New beginnings, new neighbors, liberation day.

Yesterday, on the day commemorating the end of the genocide carried out by extremist Hutus against Tutsis, I witnessed people from both tribes coming together to say "Never Again", but in slightly different words that sounded a lot more like "Come on over for the afternoon," and "Here, let me help you."
Liberation Day, sharing its date with the American Independence Day, marks the date of the occupation of Kigali 16 years ago by the Rwandan Patriotic Front, the Tutsi rebel group that whose leader is now the current president Paul Kagame, thus marking the end to the genocide in 1994 (violence and killings, though in more minimal incidences, continued to occur in the instable atmosphere of Rwanda for several weeks, months, and years afterward). The “liberation” was from the genocidal regime that had instigated the genocide 100 days prior. The RPF had trained had trained and formed itself in the neighboring country of Uganda, where many Tutsi refugees had fled after massacres by Hutus against them in decades past, including in 1959, 1962, and 1974.

(Ok so brief Rwandan history lesson: The Belgian government had elevated the minority Tutsi population, giving them privileged educations and employment opportunities, particularly within the government, when it colonized Rwanda in the early 1900s. In the 1950s, as Tutsis began calling for independence from Belgium, the Belgians switched “sides” and supported a Hutu rebellion against the Tutsis. Hutus came to power, and violence against Tutsis ensued, thus resulting in the fleeing of many Rwandan Tutsis to neighboring countries, particularly Congo, Tanzania, Burundi, and Uganda. The Tutsis that remained were subject to discrimination and violence. President Habyarimana actually created a law that disallowed the repatriation of exiles, thus ensuring that the Tutsis that left stayed away. That is, until the genocide (which had begun with the assassination of Habyarimana—blamed by Hutus on the Tutsis) ended in July of 1994, when the RPF and their leader, Paul Kagame, took over and encouraged exiled Tutsis to return.)

I had planned to go to Liberation Day ceremonies yesterday at the large stadium here in Kigali which is not too far from where I’m staying, but instead I went back to Mama Maria's home and met her children.
I interviewed one of Mama Maria’s children and his friend--two boys about 18 years old who seemed untouched by the hatred that had plagued their homeland just 16 years ago, and for decades before--and President Kagame was their hero.

Afterwards, I went to what was basically a sort of traditional housewarming party. One of Mama Maria’s older sons, Damascene, just moved to a new home and, in typical Rwandan tradition, invited dozens of his neighbors over. They enjoyed Fantas and Cokes and chatted away. Then several of them stood up and gave speeches, welcoming him to the neighborhood and offering friendly advice. Damascene also stood up and gave a speech, offering himself up to be a good neighbor in any capacity needed. It was an interesting cultural ritual that really revealed a lot about the importance of neighbors and relationships here. So-called "African time", meaning if you say you'll be here at 7 you probably mean 8, isn't about a disregard for punctuality so much as a greater valuing of having people-time, of building relationships. (I wrote an article for my campus newspaper that I’ll put up here soon, and I discuss this some more.)