September 25, 2011

It has been a long time since my last entry. I’ve been very busy, teaching and just starting a research project with mothers of children born of wartime rape. I think I want from having too little to do to having too much to do.

The teaching went well, once I adapted ot the culture and the language. I’ve learned that students won’t ask questions directly but if I put them together in small groups to discuss things and then go around the room speaking the the groups, the group will ask a question. Perhaps this is the collective culture working, perhaps they are moral and social support for each other. In any event it works. On the other side I must say that the students who ask questions ask incredibly good questions, better than any of my graduate students ask, even though they are only undergraduates with limited English. Some of them are amazingly smart.

I also am planning to cooperate with Dr. Vincent in setting up research projects with students. There are two issues that seem to arise spontaneously: how to understand and prevent intergenerational transmission of trauma, and how to understand and promote Rwanda resilience. Every one from the West says that Rwanda is a traumatized culture, and there is a lot of trauma, clearly, but there also is a lot of strength. They have recovered from the genocide, and are seen in many quarters as a model for East Africa. The Kagame government goal is to turn Rwanda into an information based economy, and the people are certainly smart enough to do it.

Even so, I wonder about political and social issues. Rwanda is a conflict avoidant society now, and for obvious reasons. Decisions are reached by consensus rather than debate, and there is no real concept of a loyal opposition. I’m told by white people in the NUR administration that their workers will never say they don’t know, and will never ask questions or challenge. They just nod their heads in agreement with authority, and don’t do what they are supposed to because they don’t understand. I don’t think this contributes to the corporate efficiency that the government wants, and will have to be dealt with, somehow. This will be a culture change, or at least a subculture change.

A political story on the same point that I was told by a white colleague who teaches at NUR.. When Europe intervened in Libya the first reaction of the Rwandan students was outrage when it was first announced, and they were vocal about it.. It was another instance of Western imperialism in Africa. But a few days later Kagame came out in favor of the intervention (seen as opposing genocide) and the students who had spoken out were terrified about being seen as traitors by the government. There was no retaliation, of course, but the anxiety was very real. I’ve seen it in my students as well, when they have to disagree with the chairman.

All in all, I’m in the middle of a fascinating social experiment, and I’m pleased to be here except when I miss my NY life, which is for a few moments every day, at least for now.