13 June 2017

Waramutse (“good morning” in Kinyarwanda) friends and family! It is crazy to think that we only have one week until we are back in the States and will be leaving behind all of the Rwandan beauty and experiences we have had thus far! Fortunately, this last week is still packed with lectures, activities, and new sites throughout Kigali. 

The theme for the week is Post-Genocide Rwanda, so most of our lectures and speakers are discussing Rwanda’s development and growth since 1994. Today, after everyone arrived to SIT (on time!!!) we sat in sorrow at the Cavs loss :/. Shortly after, we began our day with a lecture from Hollie on transitional justice with a focus on Rwanda’s gacaca courts. Transitional justice occurs usually during a country’s transition from an authoritarian regime, or a period of conflict, to a democracy, or a period of peace. During our lecture, we discussed the five main types of transitional justice: trials, truth commissions, amnesties, vetting/lustration, and reparations. After the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsis, it was clear that the justice system Rwanda had at the time would not be able to accommodate the masses that needed to be tried. At the international level the United Nations set up the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in an attempt to try the actors most responsible for planning the genocide. More importantly, at the local level Rwanda modified their traditional Gacaca (meaning “grass” and pronounced “guh-cha-cha”) courts to address the genocide. The judges were people of integrity that were elected from the community and could not have participated in any criminal acts during the genocide. Trials were held weekly and community members would come and discuss what they witnessed and experienced during the genocide. 

After our morning lecture, we traveled to the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC). We met with Mr. Alphonse Kalinganire, the National Identity and Disapora Coordinator at the NURC. Mr. Kalinganire spoke to us about the goals and objectives of his organization. Since March 1999 the NURC works to combat discrimination and create positive cultural values through their own homegrown solutions. Some homegrown solutions that were discussed were the gacaca courts, njyanama (elected advisory councils that are voices of Rwandans), ubusabane (festivals to promote unity and community), umuganda (the community work done on the last Saturday of every month), and various other solutions that work to open up the dialogue on progress to all Rwandan citizens. It was extremely interesting to learn about all the work this organization has been doing to help move Rwanda forward and ensure that such violence and hatred does not occur within the country again.

After enjoying the amazing view and Italian food at Sol e Luna for lunch, we made our way to Never Again Rwanda! Our host, Eric, began the lecture by showing us a five-minute video explaining the focus of his organization. The slogan “Never Again” was adopted from the “never again” statements that formed after the Holocaust in order to challenge the failures of others and really work to ensure never again applies to everyone this time. The main goal of this organization is to help citizens become agents of change and participate in the dialogue of decision and policy makers at all levels of the government.

Finally, we headed back to SIT to hear about Media and Post-Genocide Development from Dr. Christopher Rayumba. His lecture was short, as he discussed the impact media had during the genocide. He went into detail about the "hate-radio” that began in August of 1993 and also what media and journalism has developed into today. We learned that journalism was not taught as a profession until 1996, but as of today there are approximately 33 radio stations, 50 print medias (three of which are daily's), and 80 web driven medias in Rwanda! 

After this information packed day it was nice to head back to our homestays and relax for the night! We can't wait to see everyone! Sending lots of love from Kigali!

- Judy Norton