What is Rwanda like today?

A review of Rwanda - From Genocide to Precarious Peace, by Susan Thomson. Yale University Press, New haven, 2018.

This book updates the situation in Rwanda today - some 24 years after the genocide.  Author Thomson details the changes and continuities since that terrible time. She describes how the current rulers of Rwanda have crafted a society of rules and regulations enforced by societal norms, peer pressures engineered by the regime and outright authoritarian control.  She sees much precedent for the strict codes and enforcement thereof arising in Rwanda’s pre-colonial history and carried forward to modern times.  Rwandans are used to being ordered about and coerced into conformity by whomever the ruling elites are.   Thomson delves into the self centered state and society now in place where although ethnic identity is squashed, Hutu citizens remain implicated and collectively guilty of genocide against Tutsi.  The charge of genocide denial or participation is an effective deterrent to political activism. Consequently, the state is firmly controlled by a small ruling Tutsi elite, who intend for the nation to evolve into a progressive entity dispensing economic and social progress for all.  For now however, it is only the ruling elites and a growing middle class that reap such benefits.  The poverty stricken masses see few paths out of their circumstances. But that is where Rwanda is - trying to move ahead, but enacting counterproductive policies - with greater social and political openness stymied by the impact of genocide. 

Thomson’s critique is pretty harsh and probably justified in looking at Rwanda through western eyes.  Her judgment of “precarious peace” is an accurate depiction of Rwanda today.  Western criticisms aside, Rwandans are inextricably bound together in their society and polity and they are going to have to work this out by themselves. Class rather than ethnicity will probably shape political divisions in years to come and the authoritarian state is unlikely to disappear.  Whether or not this might lead to violence is speculative, but another genocide as properly defined is unlikely.

Readers interested in Rwanda and/or the recovery of societies traumatized by violence will find this an interesting read.

Embassy Nairobi Bombings Disected!

Terrorism, Betrayal and Resilience - My Story of the 1998 U.S. Embassy Bombings by Prudence Bushnell, Potomac Books, 2018.

This is an impressive book. It is well written, quite readable and tells a fascinating story.   No one but the ambassador on the scene could have written this book. It is comprehensive in its depiction of events during, after and leading up to the embassy Nairobi bombing. It provides a unique perspective on what happened and how people reacted and coped.  But that is not all, the author also dissects the Department of State’s response to the security situation and the bombing with a critical eye.  Before and after the bombing there are many lessons that ought to have been learned; however, many weren’t. Additionally, the book outlines overall global planning by al-Qaeda, reporting what the USG knew and when and all the snafus involved in interagency turf issues.  Ambassador Bushnell paints a compelling case of negligence as the worst case or ignorance or ineptitude as the best regarding Washington’s response to security concerns and the threat of the al-Qaeda network. Topping all this off is Ambassador Bushnell’s observations on leadership and her practice of leadership during her entire career.  Finally, notable are discussions of hurdles that she as a woman had to overcome in asserting herself as an effective leader. 

 The book appeals to popular audiences that are curious about terrorism, and want a real life diplomatic thriller.  Indeed this is one. It is a compelling recitation of what happened and how embassy personnel and the government of Kenya responded to the crisis.   Even though a reader probably knows the overall outcome, the story of how the bombing and the aftermath is suspenseful and gripping.  It certainly will be read by the diplomatic community and by scholars, researchers and others who track terrorism and how it manifests itself.

 The book contributes to a fresh and certainly for most a more comprehensive understanding of what transpired in Nairobi. That in itself is meritorious, but the critical dissection of how the US intelligence community was divided on the al-Qaeda threat provides a new perspective that contrasts with the self-satisfied performance conveyed by Washington oriented writers. 

This is a very good book that needs to be read by anyone interested in Kenya, terrorism and the global diplomatic response to the crises of our times.

Horrors from the Lord's Resistance Army

Thirty Girls by Susan Minot, Alfred Knopf, New York, 2014

This is kind of an odd book. It is a fictional treatment of the true story of the abduction and abuse of thirty girls from St. Mary’s school in northern Uganda by the Lord’s Resistance Army. That part of the book is vivid and compelling in describing what happened to the girls; how they were beaten, raped and forced to comply with the weird practices of Joseph Kony’s cult.  Through reminisces of girls who escaped, the book also provides insight into how they handled the trauma psychologically.  Some cooped, others did not.  Similarly with their families, some viewed the girls as irreparably damaged. Others welcomed them home. But life could never be the same.

The other part of the book tracks the vague quest of a thirty something American journalist Jane who pitches up in East Africa with the hazy idea of writing about the girls. She falls in with a company of Kenya cowboys and world vagabonds and their sybarite lifestyle.  Jane hasn’t much of a back-story, but she lives for the moment even as she wonders about her place in life. Later she is struck by the realization of the unpredictability of violence. 

The plot of the story unfolds as the jaundiced westerners travel to Uganda to detail the girls’ stories. So finally the two parts of the book begin to jive.  Author Minot throws an unexpected twist into the plot at the last minute, but one which serves to underscore the theme of random violence. 
 

Readers cannot help but feel sympathy for the abducted girls and the horrors they endured.  At the same time the western sybarites garner only disgust. Yet folks on both sides reveal universal truths - relationships matter and you have to deal with what confronts you.  

For readers interested in Uganda and the impact of the Lord’s Resistance Army on the Acholi people, this is a useful book.

The Aid Condundrum - Good or Bad?

A Dancer in the Dust by Thomas H. Cook, The Mysterious Press, New York, 2014.

This novel of Africa is set in a fictitious nation of Lubanda where tribal politics and violent change are rampart, but that is mostly the background for the plot, which revolves around the murder of Martine, a Lubandan born young white woman. Who did it and why?  During an earlier stint as a do-gooder in Lubanda protagonist Ray knew and loved Martine.  He deeply regrets the inadvertent role he may have played in her demise.  Now twenty years later another murder draws Ray, now a New York risk assessment counselor, into Marine’s long ago unsolved death and the riddles of current Lubandan politics. 

The story unfolds in jerks and starts as memories of old times interrupt the current chronicle.  In time amidst much introspection Ray makes progress in solving both murders. Along the way descriptions and the reality of Africa are  well presented.  By using a fictitious setting, author Cook is able to pontificate about political and developmental issues in Africa - and he does.   An overall theme that ultimately comes to fruition is whether western aid largess actually encourages development or rather does it stifle indigenous efforts and engender a begging mentality?  

Although I tired of the risk assessment digressions, A Dancer in the Dust is an entertaining  read.

Redemption through Good Works - Tale of a Mysterious Life

In Full Flight - A Story of Africa and Atonement by John Hemingway, Alfred A. Knof, New York, 2018.

This is a biography of Dr. Anne Spoerry, a key medical provider for Kenya’s Flying Doctors.  From the 1950s to 1999, Dr. Spoerry, or Mama Daktari as she was known to tens of thousands of Kenyans, flew to the far reaches of Kenya’s forgotten regions to provide medical care.  Indeed, her legacy of service is astounding, but there was more.  Why was she so driven? Why was she so guarded about relationships? Why was Dr. Anne so reluctant to reveal her past or even discuss World War II events?  There was a mystery here and one that author Hemingway pondered over for years and even quizzed Anne about - only to be brusquely reprimanded.  Only after her death was he able to unravel most - but not yet all - of the story.

The book is a compelling read as the complicated personality of Dr. Spoerry is peeled back layer by layer as her personal history is chronicled.  Born to a wealthy French/Swiss family, she was studying medicine in Paris when WWII erupted.  She joined the resistance and worked for it until her cell was arrested. She was sent to prison by the Nazis and ultimately interned in Ravensbruck concentration camp.  This is where clarity loses focus.  What did Anne do or not do?  Whatever the specifics - and Hemingway goes to great length to elucidate them - Anne had a case to answer.  So with family concurrence she ran and ended up in Kenya.

Putting the past behind her Anne found a new life as a doctor to highland communities. After enduring Mau Mau in Ol Kalou, she bought a farm in nearby Subukia.  There she learned to fly and joined the Flying Doctors. For the next forty years she flew and doctored, becoming a legend.

Hemingway’s biography is remarkable not just for its readability - it reads like a page-turner thriller -  but for the research he obviously put in to it.  His study of the complex personality of Anne Spoerry is meritorious.  She was driven by inner forces, both devils and angels.  Apparently she came to terms with herself, although always remaining something of enigma to friends.   As the story unwinds, readers gain insight into Kenya over the past sixty years and how the nation has evolved, especially in terms of race relations. 

In Full Flight is highly recommended.