Violence…We need to talk about it….The role of violence as a means of ‘problem-solving’ in Rwandan society…. Whether it is violence in the home…violence in the schools…violence in Rwandan neighbourhoods…violence in Rwanda society…I am talking about hitting each other; intimidating each other; killing each other….physical and emotional violence.
Not a particularly happy topic…and I wish I wasn’t talking about it; but after a series of recent of events, I felt compelled.
With the recent deaths of two people and the injury of 18 others by the explosion of a grenade at Marembo Village, Nyabisindu Cell in Remera, Gasabo District, Rwandan society is again starkly reminded of the prevalence of violence. In this instance media reports indicated that it appears to have been politically-motivated terrorist violence.
These deaths show that the Rwandan political system needs to continue to be reformed. There has been some interesting and relevant research from Central America from Sergio Adorno in his 2002 article ‘Youth Crime in Sao Paulo: Myths, Images and Facts’, who ‘identifies major consequences of the ‘militarisation of public security’.
In such situations, common crime morphs into ‘an internal security problem’, which confuses ‘control of the general public and the control of national security’.
There is a delicate balance in allowing freedom of political expression through the media; conduct of diverse political parties and simple demonstrations of political difference through peaceful public demonstrations.
Government policy needs to be thoroughly debated to ensure it is in the best interests of all Rwandans; and a robust political process with various political parties and Independents and which effectively, peacefully engages diverse opinions will ensure rigor in policy debate.
In a country that experienced the Genocide, there is no question that it is a complicated balancing act to allow new political parties to emerge, strengthen and divergent political voices to be heard. But they do need to be politically heard, peacefully…for peace to reign.
Rwandan election results in which the leader of one Party attracts more than 90% of the vote (regardless of the performance of that Party and its leader) reflect a weakness in the political system, which is then in part more likely to be expressed through violent extremism.
There is no question that one of the ways of curbing social violence is for timely and effective government responses to acts of extreme violence. In this instance, the Rwandan police and judicial system were swift to act and ten of the 30 grenade attack suspects have already been sentenced to life in prison.
This swift justice is likely to act as a deterrent to ‘would be’ perpetrators. These innocent citizen’s deaths however, are a signal that more needs to be done to ensure Rwandan borders are strong and prevent weapons entering Rwanda.
Additionally, in Australia, we underwent a massive overhaul of our gun ownership laws in response to a massacre at Port Arthur, Tasmania. Martin Bryant, a person with a history of mental health problems used a semi-automatic weapon to kill 35 people.
Our Prime Minister at the time, John Howard without the support of his own political party led a campaign to eradicate weapons from our society. His government funded a ‘gun buy-back’ scheme that saw thousands of guns removed from our homes.
In my opinion, this remains his best legacy that Australian’s will benefit from for generations to come. Do we have too many machetes in Rwandan homes? Will having less make a difference to the level of family and social violence?
Will the rates of violent murder drop if there are less machete’s in Rwandan homes? This is a test of real political leadership…putting the wellbeing of citizens above popular political policies.
When I read reports of beheadings in Rwanda; for example, recently Sylvester Nsanzabaganwa a resident of Kibumbwe sector Nyamagabe District in Southern Province was killed and his tongue removed in early January 2012.
It seems clear that Rwandans need to work harder to rid their society of weapons; but weapons eradication is not the only answer to cultural violence…it is to change the culture, the way Rwandans think about solving problems…as we all know violence is an ‘answer’ but it has terrible intergenerational social repercussions.
What’s Rwanda’s score on the Global Peace Index?
The Global Peace Index comprises 23 indicators that cover both the internal and external measures of peacefulness for 153 countries. The definition used for peace is “absence of violence” or “absence of the fear of violence”.
The scores reflect three main areas – Ongoing domestic and international conflict; Safety and security in society; and Militarisation.
Rwanda scored 99 out of 153 countries in 2011; with Iceland ranked 1 – being the most peaceful country. The other most peaceful countries in the world are New Zealand, Denmark, Japan and the Czech Republic.
In 2008 Rwanda ranked 76 from 144 countries; in 2010 Rwanda ranked 75….so relatively-speaking Rwanda has become more violent than approximately 20 countries in one year. This trend is disturbing!
Rwanda also has a long way to go to surpass neighbour Tanzania who ranked 56 in 2011 and 57 in 2007; scores which demonstrates they are relatively peaceful and stable. Rwanda has lessons to learn from friends in Tanzania.
Traditional rivals Uganda – now rank 96. In 2007, they ranked 104 and in 2008 they ranked 114, so they have demonstrated definite improvements in their peacefulness…and are likely to overtake Rwanda at this rate of improvement. Congratulations to Uganda for their continuous improvement!
As for Burundi, well they ranked 132 in 2011. They are relatively unpeaceful and have seen a minor deterioration in global rankings in the last three years. Data started in 2008 and it was ranked 127 then.
Contrast all these results though with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) who ranked 148 in 2011 from 153 countries across the world. DRC data commenced in 2008, when they were ranked 128 – so that tragically shows a marked deterioration in their level of peacefulness in the last four years, such that they score lower than twenty other countries than previously in the same way that Rwanda has.
Countries less peaceful than DRC are: North Korea, Afghanistan, Sudan and Iraq. Also this year Somalia, ranked 153 is the most violent country in the world.
Speaking of friendly rivals, my country Australia is ranked 18 and our rival New Zealand was ranked 1 last year…and 2 this year….so we have a way to go to top the Kiwis record!
My question to the Rwandan people is when will Rwandans care as much about their ranking on the Global Peace Index…as they do about football scores and the winners of beauty pageants?
…for it is that day, that they will be ranked 1 in the world!
….and for generations, Rwandan children will be grateful!
In my opinion, this achievement is the ultimate legacy!
Paige Garland
Director: Plan-it Life Pty Ltd
Australia
