An Introduction to International Justice
I visited the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda today, the Arusha-based court established by the United Nations to try individuals alleged to have participated in the Rwandan genocide of 1994.Over two hours, I sat in on two different cases. In the first, the prosecution was examining its witness, a Hutu man. A thick curtain hid the man from the public to protect his identity. I only heard the last hour of his 6-hour testimony, but his responses to the prosecution’s questions were interesting. The man’s mother-in-law was a Tutsi, and he claims to have protected her during the genocide. The witness denied that he had participated in the killings (I imagine that’s common), but also – when asked by the prosecution how, given the witness’ claims to have been protecting Tutsis in the community despite the ire of his Hutu neighbors, he managed to survive the genocide—the man replied that, in those days, you did what you could to help others but you also had to show your support to the government. The prosecution didn’t press the man further, but his response gave me the chills—how did he “show support” to a government that was actively murdering Tutsis?In the second case, I watched a different set of prosecutors examining another witness, and was introduced to what I’m sure is only one of many difficulties in international trials. The main prosecutor was an African woman who spoke in English, and her questions were translated in both French (for other members of the legal team, as well as some Rwandans) and Kinyarwanda (the language spoken by both Hutus and Tutsis). The witness responded in Kinyarwanda, and an interpreter relayed his statements back to the prosecution in English. When I entered the courtroom, it was obvious that the prosecutor was impatient with the witness; the interesting thing, though, is that while the witness’ statements in Kinyarwanda were pretty monotone, the English translator’s tone sounded very defensive. Indeed, when you watched the translator in his booth, his whole body language was defensive—at times, he’d even throw his hands up in the air. I wonder if his English translations were partly responsible for the prosecutor’s poor attitude—communication is so much more than words and translations that ignore things like tone and body language can be incomplete.After an introduction to Rwanda’s past, I think that—pending a travel agency’s confirmation of my flight—I’m flying to the country tomorrow to see what it’s like in the present-day and, by visiting some NGO projects, what its possibilities are for the future. I’m very excited, and will be sure to update you all on my experiences soon.
Tags: Genocide, RTW 07/08, Rwanda, Tanzania
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I am reading your article and my bottom jaw is sitting on my desk. I could not even imagine what you are seeing – I am in complete awe of your tales
I love you so much – Love Aunt T
I sent this posting to HQ at WWI.
It’s great to get another piece of the puzzle to add to the accounts of the women that I read every week.
Thanks Taea!