I’ve finally landed back in Kigali, where I’ll be for the foreseeable future. That silence? That was me packing up my life…
Shortly, Rwanda will be consumed by remembering the 1994 genocide. The stories and photographs are already starting to appear. Today, the NYT Lens Blog has some portraits of survivors, some of the rather graphic. Each gets a one-sentence caption, in their own words, to tell their story. The photographer gets the better part of the lengthy blog post. I was especially moved by Theoneste Muvunyambo, one of the few people to appear without injury in the photographs, who says, “I have nothing to say. I have too much pain, and there would be too much to say anyway.”
They’re good portraits, and there’s a place in all this commemoration for them, of course. It’s also important to remember that there are still physical consequences of the genocide, especially as Rwanda-the-nation reforms its international image.
But I have the feeling I see this kind of thing every April. I also produced this kind of thing last year. I did some unimaginative, relatively predictable work for Global Post. I also did a very intensive project that, for a series of reasons unimportant here, I’m very proud of, for The Walrus. But I went home in February…
Now, April looms, and I’m here, and I’m a journalist. What do I do? How should I report on the anniversary of the genocide? It’s difficult to convey what happens at the commemorations, which are overwhelming (I attended three in 2008). But I’m increasingly unconvinced that asking survivors to recount their stories, for the sixteenth year in a row, is not necessarily the best idea. On the other hand, it’s the one time of year people can really let that moment in their lives take center stage, talk about it, remember. And on the other other hand…maybe people don’t want to any more.
So I’m soliciting ideas. What would you want to know about what happens in Rwanda in April? How should foreign journalists be covering this? Should they?
Jina-
I was there just after the 15th anniversary celebration last year, when all the decorations put up had begun to fade and wither and look worn. There seemed to be some fatigue, in general, in the people I talked with, perhaps because the remembrances were so fresh.
But, I wonder what it would look like to do a sort of meta-observation, about the tension between “remembering” and “moving on.” It seems that both themes are present in the society, and in some of my consulting work (in my day job) stresses that the best way to manage polarities like this is to strengthen both poles, not merely collapse to one or the other. I know that I, as a clumsy and not particularly nuanced writer, would fill a 12″ story with 6 inches on one approach, and 6 inches on the other, file it, and collect my $50. You, on the other hand, I suspect, could really draw this story out, and show how the two threads are woven together in the daily life of Rwanda, and especially during April.
Just a thought, from someone much more comfortable with a camera than a keyboard!
@GKB and @Texas in Africa — Sorry to you both, your comments got trapped on the next page and I somehow missed them when i was going through and approving and replying… Apologies, friends!
How about something on the teenagers? Not the children of rape (another trope that pops up this time of year), but the kids who were either not born or too young to know what was going on. The babies born in the camps in Zaire are now 14-16 years old. What have their lives been like? Do they buy into the ” We’re all Rwandan” identity they’ve been taught in school, or is their identity primarily ethnic? What do they think of gacaca, the DRC war, the coffee shop at the mall? What do they think about marking the day it began every April? Might be a different angle.
I’ve been in Rwanda for a year now and I agree it’s time to stop asking survivors to tell their genocide horror stories. I was here last genocide commemoration and attended many events, but I found I couldn’t say anything that hadn’t been said before. You could fill libraries with all the horrific accounts that have been published about Rwanda. Anyone who wants to learn more can easily get their fill from what’s already out there. And the process of retelling genocide experiences is so difficult for survivors. At this point, with no real reason to publish more bloody stories, I think pushing people to tell their experiences again is a bit sadistic.
What I think the world needs to know about now are the success stories of forgiveness and stories about all the positive ways that Rwanda has moved forward. I met a survivor who works side-by-side with a man who’d been in prison for 10 years for genocide, and they’re friends. I know a former killer who’s now a devoted sports coach for kids, including children of survivors. I’ve met many young genocide survivors who lost their parents but are now successful adults with good jobs and their own children. I know positive stories don’t captivate audiences like train wrecks, but I think the media owes Rwanda an opportunity to show its humanity.
It would be very difficult to report, and I doubt you’d find many willing sources, but it would be very interesting to write an article about the current feelings in the country in regards to ethnicity. Ethnic labels have been done away with, but everyone knows their own ethnicity and their neighbors’ ethnicity and some members of different groups still retain feelings of hate, fear, and mistrust against members of other groups. It seems to be flaring up in the open more and more as the presidential election gets closer.
Another angle would be to look at the continuing fallout of the Rwanda genocide in DRC. The FLDR, CNDP, and other ethnic-based rebel groups ignited a level of racial hatred over there that didn’t
Absolutely journalists must be there to report, less the West forgets that the genocide happened. It’s for the same reason that the Holocaust is commemorated. There are many, many issues around the genocide that can be covered; I’m sure you’ll find ways to tell the stories differently 😉
I think it’s most important to ask Rwandans how they want this covered. I hope some are out there reading this too. I think a message needs to be heard every April from this amazing and strong country, but how that message evolves over time should be decided by there. I think hope was the message last year; the commemmoration was difficult and sad but also hopeful. Maybe the message this year is about remaining strong both in remembering and making change.
If people don’t want to remember, or to recount their stories, then tell THAT story. Let the story tell you what it has to say, because it’s there whether we look or turn our backs. I say yes, you should absolutely be covering this story. The world, especially Stateside, is quick to forget. And you are eyes and ears there, making sure that doesn’t happen. Thank you for your work.
@mevf I think the world is getting that story, of a strong country moving forward, don’t you? In the last 18 months especially, at least in the U.S.
@Phil I agree that commemoration is important, but this is different than a Holocaust commemoration, at least the ones that I know. Those were held in America and gathered a community of survivors; this commemoration is held in the place where it happened, and not everyone in that place is a survivor. It’s a different kind of thing — which I didn’t expect the first time I went to a memorial in April, but which I certainly learned pretty fast.
@Wendy That’s a great question, of course. Though “Rwandans” is a broad category, so that question could have multiple (competing?) answers. Which would be interesting, too.
@claratown girl Thanks for your thanks, and that’s a great point. Sometimes the story not being what you assume it is IS the story, eh? But just like I think Rwandans would have different answer to how we should cover it, I also think some people do want to talk. And they’ll talk with ease. But there’s no reason a story can’t have space for both — people who want to talk and people who don’t, Rwandans who feel one way and Rwandans who feel another about how to commemorate.
I wonder if you could maybe get the story from the perspective of those who weren’t being hunted down and killed. it may be a little difficult since it is still a taboo subject to tackle. and I am in no way suggesting that the spotlight be taken away from the victims,… but it would be really interesting to find out what the other people who were not involved in the killing but also were not threatened, how they managed to go through those three months. I don’t think we have ever heard from them… l was in Kigali last year during the commemoration and i caught one testimonial from a fellow Rwandan recounting how he would go to church regularly passing dead bodies on his way and how he kept a relatively normal routine in the midst of the madness. and he was expressing the guilt he feels now, he feels he somehow contributed to the killing because he was so unaffected at the time,…I’d like to learn more about that.
Good luck with everything.
Nana.