In 2011, I was contracted by Eirene to work as a psychotherapist at “Association Modeste et Innocent” (AMI) in Rwanda – seventeen years after the genocide – as part of the reconciliation process. Reconciliation is especially difficult in Rwanda because the rival ethnic groups tend to live alongside each other as neighbors in the same villages. The majority of Rwandans do not know about the psychological effects of trauma.
During my work, the negative emotions of those I would talk to were ever-present and palpable at all times, namely: hatred, fear and mistrust of the other respective ethnicity, anger about the impunity of many of the perpetrators, and an inability to mourn. Hutus suffered from marginalization and discrimination as a result of their ethnicity being defined as that of the perpetrator. The current president, Paul Kagame, is a Tutsi and brought the genocide to an end with his rebel movement in 1994. To this very day, he still preaches a politics of unity and equality, designed to promote reconciliation while preventing discrimination. The type and method of its implementation do, however, render the formation of political opposition impossible, as freedom of expression is only possible to a limited degree. The human rights violations perpetrated against the Hutus by the Tutsi rebel movement are still shrouded in an omertà and are not being processed by courts.
The Rwandan aid organization AMI has been working in this fragile context since 2000. On the local authority level, AMI has always had success in working through trauma and emotional burdens using a so-called “approche communautaire” (community approach). Accordingly, everyone in a village community should contribute to the psychological well-being of their neighbors and develop a sense of empathy for their emotional pain.
How important is it to work with emotions in peacebuilding?
After outbreaks of violence, thorough processing of the aforementioned emotions on both an individual and community level is crucial for achieving long-term peaceful co-existence in fragile contexts. How does AMI conduct its emotional work? The population is being informed about the importance of feelings and the psychological impact of trauma through radio programs, campaigns and workshops. Negative emotions and prejudices among the feuding ethnic groups are also being addressed in voluntary group meetings.
The government and institutions are first and foremost pursuing a politics of stability. Unfortunately, neither are taking full advantage of their opportunities to support peace actors.
Personal experiences
During my time working at the advisory service operated by AMI, I primarily conducted one-to-one discussions. It was exclusively female Tutsis who wanted to speak to me. Not a single man and not a single Hutu woman ever sought me out. This almost certainly had something to do with the fact that my interpreter was a Tutsi woman and that I myself am a woman, as men seldom discuss their feelings with women in such contexts. It may also have had something to do with the fact that, after the genocide, all international services were aimed at Tutsis and, as a result, perhaps it did not occur to Hutus that they may also benefit from my talking therapy service. Because they are regarded as the “bad guys”, perhaps they believed that they had lost all rights to support. The clients’ main topics of conversation were the atrocities they suffered during the genocide, their murdered loved ones, psychological difficulties and physical symptoms, hopelessness, depression and apathy. The hardship and misery of their day-to-day survival was also a major topic. Many of them stared hollow-eyed into the void and seemed as though they had died inside. After the conversation, they often sprang back to life. If those affected notice the therapist’s interest and feel her compassion, sometimes it is possible to awaken them from their “death stare” and restore their self-esteem.
Since 1995, the government has organized a genocide memorial week in April each year. On the radio and television, there are a series of open-air talks, events and lectures on genocide-related topics. Offices and businesses are closed and it is forbidden to listen to music. Survivors may give testimonies in front of an audience. The government expects Rwandans to participate in the memorial week. Many people dread these memorial weeks and would rather not attend, but dare not to for fear of ridicule and social exclusion. During this time, many people fall into deep emotional crises with intrusive flashbacks or aggressive impulses. Many become spatially and temporally disoriented, descending into an unresponsive state in which they are no longer aware of what is happening around them. Crises such as this could be avoided if people could be exempt from participating. But the expectation that people take part has a negative, retraumatizing effect on many people.
At which point in the peace process should emotions begin to be processed on an individual level and at which point on a community level?
On the individual level, there is no hard and fast rule within trauma therapy and research has shown that there are differing opinions about this. The one thing that is certain is that the right time to process trauma is different for each individual. Psychological support may be appropriate and useful just a few weeks after the event for some people, while premature therapy could be retraumatizing for others, often with devastating consequences.
On the community level, the population’s physical safety could still not be guaranteed immediately after the genocide. Revenge killings were a common occurrence. Perpetrators had not yet been incarcerated and survivors had to live in fear of encountering them again. As the emotions were still fresh and intense, there was a danger that they could be acted upon and that violence could break out again. After the end of a violent conflict, emotions should only begin to be processed once the physical safety of the population has been guaranteed and institutions such as the justice system and police force have started functioning again to a reasonable degree.
How should the emotions of those affected be discussed on the community level as part of the peace process?
AMI works through negative emotions and prejudices among those affected in mixed ethnic groups. The aim is to reduce fear, ethnic hatred, anger and tensions among different ethnic groups. In groups such as these, the participants practice non-violent communication, i.e. recognition of the other respective ethnicity as partners of equal value and mutual acceptance of each other’s perspective. First of all, prejudices, hatred, mistrust, fear and anger are discussed in the individual ethnic groups. As a crucial second step, they meet the opposing ethnic group. The intention is for the parties to the conflict to learn to perceive the other respective group as human beings after the violence they have lived through and after the people of the other ethnicity have been portrayed as “cockroaches” and “vermin” in propaganda. These encounters are sensitive and require great tact as the insults and denigrations from both sides can incite violent rage which sometimes can no longer be controlled. Participation is only constructive if it is voluntary. If people are forced to participate, there is a risk that aggressions could once again escalate into acts of violence. The results of the work with AMI are very encouraging. Since AMI began conducting this work, the incidence of revenge killings and violent attacks has decreased.
Why is the integration of negative emotions into the peace process so important?
Hatred, fear, resentment, anger and unacknowledged guilt have destructive effects on a group’s social cohesion. Without processing or making people aware of negative emotions and trauma, there is a risk that unconscious emotions could resurface and manifest in the form of violence. Countless examples in political history show that that which is repressed and left unaddressed may return years or even decades down the line.
For survivors, it is crucial that those responsible for the crimes acknowledge the injustice of what was committed, that they apologize and serve a custodial sentence so that justice can be restored and the survivors can learn to live with their hatred. It is known that unprocessed, unconscious trauma tends to have devastating effects on the generations to come.
