Peace Bikunda

Timeline: Rwanda Before 1907 Rwanda is a successful and powerful state in East Central Africa. Everyone shares the same language and culture. The Tutsi are aristocratic rulers whose wealth comes from cattle-herding. The more numerous Hutu are agriculturalists who pay tribute to the Tutsis. These are two socio-economic groups within the state, similar to classes, not tribes or ethnic groups. Although Tutsis and Hutus tend to marry mostly within their own groups, there is some social mobility between them.

1907-1924 Colonial rule under Germany

1924-1962 Colonial rule under Belgium. Belgium does not change the political structure of the country, but works closely with the Tutsis, supporting them in repressing the Hutu.

1930s Belgium issues identity cards to the whole population. Those who had ten or more cattle were Tutsi; those who had less than ten were Hutu. The cards, in use up until 1994, increase distinctions between the two groups.

1962 Rwanda becomes independent, with a democratic government. Because the Hutu are most numerous, Hutu political parties have held the most power up until today.

1962-present Violent conflicts between Hutu and Tutsi, both before and after independence. Many Tutsi flee to neighboring countries from which they conduct raids into Rwanda. Over the years, some 800,000 Tutsis are exiled to neighboring countries.

1990s Antagonism between the two groups worsens for two reasons. First, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a Tutsi refugee army centered in Uganda, starts civil war in 1990. They are fighting to overthrow the repressive Hutu government so that Tutsi refugees can return to Rwanda. Secondly, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) insists that the government make economic 'adjustments,' because Rwanda could not pay back loans. Wages were frozen and the currency was devalued twice, each time 50%. As a result, the country is in near economic collapse. Because of these conditions, many struggles are going on within the government.

1994 April 6 The president's plane is shot down and he is killed.

1994 April to July The ruling Hutus blame the Tutsi extremist party, the RPF, for the president's death as well as for the economic collapse. They broadcast their claims against the Tutsi on the radio, stirring up old animosities among a people already suffering from severe economic problems. These events set off the massacres of Tutsi by Hutu. While the massacres are going on, the international community does nothing to help.

Peace's Story Peace Bikunda, who founded the Clinic of Hope in 1995, spends her two-hour daily lunch break gathering with others at a Christian church to sing and pray. She says, "I used to go home for my lunch break to try to sleep, but when I sleep, I hear whistles screeching in my ears. The military and militia would use whistles during the genocide to signal for backup when they found people they wanted to kill."

During the months of April to July 1994, a horrendous massacre took place in Rwanda, the heavily populated state in eastern central Africa. The ruling Hutu government and their allies killed between 500,000 and 1,000,000 men, women, and children belonging to the Tutsi minority. Moderate Hutus, especially those who protected Tutsis, or had Tutsi family members, were also killed. At the time the international community did not recognize that these massacres were genocide (a violent attempt to totally wipe out a group of people), so they did nothing to help.

The immediate cause for the slaughter was the assassination of Rwanda's president (see Timeline). The killings were done by ordinary citizens as well as government officials. Since Tutsi and Hutus lived in the same areas and villages, many were murdered by their own neighbors, friends, even family members. A particularly ugly part of the genocide was that rape was the rule, rather than the exception. Between 250,000 and 500,000 women and girls were raped, many of them repeatedly.

The one hundred days of genocide left the country in shambles. So many men were killed that today 70% of the population in Rwanda is female. Hundreds of thousands of these women are survivors of rape.

Into this desperate situation of chaos and need came Peace Bikunda. Because she is a nurse, Peace's life was saved. During the massacre, she was forced to care for wounded soldiers. Her own husband and two sons were killed.

Peace now lives in Kigali, where she founded the Clinic of Hope. She does not want to return to her former home, because the people she worked with there were the same ones who killed children, including her own.

Peace founded the Clinic to meet the needs of women who were survivors of rape and were traumatized by the killings. The women originally came to her for medical treatment because she is a nurse. At first, five women a week came for help, but the number soon increased to 150. Now two doctors and a nurse work with Peace, but there is often no money for salaries.

Soon Peace realized that the women's needs went far beyond the medical. With little help or outside advice, step by step, she identified the women's needs and developed programs to meet them. The Clinic of Hope came to serve women in the three areas they needed most: medical, emotional, and economic survival.

Peace organized meetings which women could attend every Thursday just to talk. The women shared their painful stories of losing many of their family members in the massacres. Some had seen their whole families killed in front of them.

As a result of the genocide, Peace is now responsible for 18 children: four remaining children of her own, as well as 14 from the families of her brother and sister, who were killed. Peace now must pay for school fees, as well as for care and food for the 18 children.

Other women at the Clinic have similar problems. Many Rwandan women are now heads of their families because all the men have been killed. In fact, 50% of all households in Rwanda are now headed by women.

Legally, however, women continue to have low status. Under traditional law, women cannot inherit property and cannot own a business without their husband's consent. Most have only a minimal education, and many are illiterate.

As more and more women came to the Clinic, Peace had serious financial difficulties. She decided to raise money through publicity, thinking that if she invited foreign journalists to visit and learn about the Clinic and the needs of the women, they would write stories which would result in contributions. Newspaper journalists, TV crews, and representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) came to the Clinic and produced stories. However, little money was raised.

When Peace realized that there would be little or no outside support, she understood that the women would have to help themselves. Because the murderers destroyed houses and property of the people they killed, many of the women and their children became homeless. Since the women were also now heads of their families, in order to survive, they would have to start new businesses, but they had no resources to do so.

To help such women, Peace started a traditional ikibina, a revolving bank. To join, women would make weekly contributions: 200 francs, 500 francs, or 1,000 francs. A woman would join one of these groups, according to how much she is able to contribute. When some capital had been built up, or each week, one woman would borrow all of the money. This would enable them to buy more goods to sell, or start other business ventures. In this way, the women finance their own economic advancement by concentrating the capital that they are able to raise among themselves.

The Clinic of Hope is helping the women of Rwanda to slowly rebuild their lives, their families, and their country. The most encouraging sign for the future of Rwanda is that at the Clinic women from both Tutsi and Hutu backgrounds work peacefully together in harmony. The women help each other wherever the need is greatest. Such cooperation demonstrates to others in the country that past animosities between the two groups can be overcome, and need not ruin Rwanda's future.

How does Peace manage to keep going, working to help others through such emotionally devastating times? She answers that it is through her religious faith. Peace Bikunda's work shows us how much an individual person can accomplish, without outside assistance, in even the most desperate circumstances.

Things to Do and Discuss
1 In many Rwandan villages where genocide took place, Hutu and Tutsi had formerly lived in harmony for many years. Do you think the country's history as presented in the Timeline adequately explains why genocide occurred? Do some further research to find out more.

2 At the Clinic of Hope, women meet 'just to talk' about what they had been through. How can simply talking with others who have similar problems help people? Can you think of any examples in your own life, or among your relatives and friends?

3 Reread the last sentence in the text. Can you think of any examples from your own life of people who accomplished a lot under difficult conditions? What inner resources did they draw upon in order to keep going?