Behind the Presidential Curtains: Paul Kagame, Edouard Bamporiki encouraging Hutus to apologise, even those who never committed a crime?

Edouard Bamporiki, a filmmaker, has been in the news repeatedly since he introduced the idea of encouraging all Hutu’s to apologise even for those who never committed a crime during the 1994 genocide, or those who had not even been born in 1994. He took an initiative to apologise for the crimes he never committed even though he was only 10 years old during genocide. Immediately after that, his idea was supported by His Excellence Paul Kagame and Prime Minister Pierre Habumuremyi who also apologised in the same way as Edouard Bamporiki who was later heard on news being endorsed as one of the next coming candidates of the ruling party RPF in Parliament.

For God sake what is going on with our politics! This child was never an interahamwe and also never served the army neither ex-far or RPA. If our current government is going to support the idea of apologising for the crimes they never committed what about the reconciliation we have been working on for the last 20 years? What about the stigma experienced by those born after the war? How about Kagame and his soldiers who have butchered refugees in DRC for almost 20 years? Will they apologise to the Hutus? Will Major Karangwa, Major Akili, Col Dan Munyuza, Gen Jack Nziza, Gen Fred Ibingira, Gen Patrick Nyamvumba, Breg Gen Kazora apologise? Will Breg Gen Gumisiriza and his team explain and apologise to the priests and bishops on what happened in Gakurazo? Will they speak to the mother of Nshaija the innocent little boy killed on that day? Will all other Tutsi’s come out to apologise on Kagame and his Tutsi military men behalf who committed crimes against the innocent Hutu victims who were massacred in Murambi, Byumba, Kagera, Nasho, Gahini, Nyabweshongweizi and Kibeho, plus DRC and etec?

Like Bazivamo Christopher or Rucagu Boniface Bamporiki believes that the RPF government is doing well when it comes to truth and reconciliation, I believe that Bamporiki is a new Rucagu who will save or sink our nation when time comes, in the opposite way. Yes Bamporiki may have experienced trauma like many children of that time of horror, however his idea of making the society stigmatised is totally wrong and should be opposed immediately by all of us.

This idea will divide the whole nation, it is corrupt and I urge all my fellow brothers and sisters to think more before acting, like the Ibuka boss said those who committed crimes are welcome to apologise to those affected by what they did and not to be encouraged but when they feel that it is time to ask for forgiveness.

This idea is meant to benefit Paul Kagame and the ruling party who are aiming to stigmatise the Hutu children. He wants to make them believe that they still survive because of Kagame’s king’s gesture, then make Tutsi’s believe that they have protection and Kagame have managed to make Hutu’s kneel down for them. This is not right at all.  We should all have the same rights no matter what: the people who participated in genocide most of them died others were released by Kagame from prisons as a way of promoting himself prior to elections. The rest are still serving in prisons and participating in hard labour all over the country, those still on the run are hunted.

Please leave the young generation alone, they have coped with the stigma and discrimination caused by confusion due to poor governance of the current government of Rwanda. I believe enough is enough:

Bamporiki like many young men and women from the Hutu tribe have been recruited by the first lady Janet Kagame, she is aiming to capture as many supporters as possible, the project which was discussed between the President Paul Kagame and Gen Jack Nziza is believed to increase the RPF support especially when the time comes, if they have to make a transition between Kagame and his wife. This project is dangerous for the whole nation because it will not benefit the Rwandan citizens instead the individuals. I believe that Bamporiki may have experienced trauma due to his age at the time of genocide and what he went through. He received no support to help him with the trauma when he desperately needed it, and instead turned to poems. When he was accepted by the Tutsi government he had to do everything to impress them.

 

Edouard Bamporiki’s personal story during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi?

Edouard Bamporiki –I got to know that I’m Hutu when I was nine years old. It was a kind of homework from our teacher who told us to ask our parents about our ethnicity.

When I got home, I asked my mother, she said I was Hutu, at that time, my father had already passed on.

When I got back to school because we were all required to loudly give our answers, we realised we only had six Tutsi children in my class, we remained friends until the Genocide.

During the Genocide, we were in holidays and I had been admitted to Kibogora Hospital (in then Cyangugu Prefecture) and all of a sudden I heard people being killed. When I asked my mother, she said Hutus were killing Tutsis.

I was too naive at the time that I remember stepping out and seeing the body of my teacher who had been killed, then ran and told my mother that they were not only killing Tutsis but they were also killing teachers because I didn’t know teachers belonged to any ethnic group.

When I went back to school, my Tutsi classmates had been killed and this is when I wrote my first poem, Had you not killed them, we would be laughing together. After this, I kept writing, until in 2006, when I stood up to tell my story.

To be honest, before 2006, I did not believe a Hutu could stand up during the Genocide commemoration and give testimony and I was happy when my message was accepted, and I was comforted, which gave me courage to go on. Fellow youth started coming, saying the trust I was promoting across the ethnic divide was crucial.

My argument was, for a young Hutu to step out of the shadow of what was done by our parents, we needed to openly discuss these things.

To Make things worse Bamporiki recalls that his teacher was also murdered because of being Tutsi, but then he explains that his family told him that teachers were also being killed, and then Bamporiki in his story believed that Teachers had no tribe:. At the same time Bamporiki stated that his teacher used to ask them whether they were Hutu’s or Tutsi’s as home work. My God What is going on in our society?

After a traumatic experience, it’s normal to feel frightened, sad, anxious, and disconnected. But if these feelings do not fade and you feel stuck with a constant sense of danger and painful memories, you may be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. It can seem like you’ll never get over what happened or feel normal again. But by seeking treatment, reaching out for support, and developing new coping skills, you can overcome PTSD and move on with your life.

Post-traumatic stress disorder can develop following a traumatic event that threatens your safety or makes you feel helpless.

Most people associate PTSD with battle-scarred soldiers—and military combat is the most common cause in men—but any overwhelming life experience can trigger PTSD, especially if the event feels unpredictable and uncontrollable.

Post-traumatic stress disorder can affect those who personally experience the catastrophe, those who witness it, and those who pick up the pieces afterwards, including emergency workers and law enforcement officers. It can even occur in the friends or family members of those who went through the actual trauma.

http://www.helpguide.org/mental/post_traumatic_stress_disorder_symptoms_treatment.htm

PTSD develops differently from person to person. While the symptoms of PTSD most commonly develop in the hours or days following the traumatic event, it can sometimes take weeks, months, or even years before they appear.

The traumatic events that lead to post-traumatic stress disorder are usually so overwhelming and frightening that they would upset anyone.  Almost everyone experiences at least some of the symptoms of PTSD. When your sense of safety and trust are shattered, it’s normal to feel crazy, disconnected, or numb. It’s very common to have bad dreams, feel fearful, and find it difficult to stop thinking about what happened. These are normal reactions to abnormal events.

For most people, however, these symptoms are short-lived. They may last for several days or even weeks, but they gradually lift. But if you have post-traumatic stress disorder, the symptoms don’t decrease. You don’t feel a little better each day. In fact, you may start to feel worse.

Unfortunately this patient’s experience was mishandled, neglected and instead is being used as a political tool, by people like President Paul Kagame who is himself a sadist and requires psychological help, and so this is evident that divisions in Rwanda are being caused by the people who require intervention.

http://www.inyenyerinews.org/amakuru-2/behind-the-presidential-curtains-3/

Noble Marara

edited by Jennifer Fierberg