Rwandan Stories of Resistance: Josephine Dusaminama
As part of the Rwanda Peace Education Programme’s “Peace Week,” I had the opportunity of meeting with and hearing the testimony of Josephine Dusaminama who was a rescuer during the Genocide.
It is the summer of 1994 in Kibuye Town, a small city on the eastern shore of Lake Kivu. Fishing boats parade Lake Kivu at dusk, teeming with the bodies of Tutsis escaping the heat of genocide. Oars extend to calmer shores of DRC, their vessels mimicking the calmness of the waves. They leave no sound, no trace. Onlookers are unaware of the load these boats carry. No one knows that Tutsis found refuge at these waters.
On April 6, 1994, an airplane carrying President Habyarimana and the President of Burundi was shot down, and both presidents were killed. Although ethnic tensions had been brewing in Rwanda for decades, tensions would reach a deadly climax in the months following Habyarimana’s death. The Rwandan Army and militia groups immediately began rounding up and killing all Tutsis and moderated Hutus throughout the country, amounting to one of the deadliest genocides in history. Within 100 days, as many 1 million Tutsis and moderate Hutus had been killed.
The 1994 Genocide is often summed up as a failure from multiple parties.
The West watched passively, as the Hutu extremist regime ravaged Rwanda. In Rwanda, many civilians actively engaged in the massacres, others were bystanders to the atrocities. As such, much of the discourse surrounding the genocide revolves around the failures of various individuals and institutions.
It seems that this discourse leaves no space for the narratives of those who resisted the status quo, fighting to avert the loss of life. It leaves no space for people like Joespine Dusaminama.
As part of the Rwanda Peace Education Programme’s “Peace Week,” I had the opportunity of meeting with and hearing the testimony of Josephine Dusaminama who was a rescuer during the Genocide.
Josephine is a native of Kibuye, having lived there with her family for generations. During the genocide, her family stayed in a small home not too far from Lake Kivu. As the conflict intensified, many Tutsis tried escaping to DRC via Lake Kivu. Many found refuge in Josephine’s home. She managed to rescue 13 people by hiding them on boats, and sailing them to the DRC.
Her survivors were a mix of women, men and children, many of whom were sole survivors of their families. She fed them, clothed them, and gave them the little comfort she could provide.
At the time, Hutus accused of hiding Tutsis placed themselves and their families at risk of being killed. Neighbors became suspicious, and eventually reported to Hutu officials that a Tutsi woman was hiding in Josephine’s house. The woman was breastfeeding her infant child, as gendarmes came blazing through the door. They promptly demanded the woman’s ID. Josephine tried pleading with the officers to no avail. They asked the woman to sit on a chair in front of a door, and they shot her two times in the chest. They spared Joesphine’s life.
[quote]Josephine reminds us that human life has no hierarchy. That those of us who have the privilege of feeling always feeling safe and comfortable should exercise that privilege productively. Rethinking the notion of genocide allows us to see that human agents posses great power. The calculus of genocide breaks down when we love radically. Amidst chaos, Josephine chose love. We should too."[/quote]
Witnessing murder is a traumatizing experience. But it is a risk that one takes as a rescuer. With unflinching determination, Josephine constantly put the survival of innocent civilians over her own safety and security.
She remembers these months as particularly trying times. Her family hadn’t come from much, nor did they really have the capacity to bring outsiders in.
Not everyone was supportive of what Josephine was doing. Her husband even threatened to report her to authorities.
He would say, “ I am not sure about keeping your Tutsis in the house. If they come here, I am going to tell them that you were the one that brought them here and let them kill you. Do you want me to flee and leave you here alone with them?”
And she would simply respond, “ You are a human being and a father. If people came to you asking for refuge, would you chase them away?”
She saw their humanity. This was something that Josephine reminded us throughout the evening. She reminded us that Genocide is fundamentally a manifestation of hatred. It is an unwillingness to acknowledge the humanity of others. This was done by the West, but also by Rwandans themselves.
Josephine reminds us that human life has no hierarchy. That those of us who have the privilege of feeling always feeling safe and comfortable should exercise that privilege productively. Rethinking the notion of genocide allows us to see that human agents posses great power. The calculus of genocide breaks down when we love radically. Amidst chaos, Josephine chose love. We should too.
Achille Tenkiang of Princeton University is currently serving as the Goldin Institute's Global Fellow for 2016. Achille is spending his summer internship in Rwanda with our local partners at the Kigali Genocide Museum focused on uncovering and documenting stories of resistance to the genocide in Rwanda.
In addition to the value these stories serve in the healing of Rwanda, this oral history offers a unique opportunity to support genocide prevention efforts in Burundi and the Central African Republic, neighboring countries that display alarming parallels to pre-Genocide Rwanda in terms of current levels of violence and the growing reality of public hate speech on the airwaves.
Through this Fellowship, Achille is working with the staff of the Kigali Genocide Museum to capture and transcribe interviews with several “heroes” from Rwanda who resisted the 1994 Genocide. These stories are intended to be used in a variety of ways, potentially including: publication in book format; published as a video series; used in peace building curriculum; an exhibit within the KGMuseum; in promotional materials and so on.
Philippines Update: Spring 2016
Our Global Associate in the Philippines, Dr. Susana Anayatin brings us up to date on plans for newly restored water wells in the four primary municipalities she and her team are working in within Maguindanao.
Specifically, the commitment for the school year 2016-17 is to have ten fully restored water pumps in each municipality, for a targeted number of 40 total by the end of the school year. This is an ambitious plan, but in-line with previous years numbers.
To accomplish the goal, already in this calendar year, we have released installation materials to South Upi - the first of four targeted municipalities.
We are happy to report that those schools that have already been beneficiaries of the water pump restoration project in previous years, have seen the majority of their pumps still in good function and delivering clean water supplies to their communities. See the full map here.
Below is a brief status update to each of the four municipalities:
1. Buldon:
As per confirmation with the PTA, TIC and district supervisor of the West District, Buldon is ready for installation. The PTA started digging for the installation of the hand pump. Individual schools which will be serviced in Buldon are waiting for the scheduled release of the materials. For the East District, the district supervisor will be confirming if the schools already prepared the needed counterparts.
2. Datu Saudi Uy Ampatuan:
As discussed with MPDC, final discussion with the municipal and school administrators will be conducted and they have already extended invitations to the Institute and our volunteers to the handover ceremony. This will provide the opportunity for the Mayor to oversee the actual ceremony and allow for a photo opportunity of the actual installation in one or two schools. Schedules will be provided as they are confirmed.
3. Matanog:
The mobilization of additional materials and installation costs still needs to be discussed with the Mayor and the barangay chairperson. Discussions with the MPDC have already been made and met with their approval.
4. South Upi:
Per feedback from the district supervisor, the schools within the district are digging for the installation and as mentioned earlier, materials have been fully released and the process is underway. We are still waiting for further feedback from our colleagues that have been deployed to South Upi for verification on the status of the installation. With South Upi and all the municipalities, we will be updating the status of progress as we enter the next stages.
[quote]The generosity by those who support us as we continue to share our stories of struggle and progress online, are the lifeblood to what we do."[/quote]
It is worth reminding all those who follow our progress in Maguindanao, that the ongoing effort to bring clean water to the schools and communities of the province, would have been a lot more difficult without the power of social media - and the support made possible by you. The generosity by those who support us as we continue to share our stories of struggle and progress online, are the lifeblood to what we do. Please share our progress with your friends and colleagues - join us in our fight to solve the water crisis in Maguindanao!
June 2016 Newsletter
Hello to our network of champions for community driven social change!
In this edition of the newsletter you can support emerging leaders in Uganda and hear about welcome progress in the fight against gender-based violence in Haiti. In addition, we invite you to learn about this summer's initiative to collect the stories of heroes who resisted the genocide in Rwanda and review the latest progress on the grassroots leadership development platform Gather™.
UGANDA: You can help former child soldiers take leadership
We are excited to announce that this August, our colleagues at Anorak Denmark will travel to Uganda to support our team of former child soldiers in Gulu as they create their own reintegration and prevention organization. You can help these young leaders in Uganda take control of their own lives and futures by visiting and sharing the Generosity Campaign.
We hope you will lend your support to these former child soldiers as they take leadership in all aspects of this ground-breaking new organization; from setting priorities and designing programs to management and evaluation. As you know from following this journey over the past several years, these dynamic young leaders who have returned from conflict have the insight, wisdom and energy to take the work of reintegration and recruitment prevention in the region to the next level.
HAITI: Progress in the Fight Against Gender-Based Violence
Thanks to your support, Malya and the team at KOFAVIV have reported clear progress in the fight to end gender-based violence in Haiti. In her latest update, Malya reports that incidents of GBV have dropped significantly and steadily since spiking to alarming rates in the days and months following the 2010 earthquake.
In efforts to pursue justice for victims, KOFAVIV and partners at the BAI have brought charges against alleged perpetrators and a small but growing percentage of these defendants have been prosecuted and convicted.
Moreover, the Goldin Institute's team of male "sensitization agents" are continuing their outreach and action programs to bolster anti-GBV awareness throughout greater Port au Prince as they also provide needed security for women and girls within the KOFAVIV facilities.
RWANDA: Collecting Stories of Resistance to Violence
The Goldin Institute is proud to annouce that Achille Tenkiang of Princeton University has been selected for our Global Fellowship program for 2016. Achille will spend his summer internship in Rwanda with our local partners at the Kigali Genocide Museum to uncover, document and share the untold stories of the heroes who resisted the genocide in 1994.
In addition to the value these stories serve in the ongoing process of healing and reconciliation in Rwanda, this oral history offers a unique opportunity to support genocide prevention efforts in Burundi and the Central African Republic. These neighboring countries sadly display alarming parallels to pre-Genocide Rwanda in terms of current levels of violence and the reality of growing hate speech on public airwaves.
GATHER: Building a Platform for Grassroots Leadership
The Goldin Institute is making great progress in building GATHER, the tablet-based distance learning course to promote grassroots leadership for social change. As the Director of App Development and UX, our colleague Garenne Bigby has been building the interactive capacity of the platform which now includes real-time chat and tools for shared learning.
We have been focused on “designing for the margins” -- making the content and navigation as user-friendly and accessible as possible for
everyone in the Goldin Institute network. The Gather curriculum will offer a wide range of materials, perspectives and voices to guide group learning and reflection complemented by the opportunity for experiential learning through direct organizing assignments within their local community. Content will include the use of readings, interactive assignments, audio-visual stories with commentary, illustrations, synchronous web chats, a “virtual café’’ and robust discussion boards. If you are interested in joining the inaugural course, be sure to sign up for course updates at the bottom of this Gather Overview.
As always, thank you for being a champion for grassroots partnerships that create real change in the world. Please consider sharing this newsletter and the generosity campaign with your friends, colleagues and families.
If you have feedback on this edition of our newsletter, or story ideas you would like to see in a future issue, please contact our Newsletter Coordinator, Srilatha Lakkaraju. If you haven't already, but would like to receive our newsletter in your email inbox, sign up here.
Gather Update: Building a Platform for Grassroots Leadership
The Goldin Institute is making great progress in building GATHER, the tablet-based distance learning course to promote grassroots leadership for community driven social change.
As the Director of App Development and User Experience, I have been building the interactive capacity of the Gather platform which now includes real time chat built into the educational platform. We have been focused on
My colleagues on the curriculum development side have welcomed a new instructional design expert to the team, Kelly Salek of Lessons Learned Consulting. As Kelly noted:
The curriculum "map" developed by the Gather Team offers a concise overview of the range of values, tools and frameworks of the course. Together, these insights and strategies will help Gather Fellows to
The Gather curriculum Content will include, but not be limited to, the use of readings, interactive assignments, video and audio stories and commentary, illustrations, synchronous web chats, a “virtual café’’ and robust discussion boards. We will look for a media mix that encourages the course participants to establish relationships with one another as they move through the coursework.
One example of an audio-visual resource that will be included in the Gather Library is "The Danger of a Single Story" by the novelist Chimamanda Adichie:
We are excited to host our inaugural class of Gather Fellows later this year. If you or someone you know wants a chance to develop and share grassroots leadership skills, click here to sign up for updates and a chance to apply.
Stories of Resistance from Rwanda to Inspire Anti-Violence efforts
Learning Lessons from the Rwanda to Prevent Future Genocides
The Goldin Institute is proud to annouce that Achille Tenkiang of Princeton University has been selected for our Global Fellowship program for 2016. Achille will spend his summer internship in Rwanda with our local partners at the Kigali Genocide Museum focused on uncovering and documenting stories of resistance to the genocide in Rwanda.
In addition to the value these stories serve in the healing of Rwanda, this oral history offers a unique opportunity to support genocide prevention efforts in Burundi and the Central African Republic, neighboring countries that display alarming parallels to pre-Genocide Rwanda in terms of current levels of violence and the growing reality of public hate speech on the airwaves.
Through this Fellowship, Achille will work with the staff of the Kigali Genocide Museum to capture and transcribe interviews with several “heroes” from Rwanda who resisted the 1994 Genocide. These stories are intended to be used in a variety of ways, potentially including: publication in book format; published as a video series; used in peace building curriculum; an exhibit within the KGMuseum; in promotional materials and so on.
Achille will work with the Kigali Genocide Museum staff to identify and recruit participants and then conduct interviews using a video recorder to ensure a broad range of pedagogical and exhibition formats. Check back often for updates as Achille and the team transcribe the interviews and participate in ongoing discussions about how these products may be used in the future.
Former Child Soldiers are Tomorrow's Leaders
You can help Former Child Soldiers in Uganda take control of their future
We are excited to announce that this upcoming August our colleagues at Anorak Denmark will travel to Uganda to support our team of former child soldiers in Gulu who are creating their own reintegration and prevention organization so they can make their own decisions and take control of their own futures.
As a champion for these kinds of grassroots solutions, you have unique opportunity to help us in this campaign. With one click to our INDIEGOGO generosity page, you can help:
- Support the direct and sustained engagement of former child soldiers in all aspects of the work; from setting priorities and designing programs to management and evaluation.
- Meet the basic daily needs of education, health care, nutrition, shelter and employment for ex-child soldiers and children impacted by the violence.
- Support the coordination of prevention and reintegration services to improve efficiency and bridge the existing organizations and initiatives in the region.
- Help the collaboration with government ministries and departments to monitor, improve and shape the implementation of policies that impact ex-child soldiers.
- Facilitate the sharing of information, tools and insights gained through the creation of this organization to equip and inspire other grassroots partnerships for reintegration and prevention.
How did this project get started?
A group of former Child Soldiers in Uganda has partnered with the Goldin Institute, the Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative and Arigatou International over the past five years to organize and support youth leadership. These partners have already laid the foundation and now it is time to finalize the project and start the organization.
This partnership builds on the Goldin Institute’s work in 2007 in Colombia to establish a model national level platform for child soldier reintegration which has been sucessfully adopted to Uganda.
With your support, the ongoing work of the National Platform for Child Soldier Reintegration in Uganda will be fully driven by the former child soldiers themselves.
Your support will make a direct and meaningful contribution
Your donation will help us build on the successes of the last five years of organizing and bring this vision of a powerful new child soldier driven organization to reality. Your investment will enable expert organizational development facilitators to support the team in Gulu as well as complete the legal work and development to launch the organization. All funds that are donated beyond these start up costs will go directly to support local projects designed and run by former child soldiers in Uganda.
Global Associate Malya Villard: In Her Own Words
Making Progress in the Fight Against Gender-based Violence
On behalf of KOFAVIV, the Commission of Women Victims helping women Victims, I extend our appreciation to everyone who has helped to provide services to women and girls who have been victims of sexual violence in Haiti. The 2010 earthquake led to significant increase in insecurity and impoverishment in a country already coping with economic hardship and instability. The natural disaster impacted negatively the nation as a whole, where everyone was grieving over the loss of a loved one, their homes, or both. People had to take shelter in public areas or parks as the government didn’t have the resources to safeguard affected individuals and areas.
As a result, there was a rapid increase in the number of women and girls who were attacked in the months after the earthquake shattered Haiti.
We are happy to report that the number of incidents documented by KOFAVIV have steadily decreased from 2010 to 2015:
| Year | Girls | Women | # Incidents |
| 2010 | 640 | ||
| 2011 | 246 | 202 | 448 |
| 2012 | 212 | 226 | 438 |
| 2013 | 158 | 151 | 309 |
| 2014 | 86 | 74 | 167 |
| 2015 | 37 | 28 | 65 |
Sadly, the ratio of arrests to incidents remains relative low due to a justice system that has meager technical and human capital resources. In too many cases, there is still no justice for victims and their families. However, with the financial assistance of the supporters of the Goldin Institute, we are making progress.
Thanks to your support, charges have been pressed against a small but growing percentage of defendants who have been prosecuted and convicted. Moreover, the Goldin Institute’s team of male sensitization agents continues to provide physical security within our facilities as they continue their outreach programs to bring anti-GBV awareness.
The team is working together to ensure that victims are encouraged to come forward swiftly, get medical and pyscho-social assistance, and press charges within 72 hours at local precinct. These interventions and services are crucial. Sadly, our team was needed on March 30th when an infant (2 years 6 months old) was raped by a young 22 year old man. The defendant was convicted of rape and is currently serving 15 years in prison. The conviction is significant for the family and also the justice system. Although the family wasn’t able to afford a lawyer, our partners at the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux and the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti, provided pro-bono legal services to the victim and her family every step of the way and succeeded in obtaining a measure of justice.
We have built crucial relationships with the Police captains in Port-au-Prince, Potay St Joseph and Precinct Potay Leoganne, where increased police action has resulted in defendants who have been arrested for alleged rape charges against women and adolescents. Too often, however, the defendants are released before the victims even get home, which endangers the victims’ lives further. This year, we will target people and organizations in Haiti who can help make a difference, such as the Chief of Police, governmental representatives, the Minister of Justice, media outlets and hospitals. We will continue the outreach programs in prevalent areas and camps such as Petion Ville, Matisan, Cite Solei, Kafou Fey, Gran Ravinn, Tibwa, Gran Gwav, Laskawobas and Okay Maniche.
We hope to continue this year and many years to come with these outreach programs because of the ongoing success, even in the most vulnerable communities. Hopefully, the outreach programs will help build awareness and action from all sectors, public and private, and to make our neighborhoods a healthy environment for our women, young girls and their families.
Sincerely,
Malya Villard Appolon
(with thanks to our friend and colleague Marie Boursiquot for translation assistance)
Remembering our Colleague and Friend, Xulhaz Mannan
Today we remember our friend Zulhaz Mannan for his courageous voice against discrimination and his role in defending the rights of all Bangladeshis, especially those most marginalized. Along his with friend Mahbub Tonoy, Zulhaz's life was cut short on April 25th, 2016 in a murder inspired by hatred and bigotry. Zulhaz's life was a testament to his thoughtful and caring spirit which was evidenced through his work with the U.S. Agency for International Development and as the editor of Roopbaan, the country's only LGBT magazine.
We are one of the many privileged to have worked with Xulhaz and will cherish the memory of his kindness and wisdom as we continue the work informed and enriched by having worked with him to improve micorcredit from the perspective of borrowers in Bangladesh. Our shared vision of peace, justice and equity lives on and the work continues.
The circumstances of Xulhaz's death, makes the news even more difficult to report, as he and Mahbub were murdered in his Dhaka apartment by an al-Qaida-linked group.
Full details and more background on how progressives and peace activists like Xulhaz are becoming targets to wider-spread violence by extremists, can be found in this piece at NPR news.
Interfaith Groups Work Towards Peace in Mindanao
This story summarizes the hopes of interfaith groups dedicated to building peace in the southern Philippines. These peace activists, including our friend Father Angel Calvo, continue to advocate on behalf of the peace process that would bring an end to the decades-long conflict between the Muslim and Christian populations of Mindanao.
The sentiment of those quoted in the story, closely reflects that of our Global Associate, Dr. Susana Anayatin. Although not in attendance at the gathering in Zamboanga City, Dr. Anayatin added her viewpoint:
[quote] I agree that Peace in Mindanao remains elusive despite our peacebuilding efforts. It is very complicated now because of the election campaign period and effects of the long dry spell. We cannot just preach peace to empty stomachs ... many people are hungry because they cannot plant food crops. Poverty in rural and urban areas increases. Issues of global terrorism attributed to Muslims is also affecting our peacebuilding efforts as some crimes committed here are allegedly committed by ISIS sympathizers. [/quote]
For more on this issue, and to see how Susana's work in rebuilding the water supply to school children and the wider-population of Mindanao goes hand-in-hand with furthering the peace process, visit our issues page here.