Rwandan Transformation

How do you forgive someone who engaged in genocide against your friends, neighbors and relatives? How do you forgive yourself once you understand the evil that you perpetrated? This is the work of unity and reconciliation that Rwanda is undergoing since the 1994 mass genocide. It is a transformed country, moving forward with hope and inspiration under the leadership of the President Paul Kagame. Rwanda has sometimes been referred to as Africa's biggest success story and it's evident in the capital, Kigali. The economy is thriving, 54 percent of the Parliament is held by women and equal rights for all has been heavily endorsed.

I interviewed two impressive people today who are actively working on the continuing transformation of this country. The first was Alex Kewangwa who has devoted his life to working with youth in the work of reconciliation. He engages in many different programs to educate the current youth, but has also worked on the reparation of the youth who were brainwashed into becoming murderers during the 100 days of mass genocide. (estimated 1 million killed in a country that only had 7 million at the time). He believes that the youth are the future of his beloved nation and agrees with the local proverb, only a young tree can be shaped. Alex's family was one of many Tutsi's who left the country in exile in the late 50's when the "troubles" started. He returned in 1994 to help rebuild his country. The passion with which he described both his current work and the horrors of the past was really moving.

The second was a young American woman, Lisa Martilotta who is the Executive Director of Akilah Institute for Women, an affordable post secondary two year training school dedicated to the creation of the next generation of female leaders in Rwanda. Lisa left her lucrative job in Washington DC as a policy analyst to chase her heart's desire helping women in a developing country. In doing so she has found satisfaction and fulfillment.

Upon visiting the Kigali Genocide memorial, we learned that there was no division between the Hutu's and Tutsi's until the German and later Belgium colonists decided that there should be. Eventually the ruling colonists insisted on identification badges using frivolous categorizations including the measurement of noses. Sounds eerily familiar to the root causes of the Jewish Holocaust of World War Two. The lessons of the past and the mantra "Never Again" seem to ring hallow and certainly more difficult to do than say. And BTW the story of Hotel Rwanda is a sham according to people here. The hotel manager is a Hutu who demanded money from anyone taking refuge at Hotel des Mille Collnes. He is exiled in Belgium right now and wanted for war crimes by the local government here. So much for Hollywood fairy tales.