Rwanda
wasn't what I thought it would be
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By LeAnn Hager, Special to CNN
updated 4:28 PM EDT, Fri April 4,
2014
Editor's
note: Twenty years ago, Rwanda was nearly ripped apart by an inter-tribal genocide that killed an estimated 800,000 people,
mostly from the Tutsi ethnic group. LeAnn Hager works for Catholic Relief
Services, the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic
community in the United States. She was the organization's Country
Representative in Rwanda between 2012 and 2014. She now heads a team in Central
African Republic. Hager's story first appeared on CNN iReport. The opinions expressed in this commentary
are solely those of the author.
(CNN) -- When I first
arrived in Rwanda's capital in 2012, I deliberately did not visit the Kigali
Genocide Memorial. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I did not want that
experience to influence how I approached the country and its people.
In
my mind, Rwanda was going to be this country that was still on the brink of
economic disaster. It would be very poorly set up, with a bad road system and
difficult telecommunications. Frankly, I despaired of working with the
government, thinking it would be extremely challenging to work with.
I
remember 1994 well. I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in West Africa and the
Rwandan genocide, right on the heels of Nelson Mandela's election in South
Africa, was big news across the continent.
When
I was assigned to Rwanda 18 years later, my first thought was the genocide --
this is probably true for most people. But when I asked friends and colleagues
who had lived there for advice, they spoke highly of the country and her
people. I started seeing this as another adventure on this continent that I
love, though I had visions of the film "Hotel Rwanda" resounding in my mind.
Those
preconceptions were quickly dispelled once I got there.
When
you get to Rwanda, you are hit by the incongruity that strikes so many: How
could such a horrible thing have happened in such a beautiful country? The
nickname Land of a Thousand Hills is not an exaggeration. Rwanda's countryside
is dotted with what appear to be literally a thousand hills that are a mixture
of mountains, volcanoes and hillocks. The beauty is reflected in the people:
Rwandans are incredibly friendly and hospitable. But just as you cannot see the
other side of a mountain, you cannot always tell what is going on behind those
eyes.
Rwandans
obey their country's many rules. I love that, to reduce pollution, plastic bags
are forbidden and even taken from you when you arrive at the airport! For
anyone who has spent time in Africa, it's incredible to see people actually
wearing helmets on motorcycles, drivers and passengers alike, both in Kigali
and in the countryside.
National
pride and a commitment to the idea that Rwandans should lead the development of
their country are strong. From them came the concept of Umuganda, or community service. During the last
Saturday of each month, citizens do some type of community work in their
neighborhood, like picking up garbage or cutting the grass. If they do not show
up, they're fined an amount determined by the neighborhood leader. (These days
the neighborhoods are like anywhere else: Some are made up of different tribes
and ethnicities and others are homogenous.)
Amid
the beautiful parks and tea plantations are the somber genocide memorials found
in virtually every community. They serve as a daily reminder to never forget
the atrocities. At the same time, they allow for personal reflection on
mankind's capacity for both evil and resilience.
Rwandan's mission: Justice after genocide
Why 'eye for eye' couldn't work in Rwanda
20
years on, children of Rwanda's rape
Four
months after my arrival, I was ready to see the Kigali
Genocide Memorial. I was glad I had waited. You walk alongside slabs of cement: a
mass grave where over 250,000 people killed in Kigali are buried. At the end of
one of the cement tombs is a wall with names, an attempt to identify some of
the souls lost during the tragic 100 days of the genocide. You almost weep when
you realize they will never identify them all.
One
room tells the tale of other genocides or "cleansing" events in
history around the world, reminding us that the international community has not
been diligent about the oft-quoted pledge, "Never again." And in the
room dedicated to children who were killed -- you see their names, what they
enjoyed doing and who was their best friend -- your heart starts to tear. I was
never able to actually read all the remembrances to these children. Though I
have always considered myself a pretty tough and realistic humanitarian worker,
I had never seen anything like this.
A
single visit ensures that the memorial realizes its purpose -- you will never
forget.
It's
an experience that makes you wonder how any society can come back together
after something that tears so deeply. But I know from what I had seen, and from
my organization's work, that it is possible. Many genocide survivors and
perpetrators have since been able to seek and grant forgiveness and now live
peacefully, side by side.
I
watched a woman tear up and embrace a man who had killed her family.
Witnessing these scenes is almost surreal, but deeply moving and
humbling. Could I ever forgive? Could I ever confess and ask for forgiveness?
Looking
at Rwandans today with a certainty that such an atrocity can never happen
again, you wonder "How did this ever happen in the first place?" When
Rwandans say "never again," I believe them. But when I look at the
international community, those words don't have the same meaning. Are we really
a community in which most of us watched this suffering and death from the sidelines?
It
will happen again somewhere else. We've seen it in history.
In
March of this year, I was asked to head our program in the Central African
Republic. The lessons from Rwanda still echoing in my head, I was compelled to
say "yes" to a country being torn apart by intercommunal fighting,
just as Rwanda had been. My time in Rwanda has shown me the limitations of what
the international community will do in situations like this, but also taught me
lessons and given me hope.
Just
20 years ago, Rwandans went through genocide, but they came back and they came
back quickly. I attribute a lot of that to the strong will, the leadership and
most importantly, to the resiliency of the Rwandan people.
Peace
is possible. Reconciliation is possible. I pray that we can realize the same
here in Central African Republic. And we can, with a little influence and a lot
of political will.
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