Barack Obama and Rwanda's General Kalimanzira

  Arusha, Tanzania
Thursday, June 26, 2008

I think for many people when they picture Africa, the images may be close to what I have described in my previous blogs.  However, there is a lot of modernization and much more variety on the landscape.  For example, my first morning in Tanzania, I awoke to find the movie "Benchwarmers" on TV and the hotel restaurant's TV displayed MTV while I ate my breakfast. Although some people may still live in mud houses  (not the majority), lots also live in more modern concrete or brick houses with electricity. The city is packed full of cars, and multi-story modern buildings are common.  Smaller, simple concrete buildings also line the streets. Internet cafes are abundant in Arusha being utilized by tourists and locals. Almost everyone I have encountered speaks some English with many being fairly fluent.

Sign on School

Almost all of the signs for traffic, shops, and advertisements are in English.  Recognizable products from Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and Pringles are readily available as well as western food in the restaurants. It is obvious that I am in a developing city, but it is a long way from the stereotypical images of Africa.  The fact that I am in a developing city is most apparent by the number of people that are underemployed or working in the informal economy.  The sheer number of people walking and standing around also reveal a growing population.  People try to sell snacks in front of the supermarket, and newspapers in front of newsstands.  I assume many unemployed people hope for a commission for bringing tourists to shops or tour guides as tourists are often approached and encouraged to come to a particular place.  My guide book actually describes "Arusha as the worst place in Tanzania for street touts and slick tour operators that prey on the gullibility"of new arrivals by offering them ridiculously low prices. My safari companions echoed this sentiment and reported being harassed by desperate salesman upon arrival. For some reason, I have managed to avoid most of this. I did make almost all my arrangements before arrival as to not roam the streets looking for a safari or a room. By wearing long skirts (versus touristy shorts) and walking purposefully, I must have also fooled people into believing that I know what I am doing.  Anyone that has approached, I have for the most part been able to wave off with a "Hapana sante" (no thank you). I believe the vast majority of these "street touts" do not mean any harm, but are desperate for income. The lack of jobs is extremely obvious as multiple people work a small market booth hoping to make some money.   Once looking closer and speaking with some of these individuals, I understand many are far more intelligent than their occupations make them appear.

Perhaps one of the most interesting things I have experienced is the general level of knowledge regarding world and US events. Lots of Tanzanians want to discuss the US election and my thoughts on Barack Obama. Since Barack's lineage hails from neighbor Kenya, this may be no surprise, but I have had extremely intelligent conversations about both the Bush and Clinton presidencies.  I feel some here know more than some Americans regarding US politics and foreign policy.  I had a particularly long and interesting conversation (entirely in English) with a man at the market. He was especially eager to discuss Bush's foreign policy and how it has affected the US's image abroad.  I don't want to delve into the particulars of the conversation, but make a point about perceptions. It is easy to view people scraping together a living selling souvenirs and assume they are uneducated and ignorant of such affairs. My experience thus far could not be further from the truth. Besides being extremely kind, most Tanzanians are fairly well-educated, well-spoken, and well-informed.  Those that I have spoken with also deeply hope that Barack Obama will choose a different course for America.

Arusha is also home to an important regional (if not global) political affair. The UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda is seated in Arusha.  As many of you know, I have a passion for human rights and a border-line obsession with the Rwandan genocide.  On Thursday morning (freshly showered), Carson, Jamie and I sat in on a session of the trial against General Kalimanzira.  The viewing galleries sit behind glass from the actual courtroom,and we were given headphones so we could listen.  Various members of the court spoke English, French and Kinyarwanda (local Rwandan language), and the non-English parts were translated.  Although prior to this trial I do not remember any particular information about Kalimanzira, the two witnesses I heard deposed were testifying for the prosecution that Kalimenzira had ordered and witnessed mass murders of Tutsis.  Both witnessed were members of the Interhawme.  We walked in during the first witness testimony.  We missed the beginning and then got kicked out when the defense began asking questions that would reveal the witness's identity (the witness also sat surrounded by curtains, so the viewing gallery could not see him). But I learned enough to know that he was a higher member of the Interhawme as he was currently serving a thirty year sentence. Just as I was getting really fascinated, it was time for a lunch break.  After visiting the market and eating lunch with the Canadians, I headed back to the Tribunal. 

The second witness testimony had just begun as sat down and slipped my headphones on.  This witness was serving a 2 year sentence for being in charge of a roadblock.  I believe his sentence was also reduced in exchange for testifying. He described events over a three day period in which 1000 refugees were kicked out of a school, brought by bus to a hill, where they were "gunned down." He was unclear if he was one of the people doing the "gunning down", but later explained how a bulldozer came and dug a large hole and that it took 2 days for he and the others to bury the bodies.  He stated, "we were told if we did the killing, we had to bury the bodies."

 The main point of his testimony was to prove the general was behind the killings. The defense tried to poke holes in his story by repeatedly asking him to describe the vehicle the general arrived in and other minute details that would be difficult to recall fourteen years after this incident.  I will add he was not the best witness.  He got very frustrated by the defense counsel (I am sure this was intentional on their part) until he became angry and began to yelling  "that white person does not understand Kalimanzira.  You can not say no to him." He became more and more confused and upset and repeatedly called the defense counsel "that white person" in Kinyarwanda (local Rwandan language).  He kept doing this until the prosecutor interrupted and reminded the witness, that he needed to refer to the defense as "Counsel" not "That White Person". However, it took her several times to spit this out without laughing. Although it seems inappropriate to laugh at a genocide trial, I suppose it is necessary to be able to find some humor after years of listening to horrors.

Although just a tiny glimpse into the international justice system, it was rather insightful in understanding the long process of finding the truth and seeking justice. It was also rather chilling to hear these events described first hand rather than read them in a book. Unfortunately, the trial only meets Monday-Thursday, as I would have loved to sit in on more of these sessions.