How is rwanda recovering from the genocide

After a previous suicide attempt, Claudine is trying to rebuild her life with the counselling group. Chrystal says of Claudine: "When you've not completed school, and therefore are not able to support yourself, there is layer upon layer of vulnerability. I said that if this is the only copy you have, then you must keep it. Some of the participants travel long distances to attend the counselling sessions, walking up to five hours to be there.

An issue that Surf is trying to address is the need for childcare for the mothers who are forced to bring their babies and children with them. However, those taking part feel the benefit of the counselling, including Patience, who told Chrystal that when she is telling her story, she feels "happy, and my heart feels good". Chrystal found that the project affected her personally. I still dream about Rwanda, and I suspect I'll be back at some point.

Photos by Chrystal Ding. Interview by Matthew Tucker. Photographer wins award for project on Rwandan genocide and mental health. Atrocities included impaling male victims from anus to mouth, female breast oblation Taylor, , using HIV through rape as a biological weapon Baines, , and smashing babies against walls Rutazibwa and Rutayisire, A confluence of pressures led to and sustained the genocide.

Key precipitating factors included pervasive narratives of a Tutsi threat to the Rwandan social body McDoom, , pseudo-ethno categories promulgated by Belgian colonists under the guise of the Hamitic Hypothesis Taylor, ; Eltringham, , a frustration of basic human needs through poverty Staub, , and fear of personal violence if an individual refused to participate Smeulers and Hoex, The trauma engendered by the Rwandan genocide directly impacts victims, eyewitnesses, genocide perpetrators, and those immediately entering Rwanda post-genocide to engage in nation reconstruction.

Genocide perpetrators may experience symptoms of posttraumatic stress by witnessing their own actions, and the actions of other perpetrators Schaal et al. Certainly, DSM-IV and 5 acknowledges that both being forced to commit violence and witnessing violent acts can generate posttraumatic stress American Psychiatric Association, A small number of studies have examined the prevalence of traumatic stress among the Rwandan population post-genocide.

Fodor et al. Rugema et al. Schaal et al. It is within this context that the current study aims to examine how key components of recovery capital—social capital, cultural capital, physical capital, and human capital—interact with and impact post-genocide healing.

Emerging from the addictions field, the concept of recovery capital encompasses the sum of resources that may facilitate the lived experience of recovery Granfield and Cloud, , ; Cloud and Granfield, ; Laudet and White, ; Best and Laudet, Cloud and Granfield note that although substance misuse occurs within all levels of society it is differentially experienced, such that recovery from substance misuse varies widely.

They observe that successful recovery depends upon environmental contexts, personal characteristics of the user, and the availability of particular resources. Cloud and Granfield conclude that recovery capital comprises four key components: social capital, cultural capital, physical capital, and human capital.

Furthermore, the various capitals are potentially convertible, for example social capital may be converted into human capital, and cultural capital may be converted into economic capital, although such conversions often take time and economic resources Bourdieu, Such social capital may be conceptualized as horizontal ties and relationships among relatively homogenous groups, or vertical ties that connect levels between hierarchical levels Baum and Ziersch, Such dense ties are typically found in relationships between the individual and his or her family, religious institution, and immediate community Coleman, Bonding social capital tends to be inward-looking, providing individual and group ontological security, often through the process of distancing others Young, Bridging social capital functions between the individual and distant friends and associates Lo, , and community groups and movements Putnam, Loose bridging ties may be formed through the generation of transitive trust Fountain, , whereby trust afforded to a closer tie is automatically extended to those with looser ties because of the strength of the original bonding social capital.

Such vertical ties, as Granovetter suggests, can lead to potential mobility opportunities, by providing access to power, wealth and social status to individuals and groups Woolcock, Critical to the development of bonds, bridges and links between individuals and groups is the development of mutual trust and solidarity.

The development of shared norms promotes community solidarity in a cyclical trust-reinforcing process. Scholars have noted that high levels of social capital speed individual and community recovery after natural and man-made disasters such as hurricanes in the Caribbean region Adger et al.

Wider and denser social networks can facilitate recovery by expediting access to resources and guidance, engendering community mobilization, and raising the cost of community exit Landau and Saul, ; Aldrich, In relation to Rwandan post-genocide recovery, the need to promote social capital has been recognized Scholte and Ager, ; Verduin et al.

The violence of mass conflict and genocide destroys social ties, extirpates mutual trust, and shatters social cohesion. Paradoxically, mass conflict and genocide has the potential to strengthen and concretize horizontal and vertical ties. Colletta and Cullen provide a nuanced understanding of the role of social capital both during and after the Rwandan genocide. Simultaneously, genocide destroys previously nurturing ties, through the loss of family members and neighbors, and the spread of uncertainty and mistrust Zuckerman and Greenberg, Although the nurturing of solidarity and trust is critical for the development of sustainable bridging ties, whether all Rwandans accept such forced unity and reconciliation remains moot Thomson, Specific projects, such as the Association Modeste et Innocent , a non-profit organization that brings genocide perpetrators and survivors together through a process of intensive counseling and support Dominus and Hugo, provide considerable opportunities to nurture bonding social capital between individuals, reinforcing notions of Rwandan-ness.

Drawing on the work of Bourdieu , cultural capital arises from and is shaped by historical, social, and economic processes as they impact families and communities Weine et al. Cultural capital comprises of three distinct forms: the embodied state, the objectified state and the institutionalized state Bourdieu, Capital, in the form of acceptance of and adherence to cultural norms becomes embodied when it becomes an integral part of the individual.

Embodied capital is implicitly transmitted in family and institutional settings. The unconscious inheritance of cultural wealth is similar to Cohen's observation that middle class boys are advantaged in the school setting because they have already internalized middle class values. Objectified cultural capital refers to objects such as paintings writings, and artifacts which may be appropriated through ownership or consumption.

Thus, objectified cultural capital functions both materially and symbolically to endow the receiver with perceived cultural wealth. Finally, institutionalized cultural capital exists in form of qualifications and status endowed through institutional recognition. Bourdieu notes that such institutionalized cultural capital enriches the individual through its scarcity. The other becomes perceived as a critical threat to the social body requiring classification, containment, and eventually extermination.

Perverted cultural capital becomes objectified through the generation and use of ethnic identification papers and identifying symbols such as yellow stars or blue-checked scarfs Stanton, , Physical characteristics such as slight differences in nose and lip shape or variations in skin tone are an inherited form of objectified cultural capital.

Such physical markers of status, power, and difference cannot be shed. Markers of status become institutionalized through government policies that exclude and polarize. Specifically, Rwanda experienced a perversion of institutionalized cultural capital through the creation and distribution of lists of Tutsi and moderate Hutu's African Rights, , travel restrictions on Tutsi's Kalimba, , the creation and expansion of an all-Hutu government army Stanton, , the mass importation of weapons Alusala, , and the government-backed spread of genocide ideology through radio and newspaper propaganda.

Sustainable post-genocide recovery requires the reorganization and realignment of embodied, objectified, and institutionalized cultural capital, to engender peaceful and harmonious co-existence between previously fractured groups. Firstly, the Belgian colonial administration were assisted by the Catholic Church to introduce divisive ethnic categories in Rwanda and so bear considerable responsibility for the subsequent genocidal crimes.

Secondly, the genocide was organized by Hutu political leaders who misled the Hutu population to participate in the genocide. Finally, although there is some recognition that soldiers in the Rwandan Patriotic Army killed Hutu civilians during the genocide, these killings were unfortunate acts of war or revenge. Overtime, there may be a conversion of this cultural capital into bonding social capital, although the unifying message is somewhat contradictory.

The third key component of recovery capital is physical capital. They suggest that financial capital may help substance users' access help and resources, or provide temporary respite from environmental cues and triggers through leaves of absence or extended vacations. Schools, hospitals, roads, and offices lay in ruins and genocidal looters had stolen all money from banks Clark, The economic impact of such countrywide devastation reverberated for years after the genocide.

Genocide and mass conflict seriously deplete physical capital impeding both short and long-term recovery. Physical capital, in the form of economic capital is perhaps the easiest form of capital to convert to other forms of capital.

In post-genocide Rwanda the conversion of physical capital to human capital is an important feature of the reconstruction process. Such excess can then potentially be converted to strengthened physical capital. Although physical capital can be converted over time to individual social and cultural capital, such conversion may undermine unity and reconciliation efforts.

Unless, however, income inequality and extreme poverty is addressed, economic capital is likely to reinforce divisions within Rwandan society. The fourth, and perhaps most extensive, component of recovery capital is human capital.

Becker suggests that education and training are the most important investments we make in human capital, observing that high school and college educational credentials significantly raise individual income.

More recently, scholars have noted that although educational qualifications raise income, those engaged in career and technical education CTE programs have significantly higher earnings than those receiving credentials in non-vocational areas of study Jacobson and Mokher, ; Dadgar and Weiss, Similarily, human capital theory Becker and Tomes, posits that improvements in a parent or child's skills lead to the generation of new skills and abilities that can lead to intergenerational mobility.

Just as genocide destroys and perverts social and cultural capital, human capital is similarly ravaged. Examining the impact of the Rwandan genocide on educational outcomes, Akresh and de Walque found that there was an Living through genocidal acts, whether as perpetrator, victim, or bystander, may lead to the development of mental health symptoms including anxiety, and depression and posttraumatic stress Schaal et al.

Scholars have also noted that experience of trauma may inhibit an individual's ability to develop future positive relationships with others Ronel and Elisha, Cloud and Granfield note that the three elements of human capital particularly pertinent to substance abuse recovery are heredity, mental health, and employability.

They suggest that genetic mechanisms may influence physical and mental health and note the prevalence of co-occurring addictive and mental health disorders among the general population.

Bourdieu's criticism that human capital theory never frees itself from economism is pertinent and applicable here. For Cloud and Granfield , human capital is an important component of recovery capital because it provides the means to develop economic and physical capital. Certainly, as Christie reminds us, production, monetary gain and consumption comprise the heart of modernity, and certainly are the drivers of human and physical capital.

Both physical and mental health are critical components of human capital essential to recovery from trauma. Subica et al. Their results indicate that trauma exposure and PTSD were associated with depression, substance use, as well as overall mental and physical health. Levine suggests that our ability to respond appropriately when faced with danger depends upon a number of factors, including the degree and intensity of the traumatic event, support from family and friends, age, physical health and fitness, experience of ongoing stress and fatigue, genetic resilience, learned responses to trauma, and self-efficacy in relation to trauma.

Physical health status is particularly important. The residual energy generated by fight, flight, or freeze responses to traumatic events can cause a myriad of physical and mental health problems, including anxiety, depression, behavioral problems, and short and long term somatic symptoms.

Such undigested trauma is stored as physiological reactivity Scaer, , often manifesting itself as loose bowels, stomach upsets, headaches and migraines, fatigue, hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease Leitch et al. The four key components of recovery capital: social capital, cultural capital, physical capital, and human capital discussed above, appear relevant and appropriate for considering healing and recovery from the trauma of genocide.

A somewhat complementary framework for thinking about post-genocide recovery is Maslow's hierarchy of human need Maslow, , Specifically considering the Rwandan genocide Uwamaliya and Smith note the relevance of Maslow's hierarchy in thinking about recovery for genocide survivors.

Their study further notes the difficulty in achieving access to clean water, where the goal of the Rwandan Government is to enable such access to all people by Addressing these factors in addition to higher level needs, is important for perpetrators as they are released back into the same communities as survivors.

Maslow's hierarchy of needs, which outlines specific needs that are considered necessary for individuals' to achieve a fulfilling and happy life, is one of the most prominent theories behind human behavior. Maslow's original scheme depicted five hierarchical levels, as the lower level is satisfied; a higher level of need emerges. There has been broad support found for Maslow's theory and research into a hierarchy of human needs Chulef et al.

The highest level, self-transcendence, was noted by Maslow later, as a step where the individual may desire to identify with something greater than oneself. Maslow's model is a linear hierarchy that implies that one need must be met before the next need can be addressed.

However, it is also possible to conceptualize needs in a more holistic way in which key categories of need interact and add to or deplete each other. Such an approach avoids overly-simplistic linear cause and effect intellections and instead acknowledges the fluidity and reflexivity of recovery and resilience. Given the relative youth of the concept of recovery capital, it is useful to consider it in relation to the more establish hierarchy of need.

The concept of recovery capital can be viewed utilizing Maslow's broad categories of needs, regardless of whether one subscribes to the conceptual model of a linear hierarchy. Dimensions of human capital and physical capital correspond with physiological and safety needs.

Social and cultural capital straddle social belonging and esteem needs. The educational attainment component of human capital also seems to correspond with esteem needs when educational qualifications afford individuals status and respect.

Studies have examined the validity and practical use of Maslow's theory within different cultural contexts. Gambrel and Cianci viewed, through a management lens, the application of Maslow's hierarchy within a collectivistic culture. The authors found that although the needs would be similar, the hierarchical order of the needs may differ. Potentially, this is indicative of the lack of a linear hierarchy, and suggestive that Maslow's identified needs should be considered in a less hierarchical and more holistic light, where reflexive interactions can shift the salience and interaction of the core components.

Additionally, a longitudinal study of quality of life factors across nations tested Maslow's hierarchy of needs on a national rather than individual scale. Hagerty noted that although not all parts of the theory were confirmed, the sequence in which the needs were filled, in a national sense, was correlated with Maslow's hierarchical model, although working to fulfill one area did not negatively affect growth in a different area as Maslow would have predicted.

Further, Tay and Diener conducted a study regarding the needs which would be associated with subjective well-being in multiple regions of the world. The study found that specifically in African countries along with many other regions , meeting of basic needs predicted positive life evaluations. The results also note that, as predicted by Maslow's hierarchy, people desire to meet basic physiological and safety needs before other needs.

Although other studies have contradicted the hierarchical nature of Maslow's model and the assumption that one need must be fulfilled to meet a higher-level need, studies acknowledge that the basic need categories could apply to some cross-cultural contexts Tay and Diener, ; Hanif et al.

Maslow's hierarchy of need is an established and oft-adopted theory for considering human behavior and forms an important starting point for considering the recovery capitals necessary for successful post-genocide recovery and healing.

As the aim of this study is to examine how key components of recovery capital—social capital, cultural capital, physical capital, and human capital—influence the healing process of Rwandan society post-genocide, a mixed method was utilized. Thus, the results provide both quantitative and qualitative analysis of the above components of recovery capital. Below is a detailed description of the methods and measures used for this study. In order to achieve the above aim, the study identified men and women convicted of the crime of genocide in Rwanda.

Accordingly, participants in this study are convicted and incarcerated genocide perpetrators. There are approximately 30, individuals currently incarcerated in Rwanda for the crime of genocide Miller, , in 13 prisons. At the time of the study there were 14 prisons.

One of the study site prisons Gasabo has closed and the prisoners relocated. Individuals convicted of the crime of genocide are housed with non-genocide prisoners. Seeking to capture geographic diversity and representativeness in the sample, three 3 prisons were selected: Gasabo prison Kigali City , Muhanga prison Southern province , and Ngoma prison Eastern province. These prisons were chosen because, according to Rwanda Correctional Services RCS , they housed high numbers of genocide perpetrators.

Gasabo prison now closed was a male only prison, Muhanga prison houses both male and female prisoners, and Ngoma houses female prisoners only. The researchers asked prison officials to identify incarcerated men and women who were sentenced for the crime of genocide. Such a request resulted in a detailed representative sampling frame of genocide perpetrators. From these a sample was drawn of sentenced genocide perpetrators for potential inclusion in the study.

Although all study participants were convicted of the crime of genocide, no data was gathered concerning specific genocidal involvement. This was because of IRB restrictions, and to avoid potential activation and distress to both participants and data collectors. Prison officials confirmed that all study participants had killed during the genocide.

After the scope and purpose of the study was explained, prisoners who agreed to participate were asked to sign an informed consent form. The prisoners were informed that their participation in the study would not impact their treatment within the prison, nor the intended day of release.

The form was written in Kinyarwanda the official language of Rwanda. Overall, and to maintain balance between the facilities individuals were sampled, with perpetrators sampled from Gasabo prison, 99 perpetrators sampled from Muhanga prison, and perpetrators sampled from Ngoma prison.

Women were over-sampled because so little information exists on female perpetrators of genocide. Estimates of how many females participated in the genocide are difficult to pinpoint. Adler et al. Not all genocide perpetrators in the three selected prisons had an equal chance of being selected into the sample. The Rwandan Correctional Service generated lists of genocide perpetrators and individuals were grouped together and asked if they wanted to participate in the study.

The researchers have no data concerning whether people initially refused to participate in the study. Certainly, genocide perpetrators too sick or considered too mentally ill to participate may have been excluded by the correctional officers.

Others may have been on a work group outside of the prison during the research days, and so were also not able to participate in the study. The study was conducted in Rwanda, in , and data was collected over a period of 9 days. Before the commencement of data collection, a detailed study protocol was submitted and approved by the Institutional Review Board of the corresponding authors.

A team of Rwandan data collectors received orientation to the project, were trained in the data collection protocols, and helped gather the data from incarcerated genocide perpetrators. The data collectors from Rwanda Center for Council Foundation were joined by staff from ARCT-Ruhuka Association of Rwanda Trauma Counselors , who both served as data collectors, and were available to respond in the event of distress among participants during the data gathering process.

Anu Chakravarty teaches political science at the University of South Carolina. She studied the gacaca system up close, as they happened, and says the confessions were motivated often by a guilty conscience but also by a desire on the part of perpetrators to make amends and start life over.

She points out that the facts of the genocide are well established. There is ample evidence and it is uncontested. But in the lives of individual Rwandans, there is also a personal experience of the genocide that also figures into reconciliation. I mean, that was some kind of reckoning. And so there's that level of truth where people understand that what they did to their friends and neighbours was absolutely wrong, that they were misled by their own leaders and that when push came to shove, their leaders escaped.

The truth that they, I think, they abide by, and the truth that they rely on is that what they did was criminal. And I think there is an acceptance of that, there's an understanding of that, and a willingness to make amends to the extent possible as they move on. The question of truth is taken up in various ways in Rwanda. There is, of course, the factual truth, the demonstrable truth.

But there are the truths Rwandans tell themselves and each other that make up the collective memory of the genocide. Isaie Nzeyimana is a professor of philosophy at the University of Rwanda. He notes that reconciling after a genocide may seem like an impossible task but it requires one to ask about what a possible future could look like.

Desforges, Alison [HRW]. Human Rights Watch. Gibson, James L. Haugbolle, Sune. Hintjens, Helen. London: Hurst and Co. Mamdani, Mahmood. Mutwarasibo, Ernest. Newbury, Catharine. Palmer, Nicola. Selimovic, Johanna Mannergren. Steele, Sarah Louise. Straus, Scott. Cornell University Press.