Most of week 2

Tuesday the security officer for the US Embassy came to talk to us and give us a briefing on the safety issues in Rwanda and how we can make sure we stay safe. He said Rwanda is like a good house in a bad neighborhood and is the safest African country. But the coolest part is that he is being filmed for a documentary on RSOs (regional safety officers) for the history channel so a film crew from the discovery channel was here and we got to be a part of it! I cant remember at the moment what it is going to be called, but it wont be on for a year or so, so you’re gonna have to remember and record it for me! We had a genocide survivor come and talk to us Wednesday to give us background into what happened, what is currently happening and the feelings surrounding all the different aspects and also a little on how we should act and what we can expect living in communities here. The justice system in Rwanda is amazing and it is part of the reason that it is so safe to be here. People are held accountable for their actions, so there is a lot less crime. Because so many people participated in the genocide, the jails cannot hold them all and they are tried in community courts called gachacha. Community members are the “judges” and bring in neighbors or friends to confess their crimes. Those who confess have a lesser punishment than those who deny. We passed by a jail on the way to Butare from Kigali and saw men in pink and men in orange. Those who wear pink did not confess and those in orange confessed and are serving their jail time. When the orange get out they wear dark blue and do community work like farming for another few years. Their sentence depends on the crime and how involved they were in the killings. Those who gave away hiding places or wrote a list of neighbors to be killed have a lesser punishment than those who actually killed. The man who came was very open and honest with us and allowed us to ask questions that are inappropriate to ask at other times. We have already visited a memorial site with mass graves in Kigali and a national museum in Butare. This Saturday we are going to another mass grave memorial site close to Butare. It’s strange to think about these things while here because while I know its real and it happened, everyone seems so nice and happy. It was only 15 years ago and most survivors and witnesses and perpetrators are still alive and having to live next to each other and go on with life. Many people live next door to someone who killed their family and they have to go on with life. So many were killed by their friends, by their neighbors, by their police and political authorities, but there is nothing to do now but face them and get on with daily activities. The ethnic grouping words are now illegal to say in Rwanda and there are many bumper stickers that I have seen on almost every car saying “Proudly Rwandan” and “Rwanda is Me and You”. It’s amazing to me that people here are going on with life and making Rwanda a wonderful country. It has been praised for its health program, the cleanliness, the government is not corrupt and the justice system is working the way it should. I am so proud to be serving in this country and am so proud of how they have been able to bounce back from such a tragedy.