Human existence has age-old consistencies that globally tie us together. Keep in mind the phrase and historical commandment “love thy neighbor as thyself.” It is a poetic rendition of how love must prevail in community. This particular metaphor of humanity is compared to the common experience of neighbors. To reside next to fellow beings seems safe, smart, essentially human. Just the same, how universal can that metaphor be? A literal translation might be more difficult for some than others. Neighbors can be the better part of your day and even the thorn in your side. Can we really rely on this concept as a foundation as have many of our predecessors? What if your neighbor was a perpetrator in the murder of your family or others? Does this verse still apply? Can you really love your neighbor? For many survivors of the genocide in Rwanda this battle is faced every day.
In April of 1994 the Hutu dominated government of Rwanda launched a large scale genocide on the minority Tutsi population. Contention between the Tutsis and Hutus was not always present in Rwanda. Differences among occupations began to create labels and disparity, labels that soon transformed into ethnic lines1. These lines are highlighted by colonialism and ignorance. Fabricating division as a way of divide and rule created an environment fertile for conflict. The systematic killing of over one million people in only 100 days has proven to be a national hurdle as Rwanda plans its future. Genocide has lasting effects, devastating populations even after the death count is tallied. These effects require the traumatized to pick up its pieces2.
Reconciliation is no small feat as Rwanda shapes its future. One of the government’s primary goals is justice by Rwandans for Rwandans. Justice to the offended, justice to the hurt, and justice to all of Rwanda is going to look different from individual to individual, community to community. After years of slowly processing thousands of cases from the mass genocide, justice and reparation increasingly seemed a distant pipe dream for many victims. To aid in this process and facilitate progression, Rwanda started a unique community level system, the Gacaca Courts. This traditional court system was used in the seventeenth century as a way of solving disputes. It allowed for reparation without involving a longer legal process. Communities kept autonomy in processing personal justice3. Judges were chosen from the local level by the people to hear the words of neighbors. Testimonies filled the warm open air, court sessions proceeded in community fields, verdicts echoed through the hills as people sat in the grass. Tasked with the eradiction of impunity, resolution, and speed, these courts were for trying the thousands accused of perpetrating the genocide. For many victims, justice came and the long wait ended. With limited resources these courts managed to see 1,958,634 cases that dealt with topics as severe as murder, rape, and assault paired with demands of reparation for property and materials. Testimonies were told from the humble pulpit of grass and dirt; trials ran from morning till night; justice was attempted as each heartfelt trauma was spilled together among a community of survivors, a community of participants4.
Once memories piled, trials closed, and justice ran its course, it is difficult for people to go back to previous lives and existence. The impact of genocide and trauma doesn’t just go away. Neighbors aren’t just neighbors, or are they? With a population of survivors seeking aid after destruction and perpetrators released with nowhere to go, the country starts to be just a little smaller. The rolling hills of Rwanda start to close in and leave divisions to avoid. Imagined ethnic lines start an anxious cycle. How do you restore unity after such extensive carnage?
Created one year after the genocide in 1994, the Prison Fellowship Rwanda Program emerged with a goal of healing victims psychologically and addressing current survival needs. After viewing the facility and programs offered through the PFRP, it’s clear that steps to cohabitation are not only an option but a remedial solution. As prisoners are released, integration becomes an opportunity to initiate a unique cure. Offenders that renounced their actions and put forth efforts to atone are given preference and benefits such as psychotherapy, trauma healing, and steps to a life again5.
Introducing a solution to homelessness and disconnection, “reconciliation villages'' have been established for the homeless on both sides of the conflict. Together they coexist and survive as a community. Houses of the offenders reside next to those offended; neighbors, that you are asked to love. Upon visiting the 54 homes that make up the village of Mayange, I heard the personal experiences of participants in this experiment of forced cohabitation and harmony. Arriving we see women weaving baskets with fellow women, children running through the doors of the concrete structures, men and women sharing benches in the shade of the trees. A picture with no tell of the secret that it seems to hold. I sat with them as they listed the events that led to survival, death, and punishment. Perpetrators sat with victims only feet apart; telling tales of remorse and stories of forgiveness. I watched new memories form to cover old ones. Is this what healing means? For this community, survival is coexistence, healing is forgiveness. Disposition tells me time is important but there seems to be healing nonetheless.
At the heart of reconciliation is the human instinct to endure. Prisoners change, victims heal, and communities grow. We follow the consistencies observed from generation to generation. If they can love their neighbor, can you?
Rutikanga, Bernard. “Understanding the Genocide: The role of history, identity, and culture.” Kigali: Institute of Research and Dialogue for Peace, May 18 2022. Lecture.
Gourevitch, Philip. We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families: Stories From Rwanda. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1998. Print.
Gasanabo, Jean-Damascène. “Peace in Rwanda: Balancing the ICTR and “Gacaca” in Postgenocide Peacebuilding.” The National Commission for the Fight Against Genocide (CNLG). Kigali, Rwanda.
Bikesha, Dr. Denis. “Justice and Reparation.” Kigali: Institute of Research and Dialogue for Peace, May 18 2022. Lecture.
Prisoner Fellowship Rwanda. Kigali: 2022. Presentation and Tour.