Six Weeks in Rwanda

Some British explorers are trying to find the source of the Nile, and they are looking in Rwanda right now. This is an interesting article because it shows how countries take so much pride in developing notoriety and getting media exposure.

This is the official Rwanda tourism website. It has exquisite pictures of the national parks and other sights to see. I'll have to check this site out more carefully and see what I really want to do during my free time while I'm there.

President Kagame on the new film Shooting Dogs:
"'These films, much as they illustrate what took place here in 1994, should be able to depict this country's current trend of events regarding unity, reconciliation and the systematic development path being trodden,' Kagame told the press."

Kagame disagreed with the critics of the film, saying, "It is like criticizing the commemoration of the genocide. It will of course have some traumatic scenes but that is the way. It is not the film that traumatizes, but what happened."

Since I've been studying Rwanda, I've been able to find mountains of resources related to the genocide itself, but not much information on how the country has recovered since the atrocities ended. I agree with President Kagame when he says that we need to focus more on post-genocide Rwanda.

"Rwanda is for all Rwandans, and coexistence is the only viable and lasting solution. Trauma treatment or none, reconciliation and unity need to be given the front seat -- with utmost urgency."

Rwanda is due to receive $1 million (US) to provide its people with Fuoxetine, a depression treatment drug. This editorial provides the unique view of a Rwandan editorialist on the issue of rehabilitation and recovery after the genocide.

Here's what the LMI team has been doing over the past week:

On Friday I participated in a Skype conference call with Jutta, Colleen, Brian King, and Sabou de Almeida. Brian is from USAid and is the coordinator for the Leland Initiative in Africa, the brains and bucks behind our project. Sabdou is the LMI coordinator in Guinnea-Bissau. Ashley couldn't make the call because she didn't have Skype installed yet. Sabou tried to join us, but he was having problems with his internet connection. This online meeting of sorts was quite helpful to me because it presented the big picture of USAid's activities in Africa. Brian talked us through a slideshow, but I had to leave half way through it to get to class.

Ashley, Jutta, and I had lunch on Sunday so Jutta could fill us in on what we missed. We ate at Sella's and had a good time.

We met again on Tuesday with Colleen and Candace Chenowith at the Study Abroad Office in Bryan Hall. We talked a lot about the travel aspects of the trip - what to bring, how to prepare, how to change money, etc. It was a lot take in, and I realized that I'm going to need that whole month from May to June just to pack and get prepared. We handed in our forms, talked about Rwandan culture, and even got a list of Rwanda books to read.

That's it in a nutshell (I'm leaving out a whole bunch of details, though). I think we're going to plan on a Sunday lunch again, so I should have more to write after that.

"Telecentrers lead to job-creation, sustainable growth and investing in poor people to facilitate their participation in the development."

The Rwandan government obviously believes that ICT (information and communication technology) is the key to getting their country on the fast track of development. One billion dollars is a significant amount of money, and it should help the country immensely.

An explanation of PEARL.

"ICT is no longer a reserve for urban communities. It has permeated to the villages and been embraced by all. Computer knowledge is no longer a luxury. It is a necessity. Even deep in the villages people are yearning for computer knowledge which can be used in almost any type of development activity."

Last night we had our first meeting as a group. I met Jutta by the Coug and she gave me a ride to the new Thai place in town. There we met Ashley, Virgil, Colleen, and Frank. It was great fun to talk to everyone we will be traveling with. They're all very nice people who seem quite dedicated. I really got the sense that the CBDD does important work that truly makes a difference in the world, and I'm glad to have the chance to contribute. I'm even more excited to go after meeting everyone. Oh yeah, the food was pretty good, too.

The Rwandan national anthem. You can read the words and hear an .mp3 version.

The official website of the Rwandan government.

"We made the film in Rwanda because the Rwandans wanted us to. They were appalled that Hotel Rwanda was filmed in South Africa, with South African actors." - David Belton, writer/producer of Shooting Dogs

There has been some controversy over this new BBC film. Shooting Dogs portrays the Rwandan genocide, and was shot in Rwanda. It "is facing criticism for exacerbating the trauma experienced by genocide survivors."

"...the BBC has spent money on a fictional account of genocide, a film that takes our knowledge of this terrible crime no further forward at all."

This editorial criticizes the new BBC film, Shooting Dogs, for inaccurately portraying the Rwandan genocide.

"The Rwandan Ministry of Health intends to increase the use of mosquito nets from 29.7% to at least 50% by the end of the year."

"About 60 percent of annual deaths in Rwanda are due to malaria..."

"Most Rwandans suffer approximately two to three episodes per year... A person suffering from malaria will miss, on average, eight days of work or school to recover."

"Rwanda's Leading Newspaper."

The Limits of Humanitarian Intervention: Genocide in Rwanda
by Alan J. Kuperman

Hardback: 162 pages
Publisher: Brookings Institute Press, 2001
ISBN: 0-8157-0086-5

This was in interesting book because it defends the US government's actions during the genocide in 1994. The author argues that the Clinton administration was not aware of the atrocities being committed until three-fourths of the victims had already been killed. In the best case, he claims, with the United States acting promptly and throwing all of their resources at stopping the killing, we could have save a maximum of 125,000 out of the estimated 800,000 victims. This is quite different from the conventional wisdom, which says we could have easily stopped the genocide if we had wanted to.

This book provides an interesting perspective on humanitarian intervention, and it presents a number of lessons we can from the Rwanda situation. The author writes as if he is preparing a report for a government agency, so some readers might find his style a little dry. He utilizes facts and statistics well, though, making his counterfactuals realistic and believable.

Here is a good starting point to find information on Rwanda, especially in relation to USAid.

This article shows that the people of Rwanda still feel the effects of the genocide every day. It has permeated their culture, and their lives are lived differently as a result.

This sounds a lot like the program we'll be doing this summer: getting coffee growers connected to the world coffee market. This company is doing it through radio, we'll be doing it through the Internet.

On Tuesday I accepted an internship through the WSU Center to Bridge the Digital Divide. I'll be going to Rwanda for six weeks this summer, from June through the middle of July, to set up computers, networks, and Internet connections. I'll also be teaching Rwandans to use these computers, and the idea is that they will set up Internet cafes to pay for their web connection. I'm part of a team of three WSU students, and we'll be working with Colleen Taugher from the CBDD.

This week, then, I've been working on getting my passport, immunization shots, and paperwork completed. I've contacted the other two team members, Jutta Tobias and Ashley Giesa, through email, and we're meeting with Colleen for the first time next week.

I'm planning to use this blog to record my Rwanda experience. You can check here every few days for links to Rwanda articles, reviews of Rwanda books I've read, and to see where I'm at and what I'm doing. Hopefully, since the whole project is based around Internet connectivity, I'll be able to make regular posts. I also plan to post a few pictures here, with complete albums at my website, Dupyshon.com.