Monday, January 27, 2014

20-26 January 2014

SCROLL DOWN FOR EASTERN CONGO, RWANDA, UGANDA
BURUNDI

EASTERN CONGO

RWANDA

  • Of all of the displays in the Rwandan Genocide Memorial in Kigali, it is one of the least memorable. Humbly settled between panels describing the historical tensions that led to the genocide, it’s largely overshadowed by the stained glass panels and commemorative statues placed in front of and behind it. The display is a simple glass panel that quotes an African proverb: “A tree can only be straightened when it is young.” Understated as it may be, this small placard is invaluable when it comes to understanding the post-genocide mindset in Rwanda. In particular, it echoes the Rwandan government’s focus on rehabilitation and development for the country’s youth. To prevent another outbreak of ethnic violence, the country’s autocratic regime—which enjoys friendly relations with Washington—has strived to cultivate a healthy sense of nationalism among young Rwandans, and has instituted an ambitious educational agenda in a bid to offer young people jobs and direction. But though the government has dedicated itself to a variety of youth-oriented reform projects, it has also instituted propagandistic “national solidarity” camps that peddle militaristic values and obedience to the state. At the same time, the country has cracked down on free speech and political dissidents.The question remains as to whether its efforts in the twenty years since the genocide have amounted to straightening its citizen saplings or simply stunting their growth, creating a generation of Rwandan bonsais.

    tags: rwanda youth re-education ingando conflict mindset report

  • tags: rwanda population pyramid analysis

  • Official investigations into the murder of a Rwandan anti-corruption activist appear to have ground to a halt six months later. The case has received surprisingly little public attention, and the victim’s family is still awaiting justice. Human Rights Watch has visited the town of Rubavu where the body was found and interviewed witnesses and the police.

    tags: rwanda human rights corruption 'Transparency International police report

  • Since the devastation of the country's 1994 civil war, which left up to 800 000 dead in a genocidal massacre driven by Hutu-led government militia, Rwanda has achieved a remarkable recovery. Under the leadership of President Paul Kagame, Rwanda has attracted huge levels of inward investment and aid, made possible by the country's relative political and economic stability. It has enjoyed ten years of economic growth at levels which are impressive by any standard and which well outstrip the growth rates for the African continent as a whole. But in a report for Business Daily by Gabriel Gatehouse, we look behind the dynamic economic activity to find that life remains hard for those people unwilling to toe the government line.

    tags: rwanda business recovery economy report debate

  • On Holocaust Memorial Day Freddie Knoller, Sokphal Din and Sophie Masereka describe how they lived through mass killings

    tags: rwanda genocide survival memory report

UGANDA