RWANDAN AUTHOR SPEAKS ABOUT GENOCIDE’S LEGACY
University of Nebraska- Lincoln professor Chantal Kalisa sees progress, Caleb Ross writes.
Q What is your connection to Rwanda?
A I am a Rwandan who has lived in North America since 1990. I was born and raised in Burundi. My parents were exiled from Rwanda to Burundi and I finished my bachelor degree there, came here to study and stayed. So, the topic of Rwanda is both personal and professional. I would say that it is my responsibility, as an educated person, to pursue this line of study to produce knowledge about it and to really take ownership of it.
Q What will you speak about in Calgary?
A For the commemoration, I’ll be focusing on gender and post- conflict Rwanda, as well as the topic of denialism, which is the denial of the genocide ever happening. I’ll be incorporating some of that issue into the end of my speech.
Q Why is this an important conversation to be had?
A The first thing is that it’s very important to talk about gender as Rwanda has emerged as a particularly successful model of integrating women and gender issues into rebuilding the country. Women make a significant point in addressing this. I think it’s the No. 1 country in the world with the percentage of representation in parliament. I go beyond the numbers, you can appoint people, and what is it that they do in the parliament? Do they sit there like flowers, pretend they’re representing? What is the impact of having women in the parliament? Denialism is always, unfortunately, part of the discourse of genocide. When genocide happens, that’s when people start saying it didn’t happen. They will deny that a million people were killed. The BBC recently ran a documentary that questions whether the genocide in 1994 ever happened. As you know BBC is very influential and very powerful. To run a documentary like that means people need to stand up and say, “Wait a minute. What are you saying here?”
Q With respect to the role that women have played in the country in the last two decades, would you say that because they are at the negotiating table, it’s the biggest thing that has helped push Rwanda forward?
A It’s one of the biggest things. When we talk about women being there, it’s not just about being women — it’s about how women are qualified. Women who are talented, who have skill, specifically leadership skill( s), who can decide, who have been infusing new ideas — because Rwanda desperately needed those. ( Laughs.) Because of that inclusion and potential for women to play a bigger role, women are receiving education from the bottom up. Now they are continuing their education. So understanding the value of education and opportunities is creating a generation of educated girls — and boys — that is going to strengthen society.
Q What impact has genocide had on Rwanda?
A In the beginning of my speech, I’m going to be addressing the genocide. You can’t talk about the aftermath without talking about the event itself. The impact of genocide in a sound bite would be the obliteration of institutions that requires you to rebuild or disintegrate completely. The political system dies. The justice system can no longer function to address what happened there. So many people were killed. Something that could be used to solve problems before the genocide will not be able to address that. But they had to institute and find new solutions, as the old institutions just couldn’t work anymore.
Q What is life in Rwanda like today?
A Rwanda today is a country full of optimism because of what it has accomplished in the last 21 years. Basically Rwanda is just like any other country in Africa. The difference is how the capital of Rwanda, for instance, used to be a really tiny village and is now just a modern city. If you go there every year, you’d be amazed how much construction has happened. They have all kinds of business networking. Some people have dubbed Rwanda as being the Singapore of Africa. Students now go to school for free, so everybody wants an education.
People eat and it is an extremely clean country. You have neighbourhoods that compete for awards for the cleanest neighbourhood. It’s not an easy life. It’s not a cheap country. They really have different priorities, so people are always amazed. If you go there, you’ll see a lot of Canadians and a lot of American citizens there. People are trying to be a little more self- determined rather than relying on the outside or the local government to help them out. They’re trying to be more entrepreneurial.