A Discussion with a Representative of the Protestant Council of Rwanda

May 26, 2009

Background: As part of the Peacebuilding Practitioners Interview Series, Jason Klocek interviewed a representative of the Protestant Council of Rwanda (Conseil Protestant du Rwanda, CPR). In this interview the representative discusses how the council is helping churches engage in reconciliation, including facilitating collaboration with other religious and secular groups. The representative also highlights challenges to reconciliation and priorities for the future.

What does reconciliation mean to the CPR?

We need reconciliation in Rwanda because there was division of what was once one. If two things were never one, they would not need to be put back to together. But the people of Rwanda were once one people, and they need to be reconciled together again.

Why did they separate? 

I would say mainly because of colonial policy of divide and rule. As independence neared, these colonial masters divided Rwandans so that they could try and maintain their power. That is why in 1959 the massacres against the Tutsis started to happen. There was also a mass exodus of Tutsis at that time. And this division continued all the way until 1994, when there was the genocide. In 1994, the current government put an end to the politics of division and initiated the national policy towards reconciliation. It was now time to make things change in a positive way. It was time to rebuild, heal the divisions, and to heal the wounds of traumatized Rwandans.

Can you talk about the CPR programs that are promoting the type of unity you just mentioned?

There are many issues that the churches have been working on towards peace building and reconciliation till today in Rwanda.

First, churches have been involved in work with returned refugees—the issue of repatriation. Since the end of the genocide, the old cases of refugees started to return, but at the same time there are new cases of refugees among those who were complicit in the genocide and have now fled the country. But as the important step of repatriation continued, the process of reintegration back into communities also continued on this side of our country. The process of reintegration was, among others, taken by the churches and other members of the society as an important part of the reconciliation process.

We have run many seminars and meetings with local churches to help with this process. We have sensitized church leaders and members to this issue of unity and reconciliation.

Second, churches have worked on the issue of gacaca justice. Churches have given their contribution for the gacaca court to work, since the ordinary courts could not handle all of the numerous cases in reasonable time. Gacaca courts came, among other things, to speed up the judicial process and the churches did their best to make them work properly. Churches emphasized the need for prayer, confession, repentance, and forgiveness. Also, churches preached in prisons, where it helped prisoners to confess and repent for their wrongdoing.

A third issue of focus to the CPR is the youth. The churches have to teach them Christian values which lead them to unity and reconciliation. It is why they are a major focus of our pastoral approach to reconciliation. We have a national program of reconciliation for the youth that brings together young people from all over, even from churches and organizations that are not affiliated with CPR. There we stress the biblical message of reconciliation. CPR shows to these young fellow Christians how to use the Bible as an important tool of reconciliation work. We also pray and sing together, then we listen to testimonies people might have so that we may share in one another’s suffering. We prepare these youth for a life in Jesus Christ, one in which they will carry the message of peace and reconciliation.

Have you collaborated with other religious or secular organizations in your work?

Yes, be it locally, nationally, and regionally. Not so long ago the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (IJR) came to Rwanda from Cape Town and did an assessment of our National Unity and Reconciliation Commission. Part of their delegation also ran some meetings for faith-based and non-faith-based organizations working on reconciliation and peacebuilding. These were very important meetings because they brought together the Protestant churches with other faith groups, including the Catholics and Muslims, as well as the non-faith-based NGOs working today in Rwanda. They strengthened a dialogue between us, and we were able to share about our experiences and best practices.

Also, we were able to draw some comparisons with the case of South Africa and learn from what took place there. As I am sure you know church leaders played a major role in ending apartheid there. So this meeting helped created a bridge between the South African and Rwandan experiences. Part of the delegation from IJR even included South African religious leaders. In the end, we saw better what our witness could do to promote peace and reconciliation in Rwanda.

At the conclusion of this meeting—or really a series of meetings—the faith communities of Rwanda signed a declaration that admitted the silence of many churches during the genocide, even to some extent the complicity of some individual religious persons, and expressed their regret and apology for that situation. This was another good, new step towards a new period in which the faith communities of Rwanda will help lead the people out of the darkness in to the light.

What are the major challenges to reconciliation efforts today in Rwanda?

We always need to assess how far we have gone and what are the challenges ahead of us churches. A lot has been done to build trust among Rwandans. Building trust is important for churches because people are to live next to each other even if some might have done wrong things to others, their family, or people they knew during the genocide. Prayer is one powerful way that we are using to bring people together. On that note, I would say the churches are playing a major role in promoting and building social trust in Rwanda. Churches still need support of brothers and sisters from other countries.

In addition to the issues of unity, peace and reconciliation, and building trust, the CPR has done much work in the area of reintegration, and it has learned that this is no simple issue. People like returnees, survivors of genocide, and released prisoners need assistance and support in the areas of shelter, education, medical care, and trauma counseling.

Finally, churches are still involved in the fight against violence (some cases of gender-based violence for instance). Violence against women and children must be combated and eradicated, and it is an issue of much focus for the churches.

Thinking about those challenges, what do you think are the top priorities for the country as you move into the future?

First, much of the genocide ideology was taught and reinforced in schools prior to 1994, and there still remains some of that ideology today. Teachers and administrators need to be trained in the area of reconciliation, and we need to ensure that now our schools are sources of peace, reconciliation, and blessing for our nation.

Second, the issues of refugees, especially in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), needs to be addressed. These refugees have to come back home and be reintegrated in their respective districts.

Third, regional stability is important for lasting peace in the Great Lakes Region. Regional church organizations are working towards that goal. For example, there is the Great Lakes Ecumenical Forum, which has its offices in Nairobi but includes representatives from Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, and the DRC. The CPR also works through channels such as the Fellowship of Christian Councils and Churches in the Great Lakes and Horn of Africa and the All Africa Council of Churches to face the bigger issues of peace and security in our region. Just last week, from May 19 to 21, 2009, religious leaders from the countries I mentioned above were hosted here in Rwanda for a meeting to discuss these very issues.

Finally, it is a strong commitment of the people of Rwanda and the churches to live a peaceful and prosperous life that has no division and that is reconciled. Our youth remain our future leaders, and we need to work hard to ensure that they don’t feel the same pain of divisions experienced by adults in the past.

Thank you very much for your time today.

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