Lakefield Herald Special Report

Local women are heading to Rwanda

by Anita Locke

Sarah Flyng, daughter of Ole Flyng and Sharon Lajoie, and Lauren VanLeeuwen, daughter of Tom and Charlotte, are heading to Rwanda in May as part of their studies at the University of Ottawa via its Rwandan Field Research Course.

As students in the Conflict and Conflict Management program, their three week stay in Rwanda will see them receiving an indepth understanding of the 1994 genocide and subsequent rebuilding and reconstruction of the society.

Mornings will be spent in the classroom, and afternoons will be spent doing outings, visiting various organizations and other activities. It will also give the women the opportunity to meet the Rwandan people where they live and grasp the impact the genocide and subsequent improvements that have come about in their communities.

For Sarah, who wants to ultimately work in the area of International Development, it furthers her understanding of issues around the world. She spent 14 months in Senegal, and has long had an interest in Africa and its development issues.

Sarah attended school at PCVS. Her plan is to complete an MA in International Studies. When she has completed her Rwanda placement she plans to travel to Tanzania, followed by a trip to Senegal.

For her final international school placement her goal is to study in southern or eastern Africa.

Lauren attended Ridpath Public School, later attending Adam Scott Intermediate and CVI as she was in the French Immersion program.

She did one semester at LDISS and participated in the Model United Nations program. The class travelled to The Hague for the international conference and it was there that she became interested in international conflicts.

She saw the trial of Slobodan Milosevic and became interested in the legal consequences of ethnic cleansing and genocide.

Lauren is currently studying at the University of Ottawa, taking the Honours with Specialization in Political Science with the French Immersion program incorporated into it.

She is excited about travelling to Africa. She says, “It’s one thing to read about atrocities that occur halfway across the world, but having the opportunity to actually be standing where it happened is incredible. I have no idea what to expect. I’m interested to see the way the society is dealing with the aftermath, and the perspectives they have on what occurred, as well as the culture of the country.”

She is specifically interested in the Gacaca courts which were set up in Rwanda to deal with the lesser war criminal trials, and the issues surrounding it.

The Republic of Rwanda is located in the Great Lakes region of eastern-central Africa, bordered by Uganda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania.

The country has received considerable international attention due to its 1994 genocide, the mass killing of hundreds of thousands of Rwanda’s Tutsis and Hutu political (pro-peace) moderates by the Hutu dominated government under the Hutu Power ideology.

Over the course of approximately 100 days, or more, from April 6, 1994 through mid-July, an estimated 800,000 people were killed.

However, Rwanda’s history does not begin and end with this tragic landmark. For the last 15 years, Rwanda has been on a path of reconciliation and reconstruction after the tragic violence of 1994 and a history of authoritarianism, division and human rights abuse. Some lectures in this course will be in English and some in French.

The course that Lauren and Sarah are taking will focus on conflicts and conflict resolution in the African Great Lakes Region.

Using Rwanda as a case study, students will examine the immediate as well as root cause of the Rwandan Genocide including the different dynamics involved and consequences. They will be able to witness the ongoing reconstruction and reconciliation efforts.

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