Neichü Dz. Angami
Greetings from the land of the thousand hills. Rwanda has been an amazing experience.....I will take a long time to process what I saw and learnt here. I have been here for two weeks and I will take an early morning bus to Kampala, Uganda tomorrow. Kigali, is buzzing with activities and life seem to have returned to normal after the horrific genocide....but the pain and the trauma lives on......we returned from the Burundi border yesterday, visited some genocide sites and also some of the refugee camps at the border. Butare, the province we went to stay in is going through some dark periods again. There is a fear that revenge killing of the Hutus may break up any time and that is why people are fleeing into Congo and Burundi.
The Gacaca courts which is dealing with the genocide seem a bit too extreme in that province, preventing people from doing any normal things during gacaca days (once a week) and threatening people with fines and warning if they fail to attend the courts etc. shops are shut and there is an apparent sense of deep fear and anxiety. We also spend a day in a tiny village where Didacience’s mother live. We crossed the river which is considered as the main source of river Nile and climbed a stiff mountain, walking through sugar cane and banana tree bush under a very very hot African summer day!!!!! But we thoroughly enjoyed.
In Kigali, we spoke at the university, at the women’s meetings and I also did workshops with a few women’s groups. We had three hours meeting the National unity and reconciliation commission, another long meeting with the Women Parliamentarians (do you know that Rwanda has 48% women in their parliament?). Women leadership here is absolutely amazing. I also went back to genocide memorial and spend a day. The first time I could not cope with it, so I needed to go back. I made friends with the guide Olive, who is herself a victim (having lost her father and three brothers, whose remains are yet to be found). We went out for coffee and had deep and profound sharing.
The most unbelievable experience was giving a talk and listening to 380 HIV positive women, 70% of whom were raped by HIV+ man during the genocide. Many of the women were as old as my grandmother.
Last night, I had a long and very helpful meeting with one of the Chief coordinators of the Gacaca court. He explained to me the detail process and answered all my endless questions patiently and graciously. I was so grateful. WE attended the Gacaca court once and I have not been able to get over it.....The perpetuators were standing with the victims and explaining how they tortured and killed their loves ones. People were so calm and fully engaged in the whole process, the prisoners were in uniform and some of them looked really remorseful. Those of you who don’t know what this is about - the Rwandans are using their traditional courts to investigate and bring to trial the 160,000 (approx) prisoners who were suspected perpetuators of the genocide. Those who planned and organized the genocide are being dealt with in the international tribunal in Arusha, Tanzania, which is taking very long time.
Those who have seen the film “Hotel Rwanda” will be happy to hear that we spend an evening there at Des Mille Collins Hotel...
We have very warm invitation to Burundi and DR Congo but we won’t be able to make it this time, mainly because I cannot speak French and language is a huge barrier.
In Uganda, I will go the north and also to the west, on invitation of some NGOs to do workshops on HIV/AIDS. I am looking forward to that. I hope I can also go into Sudan as my host think it is possible.
Life is full of adventure and new things to learn. There has some very serile things along the way, and I hope I can share them in person with you.
I would love to hear from the outside world as I feel soaked in the African sand! By the way, we have the long awaited rains today! People already fear that they may be heading for another drought. So please continue to pray for rains to pour.
(This was written during Neichü’s recent trip to Rwanda)