The final Saturday of the month in Rwanda
is always Umuganda day. This is a day when the whole country stops, and
everyone joins with others in their neighbourhood to do community work. It
might be street cleaning, or painting a building, or rebuilding the home of a
community member in need, or any one of a seemingly endless list of possible
tasks that the community leader might have arranged.
It takes place in the morning, and such is
the officialness of it, that it is illegal to be on the streets between 0900
and 1100 unless your role is related to Umuganda, or specifically permitted by
the authorities.
But, all details aside, the important thing
is that everyone does it, together, as community. And as a result community
cohesion is strong, people know their neighbours, people feel supported,
loneliness is lower, and the community looks a little more loved and cared for
than it might otherwise.
The Umuganda Saturdays were one of the
ideas implemented by the government after the genocide. Before that, Umuganda
was a concept but more random in nature and on an ‘as and when’ approach at the
behest of individual communities.
Post-genocide, the focus was on building
strong united communities, and Umuganda was seen as a tool that could be used
to that end. Chatting with Rwandans about it whilst we have been here, they
certainly all attest to the success of that aim. Whether it is older folk who
survived the genocide, or returned refugees who escaped the genocide, or young
people who were born post genocide – they all agree that Umuganda is a
wonderful part of Rwandan life, and that as a result of it they know their
neighbours much better than they might otherwise and enjoy the feeling of
working together for a common cause.
Another aspect of Rwanda that never ceases
to impress me – well actually render me speechless with awe – is how much they
have been able to forgive and move on from the genocide. It is truly
remarkable.
According to those I have chatted to, this
comes from the top – the President, and those in power, have led by example on
the forgiveness front. They have got rid of any paperwork that would give any
indication as to which group a person was from pre-genocide. So whether a
person hails from Tutsi, Hutu or Twa is now lost in the annals of time – today
they are all Rwandans together, equal in their status, united in their hopes
for a brighter tomorrow, and learning from the lessons of the past.
As a result, when someone applies for a job
– they get it on merit, not biased by what part they played in the genocide.
Yes there are still people being tried for genocide-related crimes, but those
people aside, when it comes to employment, education, access to health etc –
everyone is united in their Rwandan identity, and everyone has an equal chance.
Today, we met with a co-operative of
genocide widows who have named themselves the Wirira Group. Wirira means ‘dry
your tears’ in Kinyarwandan, and the group, 45 in size, is made of ladies who
were all widowed during the genocide. Many of them also saw their children
being slaughtered, some were raped, some were badly attacked in other physical
ways. They all still bear the scars – some physical and very visible, many
emotional and psychological, but together they support each other and help each
other to move a little further along the healing journey.
One lady said today how ‘we are all still
weeping inside, and sometimes we weep outside, but now we have each other to
lean on, and we don’t feel so alone’. She went on to say how they are looking
forwards to the future together, and how being together in the group gives them
the ability to look forward with hope, rather than always backward with
despair.
One of the projects that they are doing
together is a chicken-rearing project, raising the chickens, selling the eggs,
and using the money for small-scale loans within the group. They showed us
round with pride and spoke with optimism about the difference that this project
would make.
As I sat and watched and listened to them
speaking, I reflected on whether, deep-down inside they have really been able
to do the forgiving that everyone says has happened. They certainly haven’t
forgotten, and I’ve heard from others that trust is now a big issue with the
older generation, as the genocide was so much a case of neighbours, friends and
even family members suddenly turning on each other. Not surprising that those
who were so harmed now find it hard to trust.
But have they truly forgiven the
perpetrators? I don’t know, and who am I to question what is going on in their
hearts and minds? If they have forgiven, as the public image likes to imply:
well that is absolutely amazing, and totally inspiring, and I admire them all
the more. If they aren’t there yet, well given the horrors that they went
through, and the massive void that has been left in each of their lives – I
imagine I’d be on the struggling end of the spectrum in those circumstances.
Another side-aspect of the genocide that I
hadn’t heard about on previous visits to Rwanda is the impact it is having on
the younger generation. Chatting to two girls today who are in their late teens
/ early twenties ie just post-genocide, they were saying how much their
generation is struggling with mental health issues related to the genocide.
It’s mainly around fear of how what has happened in the past could so easily
happen again, if the wrong people with the wrong philosophies get into power.
They hear so much about the genocide, and the horrors of it, and how it came into
being, that they also struggle with knowing who to trust – because of how their
parents were so badly let down.
And given that most of their parents will
have some post-genocide pain buried somewhere deep inside, even if forgiveness
has taken place – the younger generation don’t always feel able to talk about
their concerns for fear of upsetting life for the older ones
Thankfully it seems as though their
concerns are being heard – and apparently there are moves to take the
post-genocide focus down a notch or two, and instead increase further the opportunities
for collaborative activities and for equality and empowerment, as well as
putting support systems in place to ensure those that need to offload can do
so.
So, there you go - a bit of a ramble
through some bits and bobs of conversations I’ve been having over here in Rwanda.
It is a remarkable country in many ways: a place of natural beauty, of
beautiful people, and of a seemingly beautiful vision going forwards. Yes it
has its issues – what country doesn’t! But this nation does seem to be united
in its striving to create a better world for the next generation, and to
actually learn from its past, and ensure that, within Rwanda, they can truly
say ‘never again’.
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