26 - 27 May 2007 - The Weekend

So, it’s been a busy few days. I spent Saturday sleeping in which was lovely. I’m still not feeling a hundred percent yet. I am waiting to see if what I have will go away on its own. But, I may have to see a doctor if it continues into next week. Sorry to bore everyone with the status of my health. But I am sure if I make it to a doctor, it will be an interesting experience for all.

On Saturday, after deciding I couldn’t stay in bed forever, I managed to make it to an Indian BBQ with a bunch of the ‘International Community.’ One older Indian gentleman was convinced that I looked like Drew Barrymore and proceeded to follow me around for the night. Yes, it was an interesting party. I did manage to sneak away early and get some sleep. I had to be at work by 8 the next day in order to attend Gacaca.

I arrived at the office at 8 am on Sunday, and proceeded to wait for an hour while the Executive Secretary finished her meeting with the Minister from the Netherlands. I am not quite sure what his official title is, but he was quite tall and striking (this of course has very little to do with his position.) I enjoyed riding in the Executive Secretary’s car while she rode with the Dutch officials in a bullet proof car from the President’s office. The National Service of Gacaca used to have cars. But, the government decided to make some cut-backs. One of the first things to go was transportation. So, whenever we need cars we have to hire local taxis.

Watching the Gacaca proceeding was fascinating as usual. The man was claiming he should have been placed only in Category 3 (those who only stole and looted, they do not need to remain in prison.) He admitted to stealing many things. One older man got up and stated he had stolen his refrigerator, but it had since been returned. The community thought this was pretty funny. It’s bizarre to hear laughter at these proceedings. I’m not sure how I feel about it. Of course a little comic relief can help in such stressful situations, but I’ve seen proceedings were the individual giving testimony has turned it into a stage performance and has the community in tears from laughter. This seems to make light of an extremely grave situation. It must be insulting to the survivors.

The wife also got up to testify. She was a Tutsi who had been spared. Probably due to here husband’s involvement…but this is just me speculating which is not fair. All are innocent until proven guilty…It’s hard for me to remember this at times, especially here when you listen to the stories of the survivors. The wife claimed that she was afraid of her husband and did not ask questions, so she had no idea what he had done.

The gentlemen from the Netherlands had to leave early. Just as we got up to leave, a young woman came up to testify. She had to sit while speaking. She looked quite distraught. I did not get to hear any of her testimony, but it appeared that she was claiming he had done more than just take some property.

I then went on with my boss to watch the Bench present the verdict of Byuma. The two men who were tried with Byuma were acquitted of all accusations and released. Byuma on the other hand received quite a stern lecturing from the judge (this is the judge that has been accused of rape by his organization) and received 19 years in prison. I am sure the international human rights community was not too happy about this. He of course has appealed. Who knows what happened. For all I know he really did participate. Sometimes individuals feel that they have lived such exemplary lives before and after the Genocide that the atrocities committed during the Genocide should be excused. Byuma had claimed that he did not understand that Genocide was taking place. He just basically went with the flow. The judge pointed out that Byuma was a human rights activist and should have been more than aware of what was truly occurring. At least this is how it was translated to me. It does seem that if Byuma really did do the things he was accused of, ignorance was not a very good defence. But, this is why he has the opportunity to appeal.