The delegation went on a fieldwork trip to Musanze, a rural area in the northern province, to talk to people who are dealing with land reform issues. A 2005 land reform bill made huge changes to the way land is distributed among people. With limited land space and a growing population, land ownership is a huge issue here. Land is a source of income as well as a source of pride. The trip was in partnership with CIMS, an NGO that deals with land conflicts.
In Rwanda, the land breaks down into: provinces --> districts --> sectors --> cells
We met with sector leaders who told us about the changes they've experienced post land reform. We also met with cell representatives who told us about their own experiences at the cell level. Afterwards, we met with a family who talked to us about their personal issues.
This trip was... a little difficult haha. The bus drive was ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL, but I started to get sick because of the bumpy, curvy road. I switched seats to sit next to a window and tried to focus on the scenery. It didn't help that I was at the VERY back of the bus, so all the jumping was even stronger in the back. At a couple of points, everyone in the last two rows (of about 5 rows) jumped up. It was a real life roller coaster.
After that exciting drive, we got to experience the dirtiest bathrooms ever... bathrooms that made St. Paul's bathrooms look regal. Basically, the bathroom was a cement shack behind one of the buildings with a hole. That's all. So we got to practice our squats. Luckily some of us had toiler paper.
We've learned very quickly what our most valuable belongings here are. Basically, water is gold and toilet paper is silver.
I've been struggling with constipation hardcore since I got here. I felt pretty miserable the past few days and I've been trying SO HARD to deal. I've tried almost everything: prunes, high fiber crackers, high fiber dried fruit bars, mangos, fruits in general, lots of water... WHAT MORE CAN I DO?! Geez. It's gotten a little better. "Evacuation part deux" (one of several euphemisms we've used) is a big topic of conversation among us. It's so funny how often we talk about our body issues here. Some are struggling more than others. I'm glad I'm not dealing with anything worse. A couple women are on their periods. With the scarcity of toilet paper and trash cans, I am SO GLAD I'm not on mine (knock on wood).
Moving along... we finally got to go dancing in Musanze! The club we went to had a dance floor that was empty when we got there, but our group took over and turned it into a great night. I had a lot of fun. It was so beautiful to take a step back and see everyone dancing and having a good time with each other... we had already by that time become ONE group. Not Americans and Rwandans separately, but just ONE group. The Rwandans were so quick to embrace and accept us, and all the Americans are really friendly as well, so we've turned into a big happy family very quickly.
During the trip to Musanze, it was interesting to see the culture shock that our urban Rwandans faced while being in the rural village. Cedy was disgusted and worried that he might have to eat with his hands. The Rwandans didn't really chat with each other during lunch. It was interesting to see the intersection of Rwandan subcultures while we ourselves were dealing with one cultural experience after another.
My roommate for the night was Rose, one of the Rwandan delegates. I love her. She's a vibrant, confident, sassy 23-year-old woman who was one of our amazing translators during the visit. She works with an NGO while also attending university. We talked a lot about her boyfriend and dating in general. More on dating later (lots to talk about there).
I think a lot of us were anxious to get back to Kigali. The hotel we stayed at wasn't that great - I was excited to see we had our own bathrooms, but then there was no hot water. It was the first night I actually sweat (from dancing), but also the first night I didn't shower. No shower is better than an ice cold shower.
The next day, I was bracing myself to feel sick during the car ride but it wasn't bad at all! This time SEVERAL others did start to feel nauseous. William, one of the Rwandan delegates, knew I felt sick the last time and kept his arm around me during the bumpy portions. I joked with him that maybe he was the one who kept me from feeling sick.
3 comments:
Tell me more about the land ownership. How do people acquire land? Is distribution of ownership strictly done by the government? If that is the case how does government decide who gets how much? It would be very interesting to hear about the different opinions from sector leaders, cell representatives, and families.
Love,
Baby Emo
These are good questions.
Most people acquire land via inheritance. Before 2005, only men received land but the reform law made it so that women also inherit land. When the parents pass away, the land is evenly distributed among the children. At the place we visited, there was a pilot project for registering land so that people had documentation proving their ownership.
The government does control the whole process. There might be some trading of land in order to consolidate space that is disconnected, but the local leaders administer the process.
The problem with inheritance is that the land keeps getting cut up smaller and smaller. There are efforts to consolidate land via umudugudu's, which are villages where the homes are in one area and then a large plot of land is separate and divided among the community.
When people marry, each person brings their part of land into the marriage to become the couples' land. This is where some plot-switching might take place since the wife's land might not be adjoined to the husband's.
From my interviews, people were very happy with the land reform because of the protection of women's rights to land.
Remaining questions are how unmarried women get access to land. Basically, some men don't accept their children because they don't want to have to give them land, and conversely some women will falsely claim that a man fathered her child. Usually unmarried women can still get land from their parents when they die.
I don't have my notes on me but I'm planning on writing more about land issues later (hopefully).
Thanks for your questions! The Rwandan delegates are very curious about land ownership in the U.S. and found our system very interesting.
Thank you for your answer!
Baby Emo
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