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Journal of Undergraduate Research

Keywords

post-genocide Rwanda, ethnographic, nonfiction writing, social conditions

College

Humanities

Department

English

Abstract

Despite often being esteemed for its remarkable recovery after the complete devastation that occurred in the 1994 genocide, Rwanda is still portrayed as a dangerously plundered society and remains recognized in the West as an un-safe, chaotic area. These incorrect perceptions are rife with contradictory assertions and images and a discrepancy between image and reality.1 Post-genocide Rwanda—only seventeen years after its historically brutal genocide—is listed as one of the safest and most orderly countries in Africa. Additionally, sexually, physically, and emotionally abused and neglected Rwandan women, who made up 70% of Rwanda’s living population following the catastrophe in 1994, have now found a miraculous voice of power as they account for over 50% of Rwanda’s parliamentary seats (the world’s highest female representation in a parliament). And yet, Rwanda lacks any significant writing focusing on “bottom-up” cultural perspectives and current everyday social conditions. Rwanda is thus left misunderstood and commonly misrepresented, only sought to be understood through literature and accounts that regard the 1994 genocide, the tragedies that followed, high-level government officials, top-tier international businesses, and publicly well-known cooperatives and NGOs. There is much to be said for writing that mines deeper than these reports.

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