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Africa Policy E-JournalRwanda: Life after Death, 1 +++++++++++++++++++++Document Profile+++++++++++++++++++++ Region: Central Africa +++++++++++++++++end profile++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The following is excerpted from the U.S. Committee for Refugees' newly published issue paper: "LIFE AFTER DEATH: SUSPICION AND REINTEGRATION IN POST-GENOCIDE RWANDA" February 1998, by Jeff Drumtra, Africa Policy Analyst. U.S. Committee for Refugees, 1717 Massachusetts Avenue, NW #701 Washington, DC 20036 USA Phone: (202) 347-3507; Fax: (202) 347-3418; E-mail for information: khope@irsa-uscr.org Please note that this posting is not the full report. For copies of the report in full, please send an e-mail message to: rsay@irsa-uscr.org or call Raci Say at: (202) 347-3507
LIFE AFTER DEATH: SUSPICION AND REINTEGRATION IN POST-GENOCIDE RWANDA Table of Contents Key Points Introduction Attitudes & Psychology
Security
Land & Housing
Other Challenges
Conclusion Recommendations (NB: Only a selection of the contents are excerpted here) LIFE AFTER DEATH: SUSPICION AND REINTEGRATION IN POST-GENOCIDE RWANDA (excerpts) KEY POINTS
LIFE AFTER DEATH: Introduction Rarely in human history has a society asked--insisted-that all its people live together again, side by side, in the aftermath of genocide. That is, however, the task at hand in Rwanda. The people of Rwanda are attempting to do what few societies in recorded history have ever done. In response to the Armenian genocide in the early 20th Century, the international community carved out an independent nation for the Armenian people. After the Holocaust, the world created a sovereign Jewish state, Israel. After the "killing fields" of Cambodia in the 1970s--a bloodletting often defined as genocide--hundreds of thousands of Cambodians permanently resettled in other countries. In modern-day Bosnia, ethnic killings bordering on genocide have produced de facto ethnic separation. Post-genocide Rwanda, however, is charting a dramatically different course. The country and its people are seeking to endure as one. A society torn apart by an attempt to obliterate an entire group is attempting to reestablish the trust needed to carry on. For the first time in Rwanda's 35 years of national independence, the overwhelming majority of Rwandan refugees, Hutu and Tutsi, have returned to their homeland. The genocide of 1994 in which up to a million Rwandans perished will, it is hoped, give way to "reconciliation." The nearly two million Hutu refugees who fled in 1994--the fastest refugee exodus of its size the world has ever witnessed--are being asked to resume their former lives. It is hoped that the abrupt repatriation of most refugees in late 1996--a massive return of unprecedented suddenness--will produce "social reintegration." The challenge is, arguably, unique in modern times. Rarely has any society of any age suffered such shattering upheavals, self-imposed, and emerged intact. Genocide. Civil war. Refugee flight. Hate propaganda. A culture of impunity. Ongoing insurgency and atrocities. Deep physical and psychological scars likely to linger for decades. The question of the moment is whether the people of Rwanda can rewrite the basic social contract intrinsic to any functioning society. Can Rwandans overcome mutual suspicion and live as neighbors again? It is a unique challenge as well for the international community as it struggles to give proper assistance. Rwanda "is a difficult place to work," international aid officials privately confide. Some 80 international relief and development organizations operate in the country. Although much of Rwanda is outwardly calm, aid workers realize that "there is a lot going on under the surface." Several issues in Rwanda are never far from the surface: Security and Insurgency Deep concern about personal safety is now ingrained in Rwandans after their recent ordeals. An armed insurgency by genocidaires (people who implemented the genocide) persists in northwest Rwanda, costing lives and poisoning attitudes even in areas of the country currently beyond the reach of insurgent attacks. Many Tutsi view the insurgency as proof that the campaign of genocide continues against them, that they are still preyed upon in their own country. Many Hutu, especially those who survived the refugee ordeal in Congo/Zaire, fear that they might be victimized by revenge killings, detention, or other abuses now that they are home. A resurgence of hate propaganda in recent months by Hutu extremists aggravates ethnic scars that have barely begun to heal. "You will not survive," one propaganda tract recently warned Tutsi. Another hate pamphlet warned that Hutu who befriend Tutsi neighbors will be "eliminated." Government Legitimacy and Competence Attitudes toward the Rwandan government vary enormously inside the country and internationally. Some regard the government as a multi-ethnic, multiparty collection of serious-minded leaders who are pursuing political and social reforms based on justice and ethnic pluralism. "They [government officials] really do believe Rwanda has got to come together, and that Rwandans can overcome this and live together in harmony, in a viable Rwanda," a U.S. aid official in the country stated. Others view the Rwandan government and its motives with deep suspicion, as a regime determined to impose minority Tutsi control at home and Tutsi hegemony throughout Central Africa. "This country scares me every day. It is hard to know what's going on. I'm scared that I might wake up five years from now and find out I worked for five years [with] a repressive regime," confided one expatriate with close connections to government officials. Most observers agree that the Rwandan government--whatever its agenda--contains a fascinating mixture of steely resolve, inexperience, and limited resources. The result is an ambitious government stretched beyond its capacities in a country with enormous needs. Reintegration and Social Attitudes Only time can heal some emotional wounds. Attempts to "reconcile" Rwandans with each other are underway through the work of local churches, indigenous women's organizations, and some international aid agencies. Mere mention of the word "reconciliation" is, however, a sensitive topic among those who continue to grieve and seek justice for the loss of loved ones. "Anybody wanting to intervene to make sure it [wholesale ethnic massacre] never happens again has to understand the attitudes.... You cannot just talk to the adult generation about 'loving each other,'" explained an aid official engaged in reconciliation work. Rwanda's leaders have attempted to improve social solidarity by eliminating ethnic references on identity cards and purging direct mention of ethnicity in most public discourse. The government requires returned Hutu refugees to attend "solidarity camps" lasting one to two weeks, ostensibly to educate Hutu returnees about the country's goal of ethnic unity. The idea may backfire in practice, however. Many Hutu complain that the reeducation camps deliberately intimidate them and are used to restrict employment opportunities. Justice System Rwanda's overwhelmed justice system has received extensive international attention. Some 120,000 persons remain imprisoned for alleged participation in the genocide. Although thousands awaiting trial may be innocent, it is an important human rights achievement that tens of thousands of guilty prisoners have not been executed without trial. The pace of trials has been excruciatingly slow because the government has required four years to rebuild its cadre of judges and prosecutors in the aftermath of the genocide and massive population displacement. Some 2,000 prisoners are children, accused of being genocidaires. Their dilemma illustrates that no easy solutions exist in post-genocide Rwanda. The government recently announced plans to free the imprisoned children--a step long advocated by the world community. Some of the minors, however, will probably be killed in revenge attacks if they are released without trial, aid workers warn privately. The situation of child prisoners indicates that, because of the country's tensions, even progressive humanitarian policies can lead to death. Housing and Land An ambitious housing program is underway in Rwanda, the most densely populated country in Africa. Local officials say 400,000 homes must be repaired or constructed nationwide for returned refugees and survivors of the genocide. Entire new villages have materialized in recent months, some without proper planning for water and farm land needed to sustain the families scheduled to move there. Rwandan officials have proposed a controversial "villagization" policy to relocate most Rwandans into towns and villages for better services and security. The policy, if pursued aggressively, would rank as one of the most sweeping attempts at social engineering in recent memory. Critics fear the program would remove residents from their current homes by force. In addition, the government has signaled its intention to pursue fundamental land reform. It is a sensitive issue in a largely agrarian society where small agricultural plots are the sole source of survival for impoverished families. Basic Development The upheavals that have befallen Rwanda during the past four years would devastate any country. Rwanda, however, was already one of the world's poorest nations prior to 1994. By 1997, it had become the second least developed country on earth, according to UN measurements. "It can be difficult to find a commune that is not in dire need," one UN agency reported in Rwanda. Such severe deprivation tends to incubate social tensions and complicates efforts to rebuild trust. Rwanda lacks adequate schools and health care. The country's overwhelmingly rural settlement pattern--it ranks with Burundi as the least urbanized country in Africa--makes delivery of improved social services difficult and expensive. Events have crippled the country's tea and coffee industry and erased a nascent tourism industry that was based on international interest in the mountain gorillas of northwest Rwanda. The country's ordeals have imposed added development burdens that no amount of aid money can eliminate: up to 120,000 children are orphaned; as many as 85,000 households are headed by children; and an enormous percentage of the country's accumulated skills and knowledge lay buried with the dead, or hidden in exile. (continued in part 2)
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