Project Independence

2006 Rwanda Study Tour
Cathy Standiford’s Journal

February 2, 2006: Rwanda--Here We Come!

You are invited to accompany me on my upcoming trip to Rwanda via this little online journal. I've decided NOT to take my laptop with me--but there is supposed to be internet access and a computer at the hotel where we'll be staying. My plan is to keep you updated on what we're doing by posting entries to this journal. I'm also taking notebooks and a good digital camera (thanks John)--so there may be photos to see shortly after I return.

As a reminder, the purpose of this trip is to visit women survivors of war being helped through Project Independence, a project funded by Soroptimist International in partnership with Women for Women International. I am REALLY excited about this opportunity, and I confess, a little apprehensive too. I looked at a globe the other day, and this journey will literally take me to the other side of the world. I will leave behind some of my comfort and security in exchange for a truly amazing adventure--and the opportunity to witness the impact that Soroptimists are having through their support of Project Independence. I see my role as being a recorder and observer, with the intent of putting a human face on the women in this program. I hope that the stories we come back from Rwanda with will continue to help inspire Soroptimists--and friends of our organization--to support not only Project Independence, but also other efforts to promote peace and human rights in our world.

Many of my friends have asked about the preparation for this journey. In addition to doing a bit of research on the genocide in Rwanda through books and movies, the staff at Women for Women International provided a lot of information about the lives of women in Rwanda today. I feel that the more I know about the history of the country and its impact on women, the more prepared I will be to actually meet them. For those of you who are courageous enough to want to know more about the Rwandan genocide, I would highly recommend We Wish to Inform You That We and Our Families Will Be Killed Tomorrow by Philip Gourevitch, who demystifies the Rwandan culture and politics both before and after the genocide, and gives a candid accounting of the challenges of finding peace and reconciliation in the aftermath. Ghosts of Rwanda, a documentary produced by PBS as part of the "Frontline" series is another excellent resource, and is available through Netflix and some video stores. Both of these resources provide insights about the response of America and the rest of the international community in the face of genocide and other human rights tragedies--or in this case, the lack of a response in a timely manner.

Other preparations have included six or seven inoculations (all expensive and not covered by my medical insurance), a trip to the drugstore to purchase any and every over-the-counter medication we might possibly need on this trip, since such items will not be readily available, and several visits to my doctor to obtain copies of prescriptions, my medical history and candid advice on how to travel safely as possible to a third-world country. I've also registered my trip with the US State Department, and have given contact information to family and friends at work--just in case.

I think an important preparation also has been to open my heart and mind to the experience, and to consciously adopt an attitude of learning and respect for the people we will be meeting. As with other international travel opportunities, patience, flexibility and a positive attitude will be coming along with me--not to mention a fair amount of bug spray! I am grateful to be traveling to Rwanda with Project Independence Liaison Dawn Marie (long trips are ALWAYS better when accompanied by flexible friends), and to the staff at Women for Women International for making all of the arrangements in country for us. It's nice to know that we have resources and support that will be with us every step of the way.

Welcome Aboard to all of you!

February 6, 2006: Final Preparations....

The packing has officially begun! I was reading a travel article a few weeks ago that suggested packing 2-3 days in advance, and then the day before you go, removing half of what you packed! So, I did a "test run" this evening, and miraculously, everything fit--with even a little room to spare. I am in complete disbelief--and am now convinced that I'm probably forgetting something worthwhile and important! But I'm resisting the urge to pack more--because I want to leave room to carry souvenirs and items made by the women in the Project Independence program back home.

Thanks to my brilliant husband, who can find out just about anything over the internet, we've determined that Rwanda is 10 hours ahead of southern California time. That means that Dawn Marie and I will be traveling 33 hours--including an 8-hour layover in Amsterdam--before finally arriving in Kigali. This explains why we leave on the afternoon of the 8th, but don't arrive until the morning of the 10th, and why we are not likely to be nearly as perky upon arrival as we will be upon departure! As for Amsterdam, we've discovered that there's a hotel attached where you can get a hot shower 24/7, without ever leaving the secured area of the airport. And they even have a printable map to help us find it. Now that's service!

As the time draws nearer, I find myself reflecting more and more about the genocide and its aftermath. I go from being excited to being somber--and even a little ashamed at my own country's lack of response to this horrible series of events almost 12 years ago. Most Americans seem to be oblivious to our nation's foreign policies and their impact on people in other parts of the world. And many are fairly ignorant about what happened in Rwanda in the spring and summer of 1994. When most Americans think of the Rwandan genocide, they envision rural, uncivilized "tribes" behaving in uncivilized ways. The facts about the Hutus and the Tutsis may change your paradigm a little bit.

The Hutus and Tutsis had coexisted peacefully for centuries, sharing the same culture and language. It was the Belgians who began to classify people during their colonization of the country--not the Rwandans themselves. In classifying Rwandans into the Hutus and Tutsis (and to a lesser extent the Twas), the Belgians relied upon physical appearance, based upon an old myth about the origins of the people--which turned out to have little basis in fact. The myth was that Hutus tended to be shorter and squatter; Tutsis were taller and leaner. Because of centuries of intermarriage, however, it would be difficult to genetically distinguish one group from the other.
Prior to 1959, there was no history of any violence between the two groups.
They practiced the same religion (primarily Catholicism and Protestantism) and worshiped together
Their children went to the same schools together, learned together, played together

It is useful to understand the history and the socio-economic and power struggles that may have contributed to the genocide, along with increased population density and the resultant competition for scarce resources. But as Philip Gourevitch writes, "No doubt, the promise of material gain and living space did move some killers. But why hasn't Bangledesh, or any other terribly poor and terrible crowded place of the many one might name, had genocide? Overpopulation doesn't explain why hundreds of thousands of people agreed to murder nearly a million of their neighbors in the course of a few weeks. Nothing really explains that." There were likely many contributing factors--intolerance, hate radio, abject poverty, numerous incidents of inequality and political totalitarianism. It is impossible to point to one factor and say with confidence, "THAT was the reason for the genocide." And yet, it happened--while the rest of the world watched, embroiled in a political debate over whether what was going in on

Rwanda between April and July 1994 was really genocide--because if it wasn't "genocide," countries would not be obligated to respond under the UN's Genocide Convention. (Notice how that same debate is repeating itself in the Sudan today?)

The genocide was devastating to Rwanda's already weak economy, and made poorer an already impoverished people. According to 'Women for Women International, today nearly 90 percent of the population works in the agricultural economy, earning enough for basic subsistence, but not much else. And, "women are paying a particularly high price since many of their male relatives were killed in the genocide, leaving the women to care for their families alone. In fact, widows head approximately 80 percent of female-headed households."

It's been said that history should be used as a place of reference, not a place of residence. As we embark upon this journey I am actually more interested in learning how the remaining Rwandans, particularly the women, have survived this horrible history. What has kept them going in the aftermath of murder, rape and torture? What is it about them, their spirit, and their faith, that has made it possible for them to try to improve their lives and the economic condition of their families? How have they been able to adapt to once again living next door to the very neighbors who did the murdering and raping? And how is the support and training provided by Women for Women and Soroptimist International through Project Independence helping these women and girls transform their lives for the better?

When I think about the journey these women have been on for the last 12 years, it makes our upcoming 33-hour journey seem pretty easy by comparison. And I expect to be inspired and humbled over and over again during the next two weeks.

Caio!

February 11, 2006: Kigali Adventures Begin

I'm pleased to report that Dawn and I arrived safe and sound--albeit quite fatigued--and so did all of our bags! If you're reading Dawn's journal, she shared with you the beauty of the land as we flew from Nairobi to Kigali in the morning. That particular flight was about the same distance as from LA to Phoenix, and took only 1.5 hours. One of the amazing sights we passed over was Lake Victoria, which is actually bigger in size than the entire country of Rwanda. At some points it was impossible to see the shoreline, giving the impression that you're flying over an ocean, instead of a lake.

We were met at the airport by Erica and Patty (both employed by Women for Women International--or WWI, as it will henceforth be referred to), and Seth, an employee from the Rwanda WWI office who is taking on the role of chief driver for our trip. Seth commented that he is one of the few men who work in the office, but he speaks three languages fluently (English, French, and Kinyrwanda) and is an incredible source of information about the country and its people. Kigali is home to 8 million people, in a relatively small area (16 sq kilometers--you can do the conversion yourselves.....) When he heard that I was the City Manager for a "city" of only 16,000 people and 2 square miles, he found it quite humorous.

The Intercontinental Hotel is lovely, clean and safe--with excellent service and very friendly staff. After going out and about in the community, it is a nice place to come "home" too. The room is a nice size (almost half of which is the bathroom--with an amazing shower, of course, any shower would feel amazing after almost 40 hours of travel on limited sleep.....)

Our first dinner in Rwanda was at the Chinese Restaurant--it actually has an Asian sounding name, but Berra, the WWI Country Leader for Rwanda who took us there, said that the name is too hard to pronounce, so everyone just calls it "the Chinese Restaurant." Apparently there aren't that many of them in the City.... After a long wait, partially in darkness because the power was out, our food arrived. Of course, we had neglected the basic rule of eating in a Chinese Restaurant (each person orders one dish, plus one for the group--and then you share everything). So, we ended up with three eggplant dishes (for Erica, Dawn and Patty), two pork dishes (for me and Berra--because they were out of chicken), some fried rice, and a sauteed mushroom dish--all for 5 people! The waiter and cook must have found that really strange..... It was an interesting experience, made more so by the fact that I was practically sleeping sitting up in my chair. I'm grateful that everyone was so nice about my "quietness" during dinner..... I was never so glad to get home and into bed as I was last night!

This afternoon we visited the Kigali Memorial Centre, in advance of the rest of our group, which will be here tomorrow. I know I'll be writing some more about this in future postings, but here are some preliminary things that I came away with. The Centre was established on the 10th Anniversary of the Genocide, and it is one of the memorial sites where mass graves of people are located. The grounds and gardens are beautiful, and surround a series of large concrete slabs. Henriette, a graduate of the WWI program here in Kigali, was our guide, explaining that there are 256,000 Kigalians buried on site, with more being added as new remains are found. Imagine that--12 years after the genocide they are still finding remains in and around Kigali and bringing them to the Centre for burial. One slab was open--it was evident that new remains had been added earlier that day, because the white, cloth-covered coffins were still visible, as were memorial wreaths. There's a wall with about 250 names listed, which is only a fraction of the number buried--because many of the remains could not be identified.

The Centre's museum has a variety of different displays, starting with what normal life was like in Rwanda prior to colonization and the subsequent historical events. As I've mentioned in an earlier posting, the ethnic classification of the people occurred in 1932 when Belgium took control of the country. In addition to the Hamidic myth, another means of classification was by economic status. The Belgians decided that people with 10 or more cows must be Tutsi (who were perceived to be of a higher class, even though there were fewer of them in the country), and people with fewer than 10 cows were (obviously) Hutu. There were interviews of survivors, some pretty graphic photo displays, but for me the most moving parts were two rooms. One was a room full of bones and skulls, many of which showed the signs of trauma and abuse. After all of the information--it was a true reality check. The other room had alcove after alcove of photographs of victims that had been donated by their families. The display reminded me of the displays of photographs of victims near the site of the World Trade Tower following 9-11, except that these photos were of people of all ages, including very young children.

It will take me awhile to absorb the magnitude of this, and the stories of people that I have already heard. Bella, for example, was born and raised in Uganda, where her parents fled during the 1959 Hutu "revolution"--the first recorded incidence of violence between the Rwandan people. Berra moved back to Rwanda with her parents decades later, in November of 1994, shortly after the genocide. Her parents--after almost 35 years of exile--finally felt it was safe to "return home"--but discovered a completely different Rwanda than the one they had left. The genocide changed everything.

My internet time is about up--so more later......
Love, Cathy