Confessions of the Religious Devout, Conservative Rwandese Youth

President Paul Kagame's photo hangs solemnly, authoritatively, and dignified in nearly every Rwandan business I have entered. I began to wonder why. Does the population love and revere him and his mission for developing and renewing Rwanda? Is this a political tactic to instill allegiance and commitment to the rule of law? So I asked some local interns at UOB - Do you love him or fear him? Do you agree with his mission or fear the repercussions of noncompliance?

Their responses reflected much about the quality of democracy in Rwanda and attitudes toward such. Kagame is leader and therefore demands respect, but he was democratically elected. One of his greatest platforms is anti-corruption, demonstrating equality under the law. The people believe it and expect it, expecting judicial actions for a violation regardless of class, social connections, etc. (respect for rule of law). It is promising for development here if one respects institutions' credibility absolutely.

President Kagame, and the nation in general, in an effort to further make progress, says, "Never again!" in reference to the 1994 genocide. However, I have wondered at the population's commitment to this sentiment broadly. Openly no one can identify as Hutu or Tutsi, but inwardly do they still? Do they still harbor feelings of resentment and bitterness, drawing lines of distinction in this minds?

Two anecdotes for your consideration:
1) Various programs boast a spirit of cooperation and reconciliation, not at all recognizing former divisions and wrongs. Instead, all work together as Rwandans toward progress and a better future (e.g. Sonrise School)
2) An acquaintance of Tom's (a local) said she could certainly tell which group a person belonged to. Tom was intrigued by this statement and asked her to prove it - pointing to a random person on the street. She could not determine their classification and said that in that particular case it was difficult to say. This process was repeated a few times with the same results. However, her belief that she could definitively classify persons in her mind (and therefore does) is telling and frightening.

I am not sure which attitude is more sincere and more representative of the population. I certainly hope the former, though as previously deliberated - attitudes are difficult to change, and the tendency to assign labels to people is natural though not necessarily excusable for that reason.

According to Sarah, the Rwandese do not like Obama (in great contrast to Ghanaians). I of course must do my own field research. She said that on account of the influence of religion here, Rwandan culture is so conservative, and Rwandese consider aspects of Obama's liberal leadership immoral, such as the promotion of gay rights. It is illegal to be homosexual in Rwanda.