David Bucura Photo: Photo courtesy FWCC.
Reconciliation in Rwanda
Chrissie Hinde describes an inspiring talk in Sheffield
When David Bucura talks about peace building in Rwanda you know he is talking from the heart and that his commitment to peace runs deep. He survived the genocide in 1994 but lost seven siblings and was separated from his newly wedded wife for several months.
David, who works with the Friends World Committee for Consultation, visited Sheffield in April to talk to Friends about his work in Rwanda and neighbouring countries. His visit came just after he had been involved in services to commemorate the anniversary of the start of the genocide on 6 April. This date is etched firmly in the mind of Rwandans who survived the terrible ordeal. An estimated 800,000 people were massacred in just three months.
The story of Rwanda’s journey back to peaceful co-existence is a truly moving one.
David spoke about workshops in which forgiveness and healing could take place through honest sharing of personal accounts from all sides. Perpetrators and victims were brought together and, with skilled facilitation, families have been able to reconcile and reconnect with those who had been sworn enemies.
David spoke of the Gacaca community courts, in which local people were chosen to act as a group of judges and, through a ‘truth and reconciliation’ process, to enable those held in prison, for lower level involvement in the violence, to share their stories and confess their crimes. This is instead of them languishing in jail for the decades it could take to work through the hoards of prisoners, both innocent and guilty.
David is involved in an impressive array of organizations, including Healing and Rebuilding Our Communities (HROC), African Great Lakes Initiative (AGLI), and Change Agent for Peace International (CAPI). He showed us a short film of peer mediation work he was involved in with school children and told us about transformative mediation work with adults. The country still urgently needs help from people able to work as mediators and in teacher training. David asked for support with this work through donations to AGLI.
He also encouraged volunteers to assist with the work and asked for help with English books. The national language in Rwanda has recently switched from French to English. High Flatts Meeting has launched an appeal coordinated by Arthur Pritchard to send a container to Kigali with books and educational materials. Quaker schools have generously donated textbooks.
The meeting also heard about the work of Elizabeth Cave, of Ealing Meeting, who visits Rwanda regularly to teach simple vegetable growing techniques to women in rural communities.
