As we embark upon week three, today we discussed transitional justice. How does a country address and seek justice for those effected by a genocide? This sparked a great conversation and led us to understanding there is no one right answer. Depending on the country and context of events many different approaches and combinations of approaches maybe needed. When learning about Rwanda’s grass roots approach the flaws of how judges were selected and reliability of eye witness accounts were mentioned. Overall, everyone can agree Rwandan problems have no easy solution
For lunch today we went to Sole Luna an Italian restaurant. The walls were decorated with beautiful pictures providing a great social environment. The buffet had a variety for foods offered allowing everyone to find something they liked. Above is a picture of everyone bonding and communicating at the table.
Never Again Rwanda is a peace building and social justice non-governmental organization. While reconciliation levels are estimated to be 95% by the government many have a different perspective. The government looks at reconciliation on a macro level resulting in 95%. Never Again Rwanda focuses on the micro level and how individuals interact with each other. One’s behavior in the market is different than in their home with their family. Micro level reconciliation emphasizes trust, tolerance and empathy. Through the peace keeping initiatives there are internships and summer opportunities offered at Never Again Rwanda.
To wrap up class we had the youngest senator of Rwanda and chairperson of ITORERO Commission speak. He shared his experience of growing up during the genocide. As someone of a Hutu background he struggled originally to share his story but today is open. He believes with the work being done today Rwanda can move forward and heal as one.
