April 23, 2008

One of the keys to social entrepreneurship is networking.

In our meetings throughout the week, the mission of our group circulated across many circles. Joy Rucyahana, Rwandan attorney and advocate and daughter of Bishop John, became familiar with who we are and what we were trying to do. Using her connections, she initiated contact with the Ministry of Education on my behalf and arranged meetings for me with Narcisse Musabeyezu, Inspector General of Education (pictured here) and the Minister of Education (who I will highlight in a subsequent post).

Narcisse's job is to ensure the quality of Rwanda's education at the primary and secondary levels. My briefing with him on Wednesday morning was to prepare me for the meeting later in the day with the Minister, and he was also information gathering to prepare the Minister for his meeting with me. While Narcisse's focus is on pre-collegiate education, he is also acutely aware of the profound mental health needs of the children in his country and how these affect their ability to benefit from the educational system.

I talked with Narcisse about The Chicago School and its commitment to expand the reach of our services and programs. I recounted my preparatory research, conversations and direct observations about the ongoing need for trauma counseling for Rwanda's youth.

He stated, "I thought that over time the trauma would lessen. In fact, it has become worse."

There are several reasons why this is likely the case, including hundreds of thousands of orphans now reaching late adolescence and early adulthood, the ripple effects of death following intentionally transmitted HIV/AIDS through genocidal rape tactics, and a political and religious environment in which outward expressions of anger, rage, and hostility has been purposefully suppressed in order to maintain social control.

Another source of ongoing trauma is the genocide trials.

When the dust of the genocide began to settle, there were at least 120,000 accused genocidaires awaiting trial. The UN established the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) to prosecute the high level persons who orchestrated the genocide. This initiative has largely failed - as of 2004, the ICTR had only held 15 trials.

A second source of retributive justice lies within Rwanda's own judicial system. However, this was devastated in the genocide in that nearly all judges and lawyers were either killed or fled the country. A decade after the genocide, only 5,500 people had been tried through the Rwandan courts.

At that pace, it would take 200 years for all Rwandan genocidaires to be tried for their crimes.

In June 2002, the Rwandan government sanctioned a third type of judicial process, the gacaca (Kinyarwanda for "justice on the grass"), in which the community tries and sentences those who choose to confess or have been fomally charged with genocidal killing.

The gacaca is not a new concept to Rwanda; it was actually a pre-colonial invention in which community leaders publicly resolved local disputes. If you are interested in reading a comprehensive review of the gacaca system of justice, and the potential ways in which it could actually exacerbate the ethnic divide in Rwanda, see Corey, A. & Joireman, S. F. (2004). Retributive justice: The gacaca courts in Rwanda. African Affairs, 103, (73-89).

Back to how this legal process relates to trauma. In the gacaca trials, those accused or who wish to come forward, dressed in light pink attire, stand before their community. Survivors who witnessed their acts testify. Security issues have emerged in which potential witnesses have been threatened and even killed, reducing general willingness to participate. Defendants speak on their own behalf, and local leaders with minimal legal training render verdicts.

The gacaca process, while expediting the incredible backlog of Rwandans awaiting trials in overcrowded prisons, opens decade-old but unhealed wounds, and community members who participate are being retraumatized.

At the conclusion of our meeting, both Narcisse and I clearly agreed on the need to increase the competency of counselors across numerous sectors. While the National University of Rwanda recently opened the country's first graduate program in psychology (a Masters in Clinical), they are only able to train about 16 students per year - clearly not enough to meet the staggering demand.

In addition to formal, degree-based education, teachers, community leaders, clergy, and NGO field staff (i.e., those already working in the field) need practical, applied training to increase their knowledge and skills. The lingering question, of course, is how to fund and deliver accessible, culturally and contextually appropriate training to those trying desperately to mend the countless lives affected by a trauma the likes of which the world has rarely seen....