Hello Family and Friends.

Greetings from Kigali,

This morning we had the opportunity to have a conversation with two ex-tigists. After the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi’s, many prisons were very full due the large number of perpetrators of this genocide. With over 1 million killed, over 120,000 were placed in prison after the Rwanda Patriot Force (RPF) took back the government in July of 1994. With crowded prisons being an issue, the Rwandan government set up a system called Tig. Individuals that were convicted and served time in prison also received time doing community service before they were to be released back into the public. Tig is a form of community service where individuals do a variety of things in order to serve the community.

Both individuals told their stories. First, the man explained how he was 24 when the genocide started in April of 1994. He explained how he was living with his mother and father when a group of militia men came and persuaded him to follow them while they escort a Tutsi man to be killed. So, with being fearful, he decided to follow because he felt like he had no choice. After returning from this event, he remembers his father being very upset with him because he knew what his son had done. To this day, he still does not know how his father knows, but somehow he could sense that his son had done something very bad. Although he was released from jail with the presidential pardon that was given to individuals that confessed, he still had to go through the Gacaca courts systems, Rwanda set up in order to properly prosecute any perpetrator of the genocide against the Tutsi’s. He was sentenced to 7 years in jail, but only served 2 with 3 months and 5 days in Tig before being released back into society. While serving this time, he began being an advocator for other individuals to confess to their crimes and ask for forgiveness because it took him a while to be able to do that himself. He was even trained to go around to other prisons in order to help convince others to accept what they had done and also ask for forgiveness. He realized that he cannot deny the killings but he realizes he had to show the community that he has changed. He talked to many individuals because if they were to confess to the crimes, they would receive a lesser sentence. For many, this worked and others still refuse to confess. After being releases, he helped Tutsi individuals build homes and helped them to also rebuild their lives. His advice to us was to not follow the ideas of the bad politicians. 

The second women began by apologizing to us because she knew that we knew she had done very bad things. She explained how during the genocide, the militia came to her door and wanted her to follow them away from her home. She obeyed and individuals with this militia killed Tutsi individuals along the way. After the RPF took over the government, she too was put in prison. She was sentenced to 7 years and 3 years of community service. She emphasized the importance of telling the Gacaca courts about how individuals were killed and where their bodies were placed. She did just that and confessed to her wrongdoings. After she was released back into society, she helped plant avocado trees and also gave individuals goats in order to show her sorrow. She told us that she participated because she had no choice but to do so. Her choice was to participate or die. Her advice to us was when leaders tell you to do bad, do not listen. 

Overall, both of their stories were very powerful. Throughout this week we have talked to both victims and rescuers, but this meeting was also very important in understanding the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi’s. 

After this conversation, we had another conversation about our homestay families. We will be leaving tonight to stay with our homestay families for a week. While many are nervous, others are very excited. I cannot wait for this experience! Be sure to keep following this blog to hear fun stories about our different experiences. 

Go Cavs!

Karly Keller 

Thursday, June 8th - Halfway Point!

Friends and family, muraho! Today marks the halfway point of our trip and the beauty of Rwanda still astounds us. Each day has been full of new surprises, experiences, and information that have given me a whole new perspective on not only this country, but life in general. Our time here is spent balancing lectures or class discussions, visits with prominent figures related to the genocide or the fight against it, and going into the various cities to explore during free afternoons. We started our morning with a lecture focused on other cases of genocide and risk factors that pertain to them. Although this study abroad is emphasized on the events that took place over 100 days in Rwanda, it is important that we learn about other examples and recognize that it is occurring in the world right now. We followed up with a separate discussion-based class that dove into gender-based violence and the consequences of it. As the lectures finished, we headed to lunch before departing for a visit with the Director General at the National Commission for the Fight Against Genocide - where Hollie was his first intern a few years back!

“To prevent and fight against genocide, its ideology, and overcoming its consequences.” This mission statement provided by CNLG paints a broader picture of the work that is done at the organization, in which they focus on commemoration and prevention, advocacy, and research and documentation. The commission is greatly intertwined with actors of the state and has many ties in the international community to ensure that atrocities like the ones in 1994 never happen again. Jean-Damascene Gasanabo, the Director General, gave us a presentation on preserving the memory of the genocide and fighting genocide denial. When asked why it is necessary to continue promoting awareness of this cause, he stated, “it’s important because genocide can happen anywhere… people aren’t born killers.” We were given the opportunity for a question and answer session to gain as much insight into the advocacy work that is being done. After a couple group pictures, we were on our way to a nonprofit shop run by the SIT Office Manager, Sunday, to pick up clothing items we ordered.

To wrap up our day, everyone went to a gelato shop in celebration of Hannah’s 20th birthday before going to an Indian restaurant for dinner (yes, before dinner). Needless to say the gelato was some of the best I have ever had and the dinner definitely followed suit! It is surreal to think that our time left in Rwanda is limited, but I could not think of a better way to close out the halfway point. Tomorrow we will be leaving Moucecore and heading off to our homestays for the upcoming week. I am sure we will only continue adding to our collection of amazing stories and are eager to tell you all about them! We miss you all greatly and look forward to telling you about our experiences. 

Sending love from Kigali :-) Happy Birthday Hannah!!!

- Lauren Jesch

Wednesday, June 7th

Muraho! (Hello in Kinyarwanda). Our time thus far in Rwanda has been nothing short of amazing. The people, the culture and the landscape are beautiful beyond measure. Today was our last day in Butare at the Emmaus Hostel before we were set to head back to Kigali. Before we left, we were able to engage in a great discussion with seven college students attending the University of Rwanda (formally National University of Rwanda). The group was led by a young man named David who informed us that he was the Club President for the Unity and Reconciliation Student Group. David, who was a 4^th year Accounting major at the university, told us that the groups purpose was to unify the Rwandan people to prevent the atrocities that occurred during the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi. The group facilitates discussions with other students, they give speeches, and also submit an annual action plan to their government to access their needs. The other six students were: Jackson (Pharmacy), Anderson (Biology), Dan (Engineering), Lillian (Economics), Emmy (Political Science), and Fiona (Medicine). We would sit for an hour and fire questions at one another.

We were intrigued to hear how the other students felt about America as a whole. Some saw America as a partner of Rwanda and many other countries in Africa. Some spoke of their excitement to see Obama elected years ago. They all seemed confused on our feelings toward President Trump and why we elected someone we did not like very much. We poke on the criticism of the Rwandan government from the international community because their president’s long reign seemed undemocratic to many people. They all exclaimed that true democracy means that you let the people decide who leads them no matter what. The students talked extensively about supporting leaders and how we should support the people we place into power even if we do not agree with them. Lillian had a great analogy saying, if a head is damaged the remaining parts of the body can be used to help the head get better, and when the other parts do not help the head, then the entire body will die. She told us we should act as the arms and legs of our leadership and help the damaged sections get better rather than watch them struggle.

I was very interested in how the students felt about the role of colonialism leading into the genocide. The students, to my surprise, were very forgiving of the countries who colonized them. Many said they were unable to hold onto hate for those people and in order to reach the highest success possible, they must forgive them. They also noted that the majority of countries involved accepted responsibility for their role in the things that transpired. A few of the students reserved some comments for the French. They spoke on how disappointing it was that the French have never accepted responsibility for their role in the genocide and apologized to Rwandans. Fiona went as far as to assert that “France is invisible to us”.

After a few more closing questions and take home messages, we boarded our bus with 3 of the University of Rwanda students and headed back to Kigali. We all talked during the ride home, sharing our musical tastes, favorite foods, television interest, and engaged in a wealth of cultural exchange. We talked extensively about our love for Adele, Beyoncé, and Ed Sheeran. When we weren’t talking, we were awestruck at the beauty of the countryside. The hills and valleys of the landscape were dense with vegetation giving the area so much life. Children skipped up the street as they left school and almost everyone waved and screamed greetings as our bus of unfamiliar faces passed them by. We returned to Kigali and our hostel at Moucecore exhausted by travel after the three-hour journey. I along with everyone else cannot wait what tomorrow has in store for us!   

-Melvin Gregory

June 6th

Muraho! This means “hi” in Kinyarwandan! Today was our last full day in the beautiful city of Butare, and we had a packed schedule. We started off the morning with a delicious breakfast at the Emmaus Hostel where we are staying and then convened in a classroom on the property for a lecture led by Hollie. We learned some of the reasons why individuals that are “average” by all standards can participate in something as horrific as genocide. It was a very interesting and thought-provoking lecture (as all of Hollie’s lectures are), and before we knew it, our time had run out, and we were on to the next thing on our daily agenda. 

Two Rwandan natives, Samuel Gatete and Leonald Rurangirwa, who were rescuers during the genocide, came to share their personal experiences with us. 

• ~ A quick background of the genocide in case you're not familiar: colonialism in Rwanda created two main ethnic groups, the Hutu and the Tutsi. Hutu made up the majority of the population, accounting for 84% of natives, while Tutsi made up only 15% of the population. Although they were the minority, Tutsi held positions of power and were considered the superior ethnic group. Over the years, Hutu began to resent the Tutsi for this disproportionate division of power and rebelled. Changes in political powers led to discrimination against the Tutsi. Increasing propaganda and hate toward Tutsi divided the country. When the genocide began, Hutu were not allowed to be associated with Tutsi. If Hutu decided to refrain from  participating in the genocide, they were considered the enemy. If they rescued Tutsi, Hutu risked being killed alongside them. ~

As you can see, what Samuel and Leonald did was more than heroic. They put their own lives at risk to do what they knew in their hearts was right, regardless of the threat to their own safety. Leonald has a wife and eight children, one of whom was a Tutsi infant he and his family rescued during the genocide. When asked how he decided to rescue Tutsi instead of kill them he said, “If there were no Hutus like us, there would be no Tutsi left.” Samuel was 33 when the genocide began. At that time he had two children, but today he has eight. When asked how he made the decision to rescue innocent Tutsi, he said, “I can never do evil when I know I can do good.”

Listening to these two mens’ testimonies was incredibly humbling. They told us of different individuals they saved and where those people are now and how absolutely difficult it was to stay alive during the genocide. In closing, they asked us to carry what we’ve learned here with us every single day and to share our experiences with our relatives. According to Samuel, “1) There will be an evil thing and a good thing. 2) Most people choose the evil thing.”

After this life changing session with the Hutu rescuers, we quickly ate lunch and loaded up the bus for an afternoon at the Karamar Ubutwari bwo kubaho Co-op, which is a women’s-led cooperative began by widows of the genocide and wives of the perpetrators. I am continuously amazed by the strength and willingness to forgive exhibited by the people of this country. Forming the cooperative and living in unity was not achieved easily, but the women, with their faith and help of a local pastor, were able to accept one another and live in unity in a world devoid of ethnic division.  

Tomorrow we meet with university students who are members of the Unity and Reconciliation Club at the National University of Rwanda and then head back to Kigali for the remainder of our stay! 

We miss you and can’t wait to share every detail of our experience with you all!! 

~Maggie Fragapane

New Location! (June 4th and 5th)

Friends and Family,

Happy Monday! The past two days could not have been more different. Sunday we traversed the country and attended the pre-colonial museum as compared to Monday when we attended a national memorial. We stared our day with a 2 hour drive from Kigali to the museum located in the southern part of Rwanda. The museum was divided into three parts. The first was a series of huts to demonstrate the compound of the Rwandan king over various centuries. Our guide took us through the customs that it takes for an individual to enter and approach the king. The next section was a barn with about 7 calfs and 9 cows. However, these were no ordinary cows. They had huge horns like those of a buffalo, and they were called loyal cows and are a sacred animal to the Rwandese people. Our final stop was the home of the final king from 1931 to 1959 before he was killed and the nation switched to a republic. 

Once we ate our lunch, we were back on the road for another 45 minutes to our final destination Huye/Butare, another major city in Rwanda in the south. We will be staying at the Emmaus Hostel run by nuns until Wednesday when we return to Kigali and resume classes. After arrival and everyone settled into their rooms, a majority of us ventured into town for free time. A few of us stop at the bank to exchange money while others went into a local market to buy snacks and banana wine, a Rwandan speciality. However, do not be fooled as it is not as sweet as your expect it to be.

Today was certainly a rollercoaster of emotions for everyone here. We traveled 45 minutes to Murambi, a memorial site for victims of the genocide. This was not like the previous memorial we went to. Murambi was an actually killing site on April 21, 1994, and approximately 50,000 individuals were killed here. Individuals had sought refuge in their churches but were redirected to this school, that was still under construction, where their pastors claimed they would be safe and have access to resource. Little did these people know, the military surrounded them on all the hills and attacked making it impossible for anyone to escape of survive. The museum is once again divided into three parts. The first goes through the history of Rwanda and the genocide. The second illustrates what happened at Murambi. The final takes you through the 21 classrooms and has preserved bodies of those killed. There has been much debate as to why the memorial is set up this way as it is heartbreaking to see a little under 1,000 bodies of victims  of all ages on display. I, myself, questioned why they chose this type of memorial. However, it wasn't until walking through that I realized that it's meant to demonstrate the horrific and unimaginable series of events that unfolded in the school. 

None of us had seen anything like this before and I strongly believe that it was a turning point in everyone's perspective of the genocide as a whole. There's something about being at this site that grounds and connects one to those that lay there. Most of our knowledge thus far has come from personal accounts or lectures. However, to see the number of bodies ranging in sizes from babies to grown adults allows us to visual the masses that were affected. We returned to Emmaus and had another Peace Circle. Hollie set these up after each memorial as a way for us to focus on our mental health while we are here, and from the deep conversations we are having, they are definitely working. 

Here are a few links in case any of you were curious in learning more about Murambi. Please be advised that the images you may find may startle and upset you. We have learned that feeling guilt and being overwhelmed is normal. However, do not bottle your emotions and speak to your son or daughter who may being willing to shed some more light on our visit. 

http://maps.cga.harvard.edu/rwanda/murambi.html

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/rwanda/southwestern-rwanda/attractions/murambi-genocide-memorial/a/poi-sig/1462162/1331546

Have a fantastic week!!

Amanda Fontana 

June 3rd (or 4th)

 June 3

Celebrating our Ohio pride with the OSU alumna who created Hope Haven

Muraho everyone!

We kept busy in Kigali before we started our 3-hour drive to Butare today. Since visiting the Gisozi Genocide Memorial in downtown Kigali on Thursday, we’ve been focusing on lecture as well as exploring the city (including Italian restaurants). A doctor also visited us and gave us some tips on traveling and keeping healthy while in Rwanda. On Saturday, we had the opportunity to tour a school founded by an Ohio State alumna, which was by far my favorite excursion so far (even though I slipped down a mountain). 

The Christian school, named Hope Haven, is in Kigali – Rural about 45 minutes from our inn. On the way there we had the chance to stop and shop at a women’s cooperative that one of our staff members here at SIT founded. The clothing and items were made of igitenge, a traditional African fabric, and the proceeds go directly back to the women who make them. The women were so welcoming, and the products were incredible. Clothing, bibs, bags, woodcarvings, and traditional woven goods now fill our suitcases, so get ready for some souvenirs! We spent almost an hour thumbing through patterns and styles and then met with the seamstresses who took our measurements and are currently making us custom fitting clothing.  What’s better than perfect fitting, beautiful clothing that also benefits women? Nothing!

The school itself was an incredibly large compound of about 4 or 5 buildings and acres of land for various agricultural sections. It has about 600 students between its preschool and primary school, and provides breakfast for them every day. Doctors and medical staff also provide health care to community members about once a week and treat them in one of the buildings. We had the opportunity to meet some of the teachers, the director, and even some students. The school has many great initiatives – too many to list here – but one of them is selling the food they produce on their land in order to raise money for the school. We toured acres of banana trees, mangoes, oranges, avocados, lettuce, beans, raspberries, and papayas. We also enjoyed the 30-minute walk down the hill to the well (which I rolled down about 5 feet because the dirt was so slippery). Children ran up to us the whole way, shaking our hands, giving us hugs, and taking pictures with us. They even asked if I was okay after I fell! Between the amazing people and the perfect weather, I will definitely be coming back to Rwanda.

See you soon! Love you, Digs!