Danielle Leavitt and Dr. Leonard Tourney, English
Despite often being esteemed for its remarkable recovery after the complete devastation that occurred in the 1994 genocide, Rwanda is still portrayed as a dangerously plundered society and remains recognized in the West as an un-safe, chaotic area. These incorrect perceptions are rife with contradictory assertions and images and a discrepancy between image and reality.1 Post-genocide Rwanda—only seventeen years after its historically brutal genocide—is listed as one of the safest and most orderly countries in Africa. Additionally, sexually, physically, and emotionally abused and neglected Rwandan women, who made up 70% of Rwanda’s living population following the catastrophe in 1994, have now found a miraculous voice of power as they account for over 50% of Rwanda’s parliamentary seats (the world’s highest female representation in a parliament). And yet, Rwanda lacks any significant writing focusing on “bottom-up” cultural perspectives and current everyday social conditions. Rwanda is thus left misunderstood and commonly misrepresented, only sought to be understood through literature and accounts that regard the 1994 genocide, the tragedies that followed, high-level government officials, top-tier international businesses, and publicly well-known cooperatives and NGOs. There is much to be said for writing that mines deeper than these reports.
My research revolved around just that; uncovering today’s common Rwandan woman and her unheard stories, specifically her path towards post-genocide reconciliation. Writing for a largely North American audience that receives little or no exposure to the current, unsophisticated demographic in Rwanda, I searched for stories and experiences that would reach an audience in a way that could present small histories that give insight into Rwanda’s larger history. The stories and experiences that were collected during my field study have been organized and articulated in the form of creative nonfiction. Creative nonfiction is writing based on fact, and it remains undimmed and applicable by the passing of time, with a primary interest in enduring human values and honesty. It is different from reports, daily journalism, and academic criticism, because it incorporates into its frame the “revelations of character, the suspense of plot, the subtle braiding of themes, rhythms, and resonance, memory and imaginative research, precise and original language, and a narrative stance that is intelligent, humble, questioning, distinctive, individual, and implicitly alert to the world.”2 It seeks to find human truthfulness, authenticity, and candor within stories. That authenticity is the value of this project. It reveals to the audience, and perhaps most intensely to me, humanity’s truths from the mouths of women across the globe. I began preparation by taking English 317R, Writing Creative Nonfiction, from Dr. Patrick Madden, an expert in the field of creative nonfiction writing. Upon completion of that course in April 2011, I traveled to Kigali, Rwanda, where I lived for most of BYU’s spring term. I had only two contacts when I arrived in Rwanda, but through the help of an LDS senior missionary couple, I was able to contact dozens of women in various social classes and villages. My proposed project was to contact common Rwandan women and interview them about their post-genocide experiences, their different journeys to reconciliation, their traditions as mothers, and their daily schedules, concerns, and desires. Once I was in Rwanda, I experienced a slight hesitancy in my approach, as the subject of healing is, of course, incredibly raw. Certainly in my preparation I had not allowed myself to gain enough emotional preparedness to ask such sensitive questions with the utmost compassion and sincerity of desire. Even before I interviewed any women, simply standing on Rwandan soil was quite powerful, and I understood early that the questions I was asking and the stories I was probing were sacred, especially to these women. The way I approached my proposed work was quite different that I had initially anticipated, but it could not have been any other way. The women I came to know were deep, spiritual souls, and I could not have reached that if I approached them with an agenda.
I was able to visit widows and their children in the high hills outside Kigali, Rwanda, learn of their animals and gardens, and listen to their stories. I will not forget embracing these women. The stories and research that I collected have been compiled into a single essay entitled “Grace.” Grace is a woman who worked in a sewing shop along with nine other widows, all of whom I came to know personally and familiarly. They invited me to work alongside them, and Grace often invited me to her home where we prepared food together with her children. Their stories sing of Christ’s grace, and the essay attempts to paint the tragic story of Rwandan women and their journey towards peace. The essay’s topic is enormous and its emotion vast. Since arriving home, the essay has gone through countless drafts. Dr. Tourney and I have worked and reworked its message, organization, and content. Additionally, I am again enrolled in English 317R, taught by Dr. Patrick Madden, where we are working the essay into something publishable. I plan to submit the essay for publication in a literary journal by Christmas 2011. We will submit to about a dozen different journals. While publication is never guaranteed, I am hopeful that it will be published somewhere.
As far as reaching my research “goals,” I won’t say. My goals were far different than what the experience proved to be. But I will say this: what the project became is infinitely more meaningful than what we planned. Certainly post-genocide Rwandan women, and their hidden, unsophisticated cultural and spiritual phenomena, has and will continue to touch people. An updated version of this final report will be completed and re-submitted when the place of publication is known.
References
- Ingelaere, Bert. “Do We Understand Life after Genocide? Center and Periphery in the Construction of Knowledge in Post-genocide Rwanda” African Studies Review. Atlanta: Apr 2010, Vol. 53, Iss. 1.
- Forché, Gerard. “Writing Creative Non-Fiction” Story Press. 2010.