2012 applications are now ready for distribution. Please follow this link to download an application form: Reflections On Rwanda Application_2012. If you have any questions,  please feel free to send us an e-mail: reflectionsonrwanda@gmail.com

In light of the movements that are taking place in many countries across Northern Africa, there is a lot of information to take in. While the situation in Libya and the threat of civil war is quite different from the situation in Rwanda in 1994, it has still mounted many comparisons between the two. Obviously, the international interest and ties to Libya are vastly different from Rwanda in 1994, but this discussion has brought some attention to key documents and initiatives that have been developed since (and in light of) the Rwandan genocide. While the 1994 genocide in Rwanda demonstrated clearly the lack of will to intervene from the international community, the fact that these initiatives are now recognized and discussed among politicians and in the media demonstrates (hopefully) a change and a step in the right direction. The “Responsibility to Protect”, released by the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty in 2001, and more recently the “Will to Intervene” project, initiated jointly by Lt. Gen. Roméo Dallaire and Frank Chalk of the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies are two such examples. It will be interesting to see how useful these reports and documents are in this discussion, and what the next steps are to follow through on these initiatives.
www.responsibilitytoprotect.org/
migs.concordia.ca/W2I/W2I_Project.html

“The more we can get together and talk about various perspectives, feelings, beliefs, the better.”
There are many valuable publications available that offer insight into the Rwandan genocide, offering a wide range of analysis and perspectives. Some are tedious to get through, but packed with detailed information. Some are devastating and difficult to read before bed. Most are thoughtful and will offer new outlooks, and lead you to ask more questions. Today, my recommendations are a couple books that are not specifically centred on the analysis of the Rwandan genocide. Having worked at a book store for 10 months recently, I had the chance to uncover a few interesting books that are geared less toward someone interested in the study of genocide, and more toward a general audience. I found these books offered great new perspectives to explore. They also offered the opportunity to reach out to a few friends and family in a way that some other books on the topic could not. I found it difficult to offer recommendations for further reading and information because the books that I found fascinating were filled with highly detailed political, economic, and military analysis of Rwanda, and similar case studies. A couple of these books then, have offered that bridge, that link to the subject where before there was a wall. This excites me to no end, because what is a good book if you can’t share it? While these books are no literary works of genius, it is the perspective they offer, and the questions and dialogue they inspire that make them well worth the read.

Baking Cakes in Kigali by Gaile Parkin
This novel is set in an international apartment complex six years after the Rwandan genocide. It follows the life and interactions of a Tanzanian woman and her family living in Kigali. The protagonist has her own business of baking cakes, and this allows the story to reveal her interactions with her many different customers, from many different backgrounds in Kigali. The novel offers some insight into how the genocide affected, and continues to affect, this diverse set of people living in Kigali. While the tone of the novel is a bit off-putting at times, the flow of characters in and out of the plot, and the questions that are raised about unity and reconciliation within Rwanda offers a fascinating and approachable perspective into post-genocide Rwandan society.

The Bone Woman by Clea Koff
This book follows the young forensic anthropologist as she is sent to Rwanda by the UN International Criminal Tribunal two years after the genocide with the task of unearthing physical evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Once again, this book does not delve deeply into the factors and details leading up to the genocide, but it offers an astounding perspective into the tasks and means required by the forensic team to provide conclusive evidence for the genocide. Koff manages to find a precarious balance by providing the technical details of participating in a UN forensics initiative all the while offering her personal perspective and struggles in dealing with the gruesome details of the genocide that are literally at her fingertips. After two missions in Kigali, the book also details her experiences in a similar role in missions undertook to Bosnia, Croatia, and Kosovo on behalf of the UN. Again, while the book is (in my opinion) not a work of astounding literary accomplishment, it definitely offers one more link and interesting perspective to the history of the genocide.

To be committed to change we must make ourselves aware of what is going on in the world.  Though some conflicts are not commonly referred to in media, Darfur is one conflict that has received international attention – a conflict where the Rwandan government in fact has committed to having a positive impact despite political complexities.  Let each of us not waiver in our commitment to combat genocidal ideology.

Memories of our trip are not hard to come by; they put me in a trance from time to time though being more than half a year removed from the experience – happy memories, sad memories, frustrating memories, etc., etc., memories truly of countless emotions.  One of the memories I like to draw upon the most is the feeling of hope, one that I should add was expressed subtly but with strength by Rwandans, in the face and aftermath of the most inhumane acts.  One of these memories is based on a piece of paper that rested appropriately in a room dedicated to children at Murambi’s memorial site.  The following was on the paper:

Sleep My Child by Paul Benjamin

These April showers bring memories we cannot sing

Hiding among the dead, in this sacred place

And here upon this soil, hate took my song

Peace faded, trust betrayed – leaving me alone

Sleep my child and dream of days to come when

Pain is concurred in love’s sweet embrace

Why do these lands cry out, stained with out blood and tears

All of the hopeful years blossom into grief

Hurt more than words can say, dignity stripped away

Take my everything, leaving me to mourn

Sleep my child and dream of days to come when

Pain is concurred in love’s sweet embrace

Someday I’ll wake to see, change drifting over me

When truth has told her tale, and her voice is heard

These rains crash over me, soars though they still may be

Forgiveness takes a step leaving me with hope