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Africa
Zimbabwe
Back to Kinshasa, my beloved
I come back to utter chaos in the
airport; trying to elbow un-chivalrous men out of my way so I can
pick up my and my suitcases (including my colleagues' Refugee bags
full of dripping goat blood attracting flies); helping a traveling
mom whose 2-year old daughter’s idea of fun involves cutting the air
flow to my nose; navigating through mad traffic; and finally coming
home to no electricity in the apartment (the bill was only one week
later you fuckers). My perfect evening finished with scooping a dead
roach with my last empty toilet roll and going promptly to bed.
Weighing "Refugee Bags" before putting them in
the plane's cargo
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Gachacha
We meet a Rwandese man who tells us about Gachacha. Almost verbatim,
his testimony is the following:
“My impressions are the following. This period now (mid-April)
is one of mourning. Each year, we feel the weight of contention. We
are in a period of wake. It is now that you feel that the
population’s traumas are coming out in the open. This year is worse
than 1994. As time goes on, the trauma is being released. We, the
NGOs and the government, do not have adequate tools to deal with
this.
For twelve years, we have preached the message, « we can live
together ». That was the first step. Now we are in a phase of
Reconciliation and Justice. Should we forget the past and build a
future or punish the culprits? This is a dilemma. We should combine
the two. But this has its set of challenges. Classic justice [as we
know it in the West] cannot solve these conflicts. We would like to
recognize the blame but also reinstate populations. We use Gachacha
Justice. It’s a participatory process allowing us to talk. We are
amongst ourselves, in the community. This is how we can deal.
It has been a genocide by proxy—the neighbor, the friend, the
family, the spectator denounce the other—so the level of
participation [in the genocide] was significant. Gachacha is a
compromise between forgetting and justice. We were not accustomed to
law terms of the formal system of laws: Gachacha is a traditional
method. You sit under the tree and deal with your problems. We had
to add laws, teach formal procedures to the judges. This has not
been easy. Now, we have train the judges. We have 80,000 prisoners
of the Genocide. We may have 800,000 to 15 million prisoners [by the
end of this process]. This is a large portion of the population.
We have made progress since 1995, 1996, 1997. Now fear/distrust have
decreased, even if it still exists. The social climate is good. But
with Gachacha, we are going to talk about the dead. There is a
“resistance movement” that would like to prevent the Justice process.
Since Gachacha is based on informal chats, there will be no
definitives. But it seems to be a good system.
The question of the survivors is very delicate : how do we repair,
deal with the trauma ? We do not have enough systems for that.
Good governance is a topic that worries us. There would be no
genocide without the state’s influence. What type of power do we
want to prevent a similar genocide? Post-genocidal society is very
fragile. We have put in place basic institutions but citizen
participation is low, governing is not very strong.
Poverty is caused by many factors. But the fact remains that the
population is poor—there are social differences. For we who work in
reconciliation, poverty has never been a cause of the genocide. It
was not the poor that were the people undertaking the genocide. We
must be clear: poverty was not the cause of the genocide.
The church is very important in Rwandan society. A difficult past
since there have been clashes with the government..The Catholic
church lost its moral clout and credibility—it is said that the
church did not have a good role to play in the genocide. The church
is in a phase of recovery. We can see an effort at self-examination—a
“Christian Gachacha”. The church talks, insists on basic
ecclesiastical communities as a vehicle of reconciliation and
listening. The bishops support the state Gachacha. Justice and Peace
commissions are closely involved in the Gachacha process. The
Catholic church has chosen a more discreet profile, it does not
involve itself as much in the government. Personally, I think this
separation is important so that the church can reflect. There aren’t
even any religious writings about the genocide. Today, the Catholic
church has accepted to become a part of the society—before that, it
was superior. This is a success.
It is better to talk than to ignore. It is painful, but we must
talk”
The view from a
hotel in Goma
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I'm not sure what this fruit is but they call
it a Mountain Potato
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Rwanda
and Congo are troubled neighbors
I will never fully understand the
events that shaped the difficult relationship between Congolese and
Rwandese. Some of my Congolese compatriots refuse to go to Rwanda if
invited to a conference. Others are really excited to discover this
country and are on their best behavior. The relationship between
Congo and Rwanda is complicated at best. This stems partly from the
mass influx of Rwandese trying to hide from the Genocide, and later,
Rwandese getting away from revenge killings and justice proceedings
following the genocide.
Another large factor in the mutual mistrust and a certain sense of
jealousy. The differences between Rwanda and Congo are striking—Rwanda
is easily 50 years ahead of its neighbor in infrastructure,
government order, customer services, production etc. But that’s to
be expected: Rwanda has been recovering from its war for the last
twelve years…in Congo, civil society and inner struggles are still
threatening the country today.
Congo is so much bigger than Rwanda that the logistical challenges
of development and guarding its borders are enormous. People say
that Rwanda steal Congo’s cobalt, Congo’s diamonds. I have even
heard people say Rwandans have stolen Congolese Gorillas.
The last issue, not to be overlooked, is the complexity of the many
attacks and counter attacks. Did Mobutu have a hand in putting
Habyirima in power? Was Kabila the father friendly with the current
president Kagame? Who knows rumors are flying and the Congolese are
saddened by the 4,000,000 people dead and dying within their borders
from the resulting civil wars.
A short history of recent conflicts in Rwanda
(Bear with me, this is a long one...)
We visit the Jenoside Museum (note: this is not a spelling mistake).
It is very well designed, though some say that it seems a bit
one-sided. I see images and footages of mass graves and gruesome
death. I read each and every exhibit and come out confused and
perplexed by the complexity of national and foreign involvement.
Later, I put this timeline together (note: this is almost verbatim
from Wikipedia and the BBC):
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1312—the Kingdom of Rwanda is founded
Hutus are subjugated through an extensive set of patronage relationships with
the Tutsis. Over time, being Tutsi begins to equal “power”.
1756-1765—Mwami Rujugira reigns
He sets up Rwanda as a military power. Though there are little class
distinctions in the military, Rwandan society is still very divided with the
Tutsis in power positions and Hutus in serving positions. At the time, the terms
Hutu and Tutsi are not really indicative of ethnic class. Rather, one that does
well economically becomes a Tutsi, while one that is subjugated is considered a
Hutu.
Germany briefly colonizes Rwanda, reinforcing Tutsi and Hutu class divisions.
1916—Belgian colonists arrive
They favor Tutsis over Hutus. Tutsis consistently get the better jobs and good
educations.
European theories of race are propagated in Rwanda.
1959—A series of riots begins
This stems from Hutu resentment of the state of Rwanda’s civil society.
Perceptions start the shift and Tutsis are viewed as feudal overlords.
Land is scarce and the country is overpopulated.
A Hutu majority is set up within the government. In the process, 20,000 Tutsis
are killed and 200,000 flee to other countries.
1985-Tutsi refugees in Uganda form the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) led
by Paul Kagame
Their aims are to overthrow the current president Habyarima (a Hutu) and secure
the right to return to their homeland.
January 22nd, 1994-A shipment of arms from France is intercepted in
Kigali airport
The French government argues that the shipment is legal.
October 1st, 1990-RPF forces invade Rwanda
Habyarima represses Tutsis and Hutus that support Tutsi-interests. The killing
of Tutsis and moderate Hutus begins. Radio stations encourage resentment and
participation by diffusing hate messages and propaganda.
Radical groups start to amass weapons. Government leaders meet with secret
groups.
June 1993 to mid-July 1994-A UK company supplies arms to the Hutu regime
January 1994-General Dallaire in charge of the UN, aware that something
big is going to happen, pleads for more reinforcement
He is denied permission.
April 6th 1994-President Habyarima’s plane is shot down. The president
of Burundi also dies in the same plane crash
No one really knows who did it and why (though you can talk to pretty much
anyone who knows Rwanda’s history and they each have a different theory)—some
blame Kagame (RPF leader), others blame his wife, Prime-Minister Kambanda,
family members of Habyarima, and others say the Congolese or other foreign
governments were involved etc…
The presidential guards set off a campaign of retribution against Tutsis in the
capital, Kigali. Tutsis and moderate Hutu understood at once they would be
attacked.
A militia group called Interhamwe (Hutu) is now 30,000 men strong. In their
hands, the killing becomes more efficient. Family members, neighbors, children,
couples are encouraged to participate in denouncing others, and often forced to
undertake killings. The killings quickly spreads to the rest of the country.
Close to 1,000,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus are killed.
Mass exodus of Tutsis into Congo and neighboring countries. RPF troops (Tutsi)
wage a civil war against the Hutu government.
The US tries to help by dropping large parcels of food, instead causing hungry
mobs to fight. The US refuses to be involved in internal conflicts. UN troops
evacuate foreigners and withdraw leaving few troops behind. The international
community does little to help.
April 29th, 1994- The UN concedes that “act of
genocide may have been committed”
Mass Graves
July 1994-RPF
captures Kigali
The government collapses, RPF ceases fire and is victorious. 2 million Hutus
flee to neighboring countries, but especially into the DRC.
The large number of refugees into the Congo, destabilizes the country and sets
off two civil wars there. Battalions of Interhamwe continue to operate in
eastern Congo, causing tensions between Rwanda and the DRC (personal note: this
is my Aha moment. I have been here for a year but I’m pretty slow to grasp
politics).
UN troops and aid workers now arrive to maintain order and restore basic
services.
July 19th 1994-A new multiethnic government is formed
Pasteur Bizimungu (Hutu) is made president while his cabinet is formed from RFP
members (Tutsis). The president of Rwanda today is Paul Kagame, the one believed
by some to have set off the internal war.
1996-1997-The Gachacha process is now started
A large number of ringleaders of the massacre are still at large.
In the evening, we are invited to a reception
where Rwandese dancers shake and hop to the beat of their large drums. While the
rhythm is intoxicating and subtly form-shifting, I can’t help shuddering when a
male dancer, imitating a laborer plowing his field raised and lowers his hoe
fiercely. I think of blood and decapitation. I walk amongst the Rwandese with a
heavy heart.
Drums
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