Chantal Kalisa is not taking a class from UNL to Rwanda so that they can “save” the locals, or solve their problems.

As they meet with local government officials and activists in and around the capital city of Kigali, Kalisa wants to help her students avoid the savior mentality altogether.

“Of course at the end of each lecture, people are bound to ask, ‘Is there anything we can do, maybe we can go home and raise money?’ But the idea I espouse is that, once you get into a conversation, that’s already enough,” Kalisa said. “You don’t have to take the burden. There are a lot of people living there, especially the survivors of genocide, whose suffering you can never erase. We can’t ignore what’s going on, but we also can’t go there and try to solve problems.”

Kalisa

From July 12-25 Kalisa, an assistant professor of modern languages and women’s and gender studies, will introduce students to Rwanda 15 years after genocide forever transformed its politics, culture and people. Hosted by the Interdisciplinary Genocide Studies Center, which Kalisa co-founded, the UNL program will educate students about the country’s history, and expose them to elements of the process of rebuilding post-genocide, including a visit to a local “Gacaca” court and meetings with women’s groups, nongovernmental organizations, and survivors of the genocide. The latter, Kalisa believes, provides not only a learning opportunity for the UNL students, but also a valuable outlet for the victims.

“Through a dialogue you can be transformed, and these conversations should be about transforming both sides,” she said. “For some of the survivors, all they want to do is talk. They don’t expect us to solve anything. They just want to be heard, instead of just talking in their own heads.”

Kalisa’s investment in Rwanda’s recovery and the study of genocide extends beyond her academic interests. Her parents were both exiles from Rwanda, and although Kalisa was born and raised in Burundi, she has spent several years helping establish and expand the IGSC. She believes that studying Rwanda today provides an opportunity to watch how a country starts over from scratch.

“One of the most interesting aspects of this trip is looking at a country that has pretty much lost everything,” Kalisa said. “By 1994, there was no money, no institutions, no ministries, education was wiped out… the system was completely kaput. Now we have an opportunity to see how things have evolved.”

Students in the course prepared for the trip with two weekends on campus, discussing their cultural expectations, fears, and the overriding ethical question, “Why should we visit a country that has experienced so much suffering?” They will explore a range of topics, including the responsibility of the international community during the genocide, the role of the Church, the concepts of memory and reconciliation, and the structures and mechanisms of the justice system, from the local Gacaca courts to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

Once they arrive in Kigali, their days will involve formal lectures and visits to nonprofit organizations including the Widows of April, a group of women who were victimized by the genocide, many of whom are now living with AIDS, or to governmental offices such as the Ministry of Justice.

Ultimately, Kalisa hopes that students will realize that the course is not only about Rwanda – it’s about the whole world.

“I want them to ask, ‘What does Nebraska have to do with what happened in 1994?’ The whole world was watching when this happened, although most of the students are too young to remember. The tragedy in Rwanda was international and now everybody has a stake in saying, ‘This cannot happen again.’

“They’ll be exposed to some knowledge which they may understand right away, later, or maybe never,” Kalisa said. “This is a very complex set of issues to cram into two weeks. I just hope they’ll be asking questions as opposed to formulating conclusions.”

– By Sara Gilliam, University Communications