20 years ago, in 1994, the otherwise largely ignored little Central African country of Rwanda made the international headlines by making the world witness its most recent genocide to date. The countries two major ethnic groups, Hutu and Tutsi, had a long history of violence with recurring mutual massacres. Following the downing of the plane carrying Rwanda’s president Habyarimana, Hutu militias took control and together with the ordinary population tried to wipe out the Tutsi in countrywide government-sponsored massacres that exceeded previous massacres in quantity and quality.
Post-genocide Rwandan society, and therefore its government, faces a very precarious situation: how to rebuild a society in which there are more perpetrators than victims and in which the crimes where largely conducted by the ordinary population? Perhaps the biggest problem faced is that at their core the massacres were hate crimes as opposed to massacres for practical reasons, say, to get more land. One of the country’s most pressing issues is therefore reconciliation between these two groups over the past conflicts.
The Tutsi-led government has decided to tackle this complex problem by simple means: officially abolishing ethnicities and encouraging Tutsi survivors to forgive Hutu perpetrators. However, as noble and well-meaning this approach seems at first glance, the negative implications might far outweigh the positive ones in the long run, which will be discussed in detail further below. Many non-fictional papers have dealt with the phenomenon of “collective amnesia”, yet a surprisingly small number of fictional works has done so, making the few existing ones the more valuable.
This paper is going to use one of these fictional works, Gilbert Gatore’s novel "Le Passé devant soi" (The Past Ahead), as an example to show why and how to challenge the approach of imposed silence as a means to deal with ethnic divides in post-genocide Rwanda, which lead to “ striking continuity from the pre-genocide to the post-genocide regime” (Reyntjens 32). There are three main problems with the government’s approach, each of which is dealt with in the novel: the whole issue of reinventing a nation, the consequences of this for the survivors, and the precarious situation perpetrators are put into. We will look at each of these problems in turn while constantly integrating how "Le Passé devant soi" criticises in the current politics of commemoration.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- Introduction
- Invisible Rwanda in Le Passé devant soi
- Trauma and storytelling
- Tensions between remembering and forgetting
- Building a nation
- Tutsi and politisation of victimhood
- Vilification of Hutu
- Concluding remarks
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This paper examines Gilbert Gatore's novel Le Passé devant soi (The Past Ahead) as a case study to analyze the complex issues of remembering and forgetting in post-genocide Rwanda. It critically evaluates the Rwandan government's approach to reconciliation, specifically its focus on abolishing ethnicities and encouraging forgiveness. The paper explores the limitations and potential pitfalls of this strategy, examining the impact on both survivors and perpetrators.
- The challenge of reinventing a nation in post-genocide Rwanda
- The consequences of forced forgetting for Tutsi survivors
- The precarious situation of Hutu perpetrators
- The tension between remembering and forgetting in the context of national reconciliation
- The role of literature in challenging imposed silences
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
The Introduction presents the historical context of the Rwandan genocide, highlighting the deep-seated ethnic tensions between Hutu and Tutsi. It discusses the challenges faced by post-genocide Rwandan society in rebuilding a nation where perpetrators outnumber victims. The government's approach to reconciliation, based on the idea of abolishing ethnicities and encouraging forgiveness, is introduced as a contentious strategy.
Chapter 2, "Invisible Rwanda in Le Passé devant soi," introduces the central characters of Isaro Gervais, a survivor of the genocide, and Niko-le-singe, a seemingly transformed perpetrator. The chapter delves into the narrative's unique approach to depicting the genocide, with the absence of explicit references to Rwanda, Tutsi, and Hutu, yet numerous allusions to the events that resonate with readers familiar with the subject. The chapter then analyzes how the novel uses Kinyarwanda, the Rwandan language, and other symbolic elements to establish Rwanda as the setting.
Chapter 3, "Trauma and storytelling," examines how Isaro's struggle to write a book of commemoration reflects the broader dilemma faced by Rwandans: the urge to remember and document the past, while simultaneously facing limitations and pressures to remain silent. The chapter discusses how the novel explores the complexities of remembering and forgetting, showcasing the impact of trauma and its influence on individual and collective narratives.
Chapter 4, "Tensions between remembering and forgetting," further analyzes the novel's critical engagement with Rwandan politics of commemoration. This chapter explores the challenges associated with building a nation in the aftermath of genocide, particularly the impact on the victimized Tutsi population and the problematic situation faced by Hutu perpetrators. It examines how the novel highlights the limitations of imposed silence as a means of achieving reconciliation.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
The key themes and focus topics of this paper are: post-genocide Rwanda, reconciliation, remembering, forgetting, trauma, storytelling, Le Passé devant soi (The Past Ahead), Gilbert Gatore, national identity, victimhood, perpetratorhood, collective amnesia, silence, imposed silence, Rwandan politics of commemoration.
- Quote paper
- Gregor Schönfelder (Author), 2014, Without Past, No Future. Forgetting, Remembering and Reconciliation in Gilbert Gatore’s "Le Passé devant soi", Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/353268
