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“I am Rwandan”: unity and reconciliation in post-genocide Rwanda

Blackie, Laura E.R.; Hitchcott, Nicki

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Authors

Nicki Hitchcott



Abstract

Drawing on a corpus of ten oral interviews with survivors and perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, we examine how the government’s policy of unity and reconciliation has shaped post-genocide identities and intergroup relations in local Rwandan communities. By focusing on the relationships between individuals and the national post-genocide narrative, we show how the socio-political context in Rwanda influences how people locate themselves and how they ascribe rights and duties to and in relation to others. Specifically, we use positioning theory as an interpretive lens to argue that individuals view adherence to the government’s post-genocide narrative of unity and reconciliation as a moral duty, which is vital to continued political stability and economic development in Rwanda. Our discussion focuses on explaining how the social positioning of the national post-genocide narrative may function to reinforce the ethnic tensions the government has pledged to eradicate.

Citation

Blackie, L. E., & Hitchcott, N. (2018). “I am Rwandan”: unity and reconciliation in post-genocide Rwanda. Genocide Studies and Prevention, 12(1), https://doi.org/10.5038/1911-9933.12.1.1480

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Oct 10, 2017
Publication Date Apr 30, 2018
Deposit Date Jan 23, 2018
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Genocide Studies and Prevention
Print ISSN 1911-0359
Electronic ISSN 1911-9933
Publisher International Association of Genocide Scholars
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 12
Issue 1
DOI https://doi.org/10.5038/1911-9933.12.1.1480
Keywords Rwanda; Genocide against the Tutsi; Unity and reconciliation; Positioning
Theory; ndi umunyarwanda
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/929353
Publisher URL http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/gsp/vol12/iss1/5/

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