Reviewed
By Laksiri Fernando
( December 17, 2012, Sydney, Sri Lanka Guardian) This is a story about a young athlete, a
runner, Jean Patrick Nkuba and his family, and it is also a story about the
ethnic conflict and genocide in Rwanda. The story begins in 1984, ten years
before the actual genocide, in Gihundwe, not very far from the Southern tip of
the picturesque Lake Kivu. The nearest town is Cyangugu which you can locate
easily on the Google map. The background of the story is the Hutu-Tutsi conflict
in Rwanda. Hutu are the majority and Tutsi are the minority. A highly acclaimed
novel, “Running the Rift” was
published by Oneworld Publishers (London) early this year (2012).
A
Glimpse
“Dadi, I am Tutsi.” His father regarded
him strange and then laughed.
‘Dadi’ died in a motor accident. He was
a Prefect (French) in charge of teachers in Gihundwe. They stayed for a while
in official quarters but had to move to uncle Immanuel’s place in Gashirabwoba,
not very far from Ginhundwe. Before leaving, one day “the window exploded in a
spray of glass.” A second window splintered in few seconds later. “Tutsi
snakes!” the shouts were very close. “Next time we’ll kill you!”
Uncle gave them a lesson in history
unlike their farther: “Nineteen seventy-three, the year Habyarimana overthrew
Kayibanda. All over the country, Hutu rose up to murder Tutsi. They burned down
our house, killed your grandparents and your uncle, our younger brother. He
turned to Jean Patrick. ‘You were named for him,’ No one told you?”
It was like in Sri Lanka during the war
and the conflict; the difference is that the Sinhalese civilians apparently did
not kill the Tamils directly after 1983. No doubt that the Rwandan conflict was
more horrendous than the Sri Lankan one, but there are obvious parallels. That
is one reason why this well written and inspiring novel should be read by all
discerning Sri Lankans. It is inspiring for us to reflect on our own
prejudices, irrationality of the conflicts and dreadful deeds that they could
entail.
Why a novel without reading a human
rights report or a book on the subject? The reason is that a novel is more
effective and can arouse our conscience as in the present case. This novel however
is not a substitute for any factual report or book available on Rwanda but
supplementary.[1] In
addition, one can enjoy the story running through 365 odd pages of the life of
not only the main protagonist, Jean Patrick, but also of others in the family
and in Rwanda; their hopes, fears, love, jealousies, generosity, cruelty and
failings. It is a good read on the life and culture of this small and
picturesque Central African country, similar perhaps to the natural beauty of
Sri Lanka and its people, always smiling and enduring their unfortunate destinies
due to political calamities.
The
Story
The story is written in five sections
(books) and thirty two chapters. Book One covers the period between 1984 and
1993, Ejo Hashize, meaning Yesterday.[2]
This is not exactly a historical novel and the events covered are mainly about
the life of the main protagonist and his family. All appears humdrum matters
except on and off references to political events. The main merit of this
section is for you to get familiarized with the culture, way of life and day to
day living of ordinary Rwandans of different walks of life. You would get a
chance of even to sense a little bit of their language, Kinyarwanda.
Jean Patrick has a natural talent for
running and it is particularly encouraged by his elder brother, Roger. His
ambition is to run for the Olympics. When he entered the secondary school, the Coach
Rutembeza identifies him as a political gift. “How many Tutsi?” he asked
welcoming the runners. Jean Patrick and Isaka raised their hands, “Good. You’ll
be strong for distance.” The Coach plays a major role in Jean Patrick’s life
until the end of the story.
First it was a genuine recognition of
talent and he was even given a Hutu identity card to protect him from security checks.
Then it was politics. The Coach is a former army man with strong connections
with the government and uses Jean Patrick to show the international community
how reasonable the Rwandan government is in promoting Tutsi sportsmen. It is a
classic case of ‘sports and politics’ or abusing sports for politics.
Book Two is Ni Rwo Urugendo (A bird builds its nest). This is about the
gathering storms of genocide and the narration is quite political. Jean Patrick
enters the National University in Butare and the Coach follows him. First, Butare
is relatively calm compared to Kigali. Apart from his studies, he is trained
for Olympics! Jean Patrick is politically naïve unlike his brother, who has
already joined the RPA (Rwandan Patriotic Front). The two characters are an interesting
contrast.
Jean Patrick meets Beatrice or simply
Bea by accident and it develops into a steady and romantic love affair. She is
Hutu, a daughter of a university professor who is in the country’s opposition
politics with the Parti Social Democrate (PSD). That party wants to share power
with Tutsi RPA on a democratic platform. He also becomes friendly with an
American academic, Jonathan, who is a visiting scholar at his university. Jean
Patrick is taken to National Olympics somewhere in 1993 in Kigali during the peace process; sounds familiar to us
but a decade earlier.
“This event, Coach said, ‘is a special
occasion to celebrate the implementation of the peace process. Many Westerners
will be there…I want people to know who you are – important people in the
international community. So you need to stay sharp.”
Even President Habyarimana was there at
the event. At the reception he declared, “Here is our hero…He paused, open
mouthed, and Jean Patrick realized the President had forgotten his name. But he
continued saying “This young man embodies new Rwanda. A Rwanda where anyone can
succeed.”
By that time UNAMIR (United Nations
Assistance Mission) was in Rwanda; however, without much help. The conflict was
not one sided, many political groups were involved. Once his friend Daniel, gave
Jean Patrick a lesson in politics, describing the situation in Kigali where he
comes from. “Not just RPF. Rival political parties. The MDR fights the CDR, CDR
fights the PSD, everyone fighting Habyarimana’s MRDD. Aye! So many letters –
who can keep them straight. And then there are crooks, blowing up shops just to
steal from them. One day I almost tripped over a dead body. He was lying in the
middle of the street, like he was asleep. They cut him in broad daylight.”
Genocide
Book Three is about Death. Urupfu rurarya ntiruhaga (Death eats and
is never full) is the title proper. It is followed by Book Four “The Far Side
of the Earth.” These are the two sections that cover the genocide proper. All
hell broke loose when Habyarimana was assassinated. It was on 6 April 1994. Who
shot his landing plane in Kigali is disputed. Regardless who assassinated the
President, anti-Tutsi militias became activated and slaughtered every Tutsi or
anyone opposed to Hutu Power. But all were brewing before. All details of political
events are not given in the novel.
As far as the story is concerned, Jean
Patrick had to kiss Bea and leave in search of his family in Gashirabwoba. Probably
she was pregnant by that time. He was planning to help his family escape to
Burundi where their Aunt lived, with Roger’s help. But the death was so hungry.
All were devoured except Roger who was with the rebels, RPF. In these perhaps
hurriedly written short chapters most tragic stories are revealed, closer to
the actual events and incidents. Most revealing is Coach’s direct involvement
in the Interahamwe, paramilitary
operation of Hutu’s. He has in fact stealthily trained death squads, while
coaching Jean Patrick for Olympics. However he allows Jean Patrick to escape near
the Rwanda-Burundi border. Later, Jonathan takes him to Boston where he reads
for a PhD. All evidence reveals the demise of the whole family of Bea. Although
they were Hutu, they were considered Ibytso,
the traitors.
The last Book Five is Iby’ejo Bibara Ab’ejo, meaning “the
things of tomorrow by the people of tomorrow” consisting of short three
chapters and dated 1998.
“Uraho, Jean Patrick?” Bea called.
“Muraho, Jean Patrick” he answered, but for a while he was not sure who it was.
Lessons
The story is undoubtedly about one of
the most senseless conflicts in the human history. Over half a million people
were brutally killed. According to the “Out of Africa Theory,” Homo sapiens apparently originated
somewhere near here, in the African continent over a million years ago. But
humans are apparently not yet properly civilized. Rwandan genocide in 1990s
reminds us the Holocaust in Europe in
1930s. It is in many ways similar to our own conflict in Sri Lanka. It should
be Ejo of the past and not Ejo of the future, hopefully not.
To all information available, there is
no major difference or unavoidable conflict between Hutu and Tutsi. All were generated
through power politics or discriminatory economics. There is no difference in
language or religion/s or the customs. They all worship similar deities apart
from being different types of Christians. In the past they were thinly
differentiated two large tribes; Tutsi engaged mainly in cattle breeding and
Hutu in cultivation, but interchanging the vocations and the tribe very often.
As the cattle were the measure of wealth, some Tutsi families were elevated to
the kingship. Strict identities were attributed during the colonial period for
convenience or to divide and rule. The novel says that the people perceive Tutsis
to be tall and thin and Hutus short and stout; which is not often correct. The
failure of democratic transformation or peaceful resolution of differences was
the main cause of the conflict.
Rwanda has been relatively peaceful
since the major calamity. Many of the key perpetrators and instigators of ‘war
crimes and crimes against humanity’ have been tried and sentenced. Some cases
are still pending; war crime investigations are not covered in the novel.
However, the novel ends in an optimistic note; Jean Patrick and Bea are united
– peace is dawned. Moreover the people have become resilient and enduring. The
novel has a note of hope and expectation; for peace, harmony and
reconciliation. Perhaps this is also the message that Sri Lankans should take
from the novel.
“Yego, Amahoro.” Peace.
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