A Discussion with a History Teacher, Kigali, Rwanda

June 25, 2016

Background: As part of the Education and Social Justice Fellowship Project, undergraduate student Mariam Diefallah interviewed a teacher in one of the schools in Kigali, Rwanda. In this interview, conducted in June 2016, the teacher discusses the importance of teaching history in a way that promotes reconciliation and shapes new, post-conflict identities.
As a history teacher, can you tell me a little bit about the current government curriculum you are teaching?

I think the current curriculum is focused mainly on the human rights aspect. It has changed a lot if we compare what we have now from what we had before 1994. But even after the genocide, the curriculum has changed many times to what we have now. We came a long way as history was about judging on people’s identities, and now we are fighting that ideology.

What responsibility do you have as a history teacher, especially when it comes to teaching students about justice?

I think teachers have a responsibility in teaching their students about justice. I do not think the curriculum is enough, for example, if a curriculum is teaching that differences do not exist between us, but the teacher is treating students differently because of their identity. Students will remember what they saw in class, and this is what they will learn. The government actually has laws about that: if any teacher promotes violence or divisions between students, they have to report the teacher, and the teacher will be charged by the government.

In that sense, do you think teacher training is essential to avoid this kind of problem?

Yes, of course. Teacher training is very important for reconciliation. There are many government initiatives, as well, for both teachers and students. We also have something called Peace and Love Proclaimers. It is a government initiative at schools that teaches people the meaning of reconciliation; the initiatives are about having reconciliation among different learners coming from different tribes and ethnicities. Those initiatives teach people at schools that we are not different. It also teaches them that they have to be responsible and fight against genocide ideology themselves. During those trainings, we condemn colonial ideas of division and also how the former leaders accepted those dividing ideas and promoted conflict themselves. For students, the initiatives encourage them to report people talking about divisions in a negative way, and also people who inspire violence.

You mentioned earlier that the curriculum improved. Can you give me more examples, especially in terms of teaching about the history of the genocide itself?

We have to talk about the genocide in class; it is very important to teach younger generations about that history. We now have a new method of teaching students about the genocide. It is through storytelling and it is required in all classes. Even in chemistry, maths, and language classes, teachers tell stories about the genocide and try to relate it in a way to the subject; this started happening since the changes in curriculum. If it is not related, then the storytelling becomes an activity that happens in the class, during breaks for example. Teachers are getting trainings on how to bring up the genocide in their classes. The stories talk about what happened and about the importance of remembering what happened. I think it is a good idea because we come from an oral culture, so students remember stories easily, and storytelling is more appealing in Rwanda in general. I think it makes you feel like you were there. It is very powerful. During remembrance days, we have more activities about the genocide, like the Walk to Remember and many other things.

Do you think remembrance can have negative effects?

It can, of course; some students become very depressed after those stories, but I think remembrance is more positive than negative. I think also religion is very important when it comes to remembrance because it helps people come over the negative effects of it. Religion is very important here in Rwanda. Religion gives people hope. They need it especially after what happened during the genocide to be able to live normally again. Also, when it comes to schools, churches have a very important role and a lot of connections with different schools. I think the most important connection is the help the churches give to orphans.

What challenges do you face as a teacher?

There are a lot of challenges. The payments are very low; teachers live in poverty, but not only teachers. Students, as well, and their families—poverty is everywhere, and it has effects on the education. There are many traumatized kids in classrooms, and trauma can lead to violence sometimes; it is a big problem. I think trauma and violence are a result of the lack of trust. Kids learn to distrust others from their families at home, and teachers struggle to deal with that a lot. For me, I also think the work pressure is too much. It is like you are always looking for results without any motivation, or at least with a very low motivation from the people around you and the school system itself.

Do you think those challenges can be found in private schools as well, or is it a government schools’ problem?

There are many differences between the two schools. Like in government schools, I am not sure how to say it, but you have low quality students; the students themselves are not motivated. There is also very low supervisions and lack of facilities, like labs and other things. Those things are very different in private schools because they have the means to have a better atmosphere, I think. Kids in government schools focus on facts. I think facts are important, but they need to know how to critically think as well.

What would you change if you have the chance?

I think if I can change something, I will focus on the critical thinking after focusing on facts for some time, because facts are essential for knowledge, basic knowledge.

As a history teacher, how should people in your opinion teach about the genocide without re-creating divisions and conflict?

I think it is important to focus on the grassroots that caused the conflict itself. Instead of focusing on the genocide itself, it is important to understand how we got there, how we were divided in the first place. That way, kids will understand, and we will be able to avoid any future conflicts. But I think we are already teaching kids about that—you have to remember that education outside the school is also very important, and I think the government is doing a good job with that.

Can you give me some examples?

Yea, we have many activities. For example, we have posters that say “Kwibuka” everywhere in Kigali; it means "remembrance," and by having it everywhere, you remind people about their past and what we have achieved, but at the same time, you teach them to reconcile. There are also some special days in churches for praying for the genocide victims. There is the Walk to Remember, some people fast on certain days, the government also constructed many museums and memorial sites to teach people about what happened and what caused it. I think another important thing we do here is community work. Both survivors and perpetrators have to do community work together; it is a very good way to reconcile and learn how to live together.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

I want to say that aid is very important to be able to achieve development. Rwanda is still a young country, and we need to help each other to be able to build our future.
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