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Everyday suffering outside prison walls: A legacy of community justice in post-genocide Rwanda

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  • Rutayisire, Théoneste
  • Richters, Annemiek

Abstract

Twenty years after the 1994 genocide, Rwanda shows all indications of moving quickly towards socio-economic prosperity. Rwanda's community justice system, Gacaca, was to complement this prosperity by establishing peace and stability through justice, reconciliation and healing. Evaluations of the Gacaca courts' achievements from 2002 to 2012 have had widely differing conclusions. This article adds to previous evaluations by drawing attention to specific forms of relatively neglected suffering (in literature and public space) that have emerged from the Gacaca courts or were amplified by these courts and jeopardize Gacaca's objectives. The ethnographic study that informs the article was conducted in southeastern Rwanda from September 2008–December 2012 among 19 ex-prisoners and 24 women with husbands in prison including their family members, friends and neighbors. Study findings suggest that large scale imprisonment of genocide suspects coupled with Gacaca court proceedings have tainted the suffering of ex-prisoners and women with imprisoned husbands in unique ways, which makes their plight unparalleled in other countries. We argue that the nature and scale of this suffering and the potentially detrimental impact on families and communities require humanitarian action. However, in Rwanda's post-genocide reality, the suffering of these two groups is overwhelmed by that of other vulnerable groups, such as genocide survivors and orphaned children; hence it is rarely acknowledged.

Suggested Citation

  • Rutayisire, Théoneste & Richters, Annemiek, 2014. "Everyday suffering outside prison walls: A legacy of community justice in post-genocide Rwanda," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 413-420.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:120:y:2014:i:c:p:413-420
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.06.009
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Petra Debusscher & An Ansoms, 2013. "Gender Equality Policies in Rwanda: Public Relations or Real Transformations?," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 44(5), pages 1111-1134, September.
    2. Christian, Johnna & Mellow, Jeff & Thomas, Shenique, 2006. "Social and economic implications of family connections to prisoners," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 443-452.
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    Cited by:

    1. Otake, Yuko, 2019. "Suffering of silenced people in northern Rwanda," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 222(C), pages 171-179.
    2. Thomas Wenzel & Jan Ilhan Kizilhan & Reem Alksiri & Daniela Dörfler & Eva Jana Messerschmidt & Anthony Fu Chen, 2021. "FGM and Restorative Justice—A Challenge for Developing Countries and for Refugee Women," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(17), pages 1-8, August.
    3. Lidewyde H. Berckmoes & Veroni Eichelsheim & Theoneste Rutayisire & Annemiek Richters & Barbora Hola, 2017. "How Legacies of Genocide Are Transmitted in the Family Environment: A Qualitative Study of Two Generations in Rwanda," Societies, MDPI, vol. 7(3), pages 1-18, September.

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