The Rwanda Ministry of Justice (13 officials that included men and women) visited our office last week to learn about LHR’s operation as an NGO. We were all excited for their arrival. If our Rwandan clients knew of the Ministry’s visit however, there might have been protests—as had happened last year when the head of
UNHCR visited Durban to address the Rwandans about voluntary repatriation, which was met with widespread protest. It was particularly striking to see that most of the officials were fairly young, yet holding positions of power in their country. During lunch, one of the delegates, who is director of an organization that works with youth in his country, adamantly insisted that I come work in Rwanda, eager to establish a “partnership” between the U.S. and Rwanda. (He would cross his hands together to illustrate the bridge between the two countries.) It was interesting speaking with him, though it was difficult to comprehend everything he was saying. But the idea of working in Rwanda? Definitely something I would be interested in.
Rwanda has such a fascinating yet tragic history, cast in the shadow of the genocide that resulted in the brutal slaughtering of millions of Rwandans. Most vividly illustrated in the film,
Hotel Rwanda, and in the powerful book,
We Wish To Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families, the horrific stories came to life as I conducted an RSD interview for a Rwandan refugee whose application to remain a refugee indefinitely had been denied by the Department of Home Affairs. SB was my first client from Rwanda, and I was eager to hear his story. The interview took 2 hours — with details from the outbreak of the genocide in 1994 to the time of his arrival in South Africa in 1997 — but could easily have lasted another 5 hours. Terrible, horrible, scared, and killed were words often repeated throughout the interview. Although SB has lived in South Africa for the past 11 years, the DHA rejected his claim on the basis that the current Rwandan government has implemented lasting peace and reconciliation between the Tutsis and Hutus, and have abolished policies that had created and deepened ethnic divisions. Moreover, the Standing Committee could not find current evidence that our client would
face persecution or events seriously disturbing public order if he were to return his country of origin. My supervising attorney is working on a similar case with another Rwandan refugee; together, we will be working to draft a heads of argument that will be presented before the Standing Committee to appeal their decision.
The Rwanda Ministry of Justice (13 officials that included men and women) visited our office last week to learn about LHR’s operation as an NGO. We were all excited for their arrival. If our Rwandan clients knew of the Ministry’s visit however, there might have been protests—as had happened last year when the head of UNHCR visited Durban to address the Rwandans about voluntary repatriation, which was met with widespread protest. It was particularly striking to see that most of the officials were fairly young, yet holding positions of power in their country. During lunch, one of the delegates, who is director of an organization that works with youth in his country, adamantly insisted that I come work in Rwanda, eager to establish a “partnership” between the U.S. and Rwanda. (He would cross his hands together to illustrate the bridge between the two countries.) It was interesting speaking with him, though it was difficult to comprehend everything he was saying. But the idea of working in Rwanda? Definitely something I would be interested in. 
Rwanda has such a fascinating yet tragic history, cast in the shadow of the genocide that resulted in the brutal slaughtering of millions of Rwandans. Most vividly illustrated in the film, Hotel Rwanda, and in the powerful book, We Wish To Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families, the horrific stories came to life as I conducted an RSD interview for a Rwandan refugee whose application to remain a refugee indefinitely had been denied by the Department of Home Affairs. SB was my first client from Rwanda, and I was eager to hear his story. The interview took 2 hours — with details from the outbreak of the genocide in 1994 to the time of his arrival in South Africa in 1997 — but could easily have lasted another 5 hours. Terrible, horrible, scared, and killed were words often repeated throughout the interview. Although SB has lived in South Africa for the past 11 years, the DHA rejected his claim on the basis that the current Rwandan government has implemented lasting peace and reconciliation between the Tutsis and Hutus, and have abolished policies that had created and deepened ethnic divisions. Moreover, the Standing Committee could not find current evidence that our client would 
face persecution or events seriously disturbing public order if he were to return his country of origin. My supervising attorney is working on a similar case with another Rwandan refugee; together, we will be working to draft a heads of argument that will be presented before the Standing Committee to appeal their decision.
1 comment:
Why would the clients protest the Rwanda Ministry of Justice coming to the office?
I read that book a few years ago and wrote a paper on Rwanda last semester, and the genocide that occured in the country was awful. I'd have to agree with SB. I wasn't there, so a first-hand account would be a lot more factual, but from what I've read and researched about it, there would have been more victims in the genocide than the Holocaust if it had gone on as long. The whole international community just kind of stood idly by as people were murdered; people who had been their neighbors were now accomplices to their murder. The UN tried to help but they can only do so much, especially when they weren't allowed to intervene. It was just an awful time. When I studied the history of Rwanda it was so interesting to see the effects of colonization in a country. The Dutch were, in my opinion, the catalyst and the cause of the growing antimosity between the Tutsi's and the Hutus. The favor given to the Tutsi by the Dutch was continued after Rwanda's independence as far as jobs and ranking goes. And then the shooting down of President Habyarimana is what "signalled" the beginning. The whole thing is just really sad but, fortunately, the ethnic tensions between the two groups has eased (according to my research) and they're doing a lot better now. The last I know of their economy was doing better (it could have been the success of their Sotck Exchange but I'm not certain) and the violence has ended, though the memories of what heppened will never fade. It reminds of the movie Blood Diamond. There's a part in the movie where someone (I can't remember if it was Leo or someone else) said something to the effect of "They say the dirt of this land is red because of all the blood shed by its people."
It's just a shame how much violence goes on in that continent and some turn a deaf ear. Sometimes it feels like a lost cause because there are so many different factors that contribute to the condition of some of the countries in Africa. So it gives me hope that there are people like you and your whole team working to help those who need it most. I think it's important to just start where you are and do what you can. So, Thanks! =)))
~Raisa
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