Monday, May 17, 2010
Dignity of Hutu Prisoners
It is quite shocking to read that the Rwandan government spends more time caring for Hutu prisoners than the Tutsi survivors. In Finding Beauty in a Broken World, Williams writes, "The government is feeding all the prisoners, providing them with medical care, clean clothing, and good shoes. They work at odd jobs and get exercise. 'In many ways,' [Joshua] tells me, 'they have a better life than most Rwandans.' By appearances, these prisoners certainly look better off than those individuals living in the Rugerero Survivors Village" (322). Many points could explain the preference for Hutu prisoners over Tutsis and most of Rwanda. The most logical explanation is that all prisoners are to be treated well, especially those not yet proven guilty. This approach was most likely adopted from leading countries like the U.S, who cared for prisoners (to an extent). However, could the Rwandan government favor prisoners who committed acts of genocide over Tutsis that badly needed more help? Williams states that the Hutu prisoners lived better than most individuals in the Rugerero Survivors Village. The Survivors village is also a government funded project to house Tutsi survivors, yet many of them live in abject poverty. But why is it that the government had a greater focus on the prisoners than the survivors? Another reason was presented on page 330. The government stated that the Hutu prisoners could be continually brought to trial and released because all people have the "capacity to change." Personally, I think this is wishful thinking. How likely is a killer to repent his deeply ingrained ethnic views? Just look at Kawawa. In the end, I don't think there is anything wrong with supporting prisoners. But if a less deserving party such as the Hutu prisoners can be taken care of, so should a more deserving group like the Tutsi survivors.
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I think that one of the reasons why the government kept the prisoners taken care of was because it could benefit from them. Take Kawawa for example, even though he murdered a significant amount of Tutsis and did not show any remorse for it, he was able to aid the government by telling them what other prisoners were guilty or innocent. In addition, there is - at least in America - the issue of the death penalty. Many people believe (like you stated) that there is a "capacity to change" and that even if there isn't, killing someone will not fix anything. Personally, I disagree with this statement. Although inflicting the death penalty on someone will not "bring anyone back," if they are kept in prison - especially in this case - they are living better than Tutsi refugees - and in most cases - are being payed for by government taxes. Not to get too involved with that subject, I also think that Rwandan's have a fixed mindset of "the capacity to change." On page 381 of Finding Beauty in a Broken World, when tried for murdering a woman's husband and children a Hutu expresses remorse for murdering her family, and the woman took him into her home as if he was her son. I consider this as something extremely difficult to do, and I respect the woman fully for doing it, even though I cannot understand how she was able to.
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