Hard healing work in Rwanda, a promising country with deep enduring scars

As a Rwandan proverb laments, ‘Help from abroad always comes when the rain has stopped’

by the Rev. Dr. Hans Hallundbaek | Special to Presbyterian News Service

On April 7, Rwandan President Paul Kagame lit  the Eternal Flame Monument now installed at the Kigali Genocide Memorial as a 30-year remembrance of the genocide initiated that day in 1994. (Contributed photo)

The Republic of Rwanda, a small country in central Africa the size of Maryland and with about double its population, is commemorating the 30^th year since the Rwandan genocide tore its country apart. In a 100-day period between April 7 and July 19, 1994, up to 800,000 members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group were slaughtered by armed militias of the majority ethnic tribe, the Hutus, and an estimated  500,000 Tutsi women were raped.

The Rwandan massacre cemented the term genocide into the global consciousness. The phase was coined in 1944 by Raphael Lemkin, a Polish-Jewish lawyer, who combined the Greek word “genos” (meaning race or tribe) with the Latin word “cide” (killing) to describe the systematic and deliberate extermination of a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group, such as he observed during the Holocaust perpetrated by the Nazi Germany regime during the second World War. The term became a crucial part of the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

The Rwandan genocide of 1994 was not immediately recognized by the international community, with many governments and organizations initially downplaying the scale of the violence. By the time the genocide was widely acknowledged, much of the killing had already occurred. In hindsight, negligence in the international community to preventing or stop the genocide is seen as a major moral and political failure. In Rwanda, healing the scars of the catastrophic event has been a long and painful process which has tested the social structure of that country.

From a 30-year perspective, the country has under President Kagami done surprisingly well. After an initial decade dedicated to recovery and rebuilding Rwanda, in the early part of the new millennium, the country entered a phase of high economic growth. For an extended period, it became one of the fastest-growing economies in Africa, while reducing poverty and fertility rates. Today Rwanda is an inspiration for other poor and struggling countries and a modern-day example of the biblical truth that adversity and trials will develop perseverance, which leads to new constructive solutions.

However, the racial divide which initially led to the conflict has been a lingering background concern, and consequently much effort has been extended on healing, forgiveness and integration issues throughout the community and in the prison system to which the main perpetrators were incarcerated.

After the genocide, Rwanda faced an overwhelming challenge of how to deliver justice for the vast number of people involved in the genocide. The conventional justice system was crippled, with courts destroyed, and many judges, lawyers, and other judicial personnel either killed or implicated in the genocide.

Rwandan prisoners are shown attending a lecture on restorative justice principles. (Contributed photo)

A fascinating part of the solution was the reintroduction of the Gacaca courts, which were the ruling community-based justice system in Rwanda before colonial powers took over the country. This traditional court system was revived and adapted in the aftermath of the 1994 genocide. The term “Gacaca” (pronounced ga-cha-cha) comes from the Rwandan word for “grass,” referring to the informal gatherings where community elders would traditionally resolve disputes while sitting on the grass.

The Gacaca courts tried over 1.2 million cases between 2001 and their official closure in 2012 and played a crucial role in dealing with the massive backlog of genocide-related cases the conventional justice system could not handle. However, the Gacaca courts were not without controversy. Critics pointed to several issues, including lack of legal expertise, intimidation, false testimony, and inadequate appeal process.

Despite these criticisms, many Rwandan and international observers view the Gacaca courts as a significant mechanism for achieving justice and promoting reconciliation in the aftermath of the genocide.

Today the 13 prisons now in operation in Rwanda hold more than 80,000 male and 5,000 female prisoners, many of whom are serving long sentences for their part in the systematic killings.

Rwandan resident and prison minister Pius Nyakayiro has for many years been engaged in prison ministry in his country and has been active in the global prison reform movement. He is director of the Good News Rwanda NGO in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, with a staff of three fulltime prison chaplains and four volunteers.

The challenge ahead for him and his staff and the country is that between 2024 and 2027 about 7,500 remaining genocide perpetrators will have served their sentences and are scheduled to be released back to their respective communities. What is concerning about this situation, says Nyakayiro, “is that most of the individuals in this group have refused to acknowledge their role in the genocide claiming they were following orders by the Hutu regime of the time. Now that they are being released to reintegrate into the community, we can only guess what may happen when victims see them around the neighborhood. Stress, trauma, retaliation, recidivism, etc. could increase which may threaten the progress Rwanda has achieved in terms of national unity, reconciliation, and cohesion. Therefore, there is a great need to further prepare the inmates while still incarcerated and ready their home communities for peaceful reintegration and social cohesion.”

Pius Nyakayiro, director of the Good News Rwanda organization, speaks to the female population of the Nyamagabe women’s prison. (Contributed photo)

Over the years, the Rwandan government has shown serious concern for these issues and has improved prison facilities and made law revisions regarding prison overcrowding. Soon a halfway house will be operational so released prisoners gradually can prepare for home return and, in the meantime, can communicate with family members through phone conversations.

Nyakayiro and his staff at Good News Rwanda are hopeful that with all these efforts for the safe reintegration the prisoners will eventually be accomplished. However, he fervently appeals to the international prison outreach community and faith organizations for assistance. “We would like to introduce professional Restorative Justice concepts and proven programs like Adopt-A-Prison, Rehabilitation through the Arts, Unlocking Harmony, and others to help our imprisoned brothers and sister return home with peace,” Nyakayiro said.

May the world not be silent to the Rwanda call again.

The Rev. Dr. Hans Hallundbaek, a minister in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), is a co-founder of both Rehabilitation through the Arts and the Interfaith Prison Partnership, an outreach of Hudson River Presbytery. He is an adjunct instructor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and Marist College. He lives in Katonah, New York.