another week in rwanda, another week of work?

a friday morning and I need to be doing something. what is it that I am to do? I find these moments to be the most difficult to get my thoughts sorted, to figure out what it is that I am to be doing. I need to go to places, I need to talk to people and sometimes this doesn't seem to be a problem. other times, this is the most difficult for me to do.

this week, I went to butare on tuesday and wednesday. I went to go to several memorial sites near the city; I ended up going to only one site but going to a gacaca trial. as many of you do not know, gacaca (pronounced ga-cha-cha) is a kinyarwanda word that means 'grass court,' a traditional form of sorting out disputes within a community, when village elders would come together along with members of the community to resolve conflicts between two parties. (this is, obviously, a very brief description of this institution. a more detailed explanation/critique can be found online; on such site is web.amnesty.org/library/index/engafr470072002) gacaca has been used since 2006 nationwide in rwanda (after an initial trial basis in a few communities) to help alleviate the backup of prisoners in rwanda. many people have been in prison since the genocide and have yet to have their cases heard. gacaca is also to serve as a tool of reconciliation within the community, as people who are accused of participating in the genocide are questioned in front of the other members of their village and the gacaca judges are able to draw from the community to provide greater insight into what actually happened during the killings. this sort of set up (with elected elders and village participation) is to help provide a true understanding of genocidal events and individual participation in these events, as well as provide some justice. if someone comes forth as participating in the genocide and is found to tell the truth of what they did, he/she must participate in some form of community service in order to heal the wounds that they inflicted on those around them. gacaca can also implement jail sentences on people who do not tell the truth of their participation in the genocide. there are many different critiques of the use of gacaca, who is tried, if this is a useful form of reconciliation, and who it serves. from my small experience on wednesday, it is an intense experience for the community and those on trial. the gacaca that I attended on wednesday lasted from 9:00am to 4:30pm, with both women who were tried sentenced to six months in jail and ordered to return to gacaca every two weeks. (I don't know if this was to have their cases further heard or if it is encourage their participation in the reconcilation process.)

I know that this sounds like I have been doing things, so that my first statement seems invalid. but really, what am I doing right now? going to send some emails and make some phone calls. get the ball rolling, if I can just roll on with it...