Category Archives: Rwanda

July 10, 2009 · 9:02 am

Rwanda Day Five


Today we visited Nsinda Prison (population 8000) to interview those convicted of genocide. As we pulled up to the prison we met a large group of prisoners returning to the prison from the fields. They had only 1 guard with a machine gun and another with a stick. Many prisoners carried produce. Again, it felt like we were transported back a century. It was a dusty ancient looking place with shirtless male prisoners carrying huge logs on their shoulders (for firewood for their cooking fires). We were ushered to a bare cinder block room with a log and metal roof. 4 stools were brought for us. One of us noticed several wasp hives attached to the roof. In walked 19 prisoners all accused and convicted of mass murder. Quite a few were women and two had babies. One baby nursed throughout the session. The one guard stood outside the room with the door open to the out of doors. We asked them about their experiences. These individuals denied much wrongdoing, felt their former government led them astray, confessed, asked for forgiveness but felt they were denied it. They espoused genocidal ideology in that Tutsis were accused of killing the president and succeeding in forcing out the Hutus in the country.

Oh, as we entered the prison, we were greeted with “Nothing but the Blood” in native tongue over a loudspeaker. Apparently, there was a church service going on. What a contrast between the song (which recognizes guilt and the need for cleansing and the perceived innocence of the genocidaires (“I only mutilated dead bodies.”)

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July 8, 2009 · 8:56 am

Rwanda Day Three


Awoke to the call to prayer by the local imam. Did not sleep well. Sinus headache due to the ever present charcoal smoke. We left Butare for Kigali to meet with with the president of the senate (2nd in command of the country) but he was suddenly unavailable. Something about the presence of UN VIPs. I guess that trumps us. Instead we met with the a key person at the ministry of mental health. She lamented the need to use BA level psychology grads and lay helpers to do the vast majority of their   counseling. Lunch at Moucecore where we learned more about their ministry to prevent HIV, to protect children’s rights, teach the bible and train individuals to be community leaders.     

After lunch we met with the rector (dean) of Kigali Health Institute. They confirmed the need for masters and doctoral counselors with knowledge of mental health problems. They have no problems with specifically christian counseling training and would like us to help them create a masters program and also teach or do distance ed for them. From this meeting,we drove across the city to Barakabao Foundation another ministry of the Bishop to care for over 5000 orphans. These orphans are in either foster families or child-headed homes–and they do it all with 12 staff. As some of the staff spoke, you could see their own stress and trauma. When it comes to orphans, they see 5 different types: genocide orphans, orphans whose parents died in refugee camps in the DRC, orphans born through rape, those whose parents died due to HIV, and those whose parents are in jail.

The day ended in Gahini at the retreat house. The hot meal and bed are welcome sights after such a long day of meetings. On the good note, I had a 2 minute call home. Sam answered and was overjoyed to hear me. Told Kim I was fine. Not sure if I’ll get further opportunities. I admit I’m homesick. I’ve not gone this long of a time without talking to Kim.

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July 7, 2009 · 8:56 am

Rwanda Day Two


We arose early pumped up with adrenaline if not with good sleep. Our retreat house sits on the eastern end of Lake Muhazi–a long lake with many nooks and crannies. Just across the water are several red dirt paths leading to the lake. Children and women walk the paths from the banana treed village to the lake to fill their jerry cans with water. The plan is to travel first to Kigali and then on to Butare, some 2 hours south of the city. We were told this trip would be a breeze in comparison to a few years ago as the road is now paved.

Our first daytime views of the country reveal a lush green world with many hills and valleys. Everywhere people are working in their fields or walking to and fro. Most noticeable are the numerous children on bikes. They are carrying multiple cans of water, milk cans, 3 or 4 huge banana clusters. We are told these young children are not in school as they cannot afford to go beyond 6th grade. So, they make a living (less than 1 dollar a day) delivering water to the villagers to support their families One young man has balanced a table on his bike. Women are walking with bundles on their heads and babies wrapped up on their back. Life seems to be all about procuring enough water and food for the day.

In Kigali, we tour Moucecore, a nonprofit lay counseling ministry started by Bishop Alexis to train up community leaders to lead their fellow villagers to improve life for all. We’ll learn more about this ministry later this week. The trip south to Butare continues through beautiful, rural hills and sharp valleys (many vistas) filled with banana plantations, small knots of goats or cows, mud brick houses in all shapes of repair. We note a group of pink garbed prisoners working in a field. These are “genocidaires”. The trip included many hairy moments when passing slower vehicles or just missing pedestrians.

At Butare, we meet with the Dean of the faculty, a PhD in psychology. They have just begun a masters in psychology program and have their first group of graduates. Not sure thye really have much training. They have needs for help improving their program and for CE or grand rounds training. It will be possible to do such activities live as they will have fiber optic capacity by October.

After this meeting, we meet with 60 some pastors to hear about their experiences. They speak of those they fear are demon possessed, of young children traumatized by the videos of the genocide or by learning their parents took part in the killing. They have to deal with those infected by HIV due to rape and wonder how best to teach about forgiveness. We ended the day with some moving worship in the church. Though we could not translate the exact meaning of the songs, they still spoke to the heart.

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July 3, 2009 · 4:20 pm

Rwanda Day One


[Returning home from Rwanda 2 days ago I am now trying to process what I saw and heard. So, I will post for each day. Pictures will be forthcoming as well.]

First impressions of Africa after traveling for 20 plus hours? The smell of charcoal cooking fires. Stepping of the plane onto the tarmac at Kigali airport your nostrils immediately detect the thick smell of smoke. Many people, even in the city and even if they have wealth, cook their meals out of doors. We were met at the door by Bishop Alexis Bilindabagabo of the Gahini Diocese. The bishop and some of his staff welcomed us and drove the four of us to our retreat house (The House of Tranquility on the east edge of Lac Muhazi). Since we arrived after dark we couldn’t see much of what we passed on our 1 plus hour ride.  But we still had our experiences along the way! Picture an undivided highway with a mass of people walking or biking along the road and no street lights or reflective clothing. People of all ages and under all sorts of burdens. Even in the rural sections, we never went more than a few yards without seeing someone walking along the road. Further, people drive quite differently there. When a car approaches, use your left turn signal to let them know where your outer edge is. Also, use your horn as a constant means of communicating–brief honks to let the moped drivers that we were passing by. Oh, and though they drive on the “right” side of the road, our car had the driver on the left side. Since I was in the shotgun position, I had a wonderful view of oncoming traffic when we drifted across the lanes and around sharp turns while passing slower traffic.

Our group (Diane Langberg, Josh Straub (of AACC), Leah Herod (Columbia International University), and myself) had our first meals and meeting together on the plane ride but now we were glad to arrive at our destination–a stucco 2 story building with dining and living space and 4 nice bedrooms with shared bathrooms and the requisite mosquito nets (this picture was taken some time ago as the bushes are very much bigger than this).

A quick meal of vegetable soup, fried bananas, fried tilapia, cassava, rice, and potatoes (notice the heavy emphasis of starch) and off to bed. Tomorrow will begin our serious work of fact-finding, discovering the current resources, needs and possible interventions we might bring to deal with the problem of trauma due to the 1994 genocide of nearly 800,000 people in just under 100 days.

Already I am well aware of my self-centered life. I love Jesus but also comfort. I am struck by the level of sacrifice and hardship and the impossibility of turning a blind eye to dangers (moral, physical, etc.) in this country.

Tomorrow we are off to Butare, a university city in the South of the country.

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June 15, 2009 · 9:46 am

Getting Ready for Rwanda and remembrances from 1986


Spent some time getting supplies ready for my upcoming trip (June 22-July1). I’m always a bit stymied on what and how much to bring for clothes. Should I go light like a good Brit would? 2 shirts, 2 pants and call it good? What about my camera? I have a digital as well as a quality Minolta with a couple of lenses to choose from. What makes for a few nice gifts for those I meet?

I’ll be sure to have a couple of notebooks handy for writing my thoughts–since I won’t be bringing my laptop. Hope I can still write legibly. In looking for a few items, I came across my last travel journal from 1986-7 (Wow, 22 years since my last trip off the continent!). I was given it by college classmate Beth Lindenschmid (so it says on the inside cover) as a gift before leaving for a semester in Israel. What fun reading through it. Here’s a couple of things I noticed about life in 1987:

  1. I must have been popular. I got lots of letters from friends and family. And I wrote them too (and not the easy email kind).
  2. Out of all the folks I was either corresponding with or hanging out with, only one (outside of my parents) have I had any contact with in the last few years. Sad.
  3. I was worried about money. Postage seemed to be a big concern for me in my travel journal. How would I get to Egypt (I didn’t)?
  4. A good day entailed a nice view of some place in Israel, a freshly made pita, and a few friends for conversation. Pretty simple life.  
  5. I seemed pretty flexible then. We traveled places without an itinerary, found rooms to rent by meeting people on the street, walked in pretty remote places without as much as a map. I don’t feel quite as flexible as that on this trip though given our lack of specific itinerary (or correctly stated: our lack of knowing said itinerary), I’m likely to need to be more flexible than I like to be.  

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May 5, 2009 · 5:54 am

Rwanda!


My on again off again trip is now on. I have tickets and yesterday I got my shots! Our small group of psychologists (4) will be leaving on June 22 and returning July 1. We will be going as the guests of the Right Rev. Alexis Bilindabagbo, Anglican Bishop of the Gahini diocese. You can learn a bit about him here.

We will be meeting with pastors, government officials, victims, and perpetrators of the 1994 genocide. Our goal is to immerse ourselves into the culture to learn how best to provide trauma training and counseling education at the graduate level for pastors and key leaders of the church right in Rwanda. While we know quite a bit about trauma and counseling training, we wish to avoid the mistakes of assuming we know best what this particular people need and what works within their cultural milieu.

I hope to be able to give you more details as the time approaches and to blog from Rwanda when I have Internet access.

FYI, each of us are paying our own way. Some donors at Biblical Seminary gave generously to underwrite a small portion of the trip. Further, the American Association of Christian Counselors is helping to sponsor this trip. So, if someone wants to give to the trip, I’m sure we can find a way to provide you a receipt for tax purposes :). Email me at pmonroe[at] biblical [dot]com and we’ll figure it out.

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April 7, 2009 · 5:50 am

Some more thoughts on the roots of evil


Continuing my reading about the tragedies in Rwanda, I’m now following the writer Jean Hatzfeld–thanks to my colleague Carol King. He has written a few books on the genocide in an attempt to give voice to both surviving victim and killer. “Machete Season: The Killers in Rwanda Speak” is a chilling mix of interview of 10 “killers” from the district south of the capital and background information

[FYI, for those following this blog for some time, my trip to Rwanda has been delayed until at least July. Pray that it happens then!].

For most of the world, Rwanda was a quiet, tiny country that exploded into Tutsi genocide in 1994 after their Hutu president was assassinated. One day it is calm, the next an entire population of Hutus begin systematically destroying their Tutsi neighbors. Even soccer teammates killed each other, with no remorse.  

But dig a little and you find out that this is not so. Despite living and working together, Hutus (the majority) felt the minority Tutsis (treated as the upperclass by Europeans in the formation of Rwanda) had too much power. Much radio and media did comic portrayals about the killing of cockroaches (the Tutsis). Apparently, they were so funny that even the Tutsis listened and laughed.

It looks like this is what happened:

1. Conflict between groups, fanned by leadership (read pp 52-58 for how it happened).
2. Use of both comic discussions of killings plus occasional actual killings going unpunished
3. Lots of free beer, food (many ate meat every day when normally they only ate it at weddings), and promises of rewards
4. Threats of violence to Hutus if they do not follow outsiders orders. These outsiders “apprenticed” farmers into killers.
5. A large group involved (100% involvement) with lots of camraderie so as to defuse guilty feelings.
6. A simple task ordered: kill.
7. The abandonment by the white individuals in the country and so gave the sense that the world didn’t care and wouldn’t hold them accountable.

This is quite a chilling book (because thus far there is no apology or blameshifting in the book by those being interviewed). Here’s one especially difficult passage:

For my part, I offer you an explanation: it is as if I had let another individual take on my own living appearance, and the habits of my heart, without a single pang in my soul. This killer was indeed me, as to the offense he committed and the blood he shed, but he is a stranger to me in his ferocity. I admit and recognize my obedience at that time, my victims, my fault, but I fail to recognize the wickedness of the one who raced through the marshes on my legs, carrying my machete. That wickedness seems to belong to another self with a heavy heart. The most serious changes in my body were my invisible parts, such as the soul or the feelings that go with it. Therefore I alone do not recognize mysefl in that man. (p. 48)

Tomorrow I will post one more on this topic: the pattern of running away from and then back to the Lord as seen in Judges. Or, how we stop seeing our sin and forget to cry out to God.

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October 15, 2008 · 9:36 am

Rwanda’s Gacaca (truth and justice) courts


Am reading Romeo Dallaire’s memoir, Shake Hands with the Devil, of his time as UN commander in Rwanda before and during the 1994 genocide. It is amazing that this man isn’t in a psychiatric ward given his position as “observer” of the genocide and no power to do much of anything, even protect his own troops.

But last night I watched the documentary, In the Tall Grass, the story of a woman seeking justice in the village court (aka gacaca courts). The village turns out to hear her complaint that her neighbor killed her husband and children for being Tutsis. The villagers are asked what they saw and only one or two admit to seeing anything though it is assumed most know. The accused man admits to being present and “participating” in the killings but denies he struck the fatal blows. (They remain neighbors). His story is inconsistent. She claims she will forgive him if he confesses fully. He sticks to his story as being a witness to the events. But one woman stands up and tells the crowd how the children were murdered and where they are buried (the mother did not know this). So, the village goes and digs many holes in the area in order to find the children’s bodies–now 10 years later. They find them and several undertake, on film, to wash the bones and prepare them for proper burial. The accused participates in the washing and this woman watches it all.

I cannot fathom the experiences of 1994, of living next door to those who murdered your family, nor that of watching someone tenderly wash your child’s skull, rib-bones, etc.

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