostered understanding, and began a long healing process. For some perpetrators, that involved helping on their neighbor’s farm because with the loss of their fathers and sons the crops were rotting. For others, it meant rebuilding the houses they had burned to the ground. This has led Rwanda to be considered one of the safest countries in Africa. It has led to the extreme boom in development of its infrastructures, and green laws that include the banning of all plastic bags in the country. Today when you ask our staff about living next to their family’s killers they respond with how they have forgiven them. How when they walk down the street they greet them, or how their children play together after school. This forgiveness isn’t an act, it isn’t isolated, it is nearly universal, and for those of us on the outside looking in it is impossible to understand.

Despite this forgiveness, the wounds never fade. The absences are felt daily, but never more than on occasions such as weddings and birthdays with the empty places where mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers should stand. That is why you can’t drive more than 30 minutes on a major road without seeing a memorial. That’s why communities come together yearly to remember their lost loved ones. And that’s why the country has vowed to “never forget.”
I could go on for days about the changes Rwanda has made in recent years (not forgetting the criticism that has been levied against the country as well), but this post is already long. So instead I will leave you with this. Words matter, they portray thoughts and impressions and impact those who hear them; they can create friends or enemies, they can tear down or build up. This is, perhaps, never more evident by the words that stoked the hatred surrounding the Rwandan Genocide. I hope you will use Rwanda’s story to hold up this and other countries and people and to choose words that build up or at least open a dialogue. Yes, in 1994 Rwandans committed one of history’s most infamous acts of violence. But, don’t leave out the fact that they then took responsibility and out of tragedy built something beautiful.