HIV/AIDS IN POST-CONFLICT SOCIETY GENDER-BASED LESSONS

Durban – 26-28 March, 2001

MARY BALIKUNGERI
PROGRAMME COORDINATOR
RWANDA WOMEN’S NETWORK &
DIRECTOR OF
“POLYCLINIC OF HOPE”
[a center for women victims of violence in post-genocide Rwanda]

INTRODUCTION:

  The stories told, untold and still to be told by Rwandan women victims of HIV/AIDS during the war and genocide in 1994,reveal the scope and type of violence and hatred in our society.  The brutality, the disgraceful, the embarrassing, indignifying situations Rwandan women went through during the 1994 genocide will remain in the history of human kind.

Stories recorded from the center: 

Clementine:  a 24 year old at the time she died out of Aids. She lived and grew up in Gikongoro.  Taken out of her hide out in a church to a nearby swamp and was gang raped for five days with nothing to drink or eat.  After raping her, acid was poured in her private parts and they left her to die.  Clementine was later discovered by the International Red Cross, taken to Central Hospital in Kigali in a critical situation.  As the war was nearing to an end, Clementine was flown to Belgium by Medicins du Mode for a major operation where she remained for about eight months.  Clementine returned to Rwanda in  1995 and was recommended to visit the center.  She continued visiting the center and became an active member.   Through the HIV awareness programme, she accepted to be diagonised HIV only to discover that she was HIV positive.  Clementine was a regular and active member of the centre until August 2000 when she died’.

  Beatrice:  lived and worked in Kigali at the time of genocide.  Beatrice was a single mother and she had a young son.  Beatrice for three months was held a hostage by a man who was her neighbour for many years.  Took her in under a pretext that he would protect her.  When Kigali fell in the hands of  RPF, the man run away and went away with Beatrice’s son. Months later, Beatrice discovered that she was pregnant.  Beatrice not knowing whether  her son  is alive or dead, she decided to keep the pregnancy.  Beatrice and her son died out of Aids in November 2000.  Beatrice thanked God for taking away her son before her. 

  Ziada:  A Moslem who was a first member of the clinic who declared herself as one of the gang rape victims.  On visiting the clinic she insisted that she be diagonised HIV.  Unfortunately she was positive.  She immediately agreed to go public, because she believed in a true story about women of rwanda being recorded.  Ziada’s family had been killed during the genocide.  She only had a brother and his wife.  When she went public, and being a muslim, Ziada was dismissed by her only remaining family.  At that level, the center had to rent a place for her.  When she became critically ill, a woman visiting the clinic took her up and the center continued to support financially until she died in January 1998.

These stories could go on and on.  The  1994 war and Genocide in Rwanda combined  all the worst crimes against humanity.  The women and girl child were the outstanding victims of war and other acts of violence, the majority being permanently ill, with impaired health status due to barbaric acts of rape.  The effects of this are, most women are HIV positive, have been widowed and orphan fostering yet without the means to confront the daily life challenges.  Most of these families, lost their dear ones as well as property.  A big number of these, still occupy other people’s houses or inhabit structures which were destroyed during the war thus the question of shelter.  Rape and sexual harassment was a “reliable weapon” during the 1994 Rwandan Genocide, thus the only single explanation to the birth of big numbers of unwanted babies, HIV/AIDS infection and other related consequences .

One of the many challenges is finding remedies to the myriad problems facing the Rwandan women from the aftermath of the genocide.  There are needs in basic and strategic human needs.  Quotable degree of progress can be recorded in restoring key issues such as security of persons, shelter, health care, economic and political stabilization.  However, some areas such as social,psychological emotional counseling and HIV for trauma generated out of the genocide are lagging behind by not receiving due attention in terms of both skills and resource allocations.  One reason trauma counseling and HIV lag behind is because of its nature.  It is practically difficult because it deals directly with human emotions.

 For the “traumatized” to be emotionally rehabilitated, the trauma counseling process begins by putting them in a position of having to recall and relive experiences they would rather not remember.  Secondly, given the depth of trauma from the genocide, many “victims” require intense individual psychological counseling.  This requires a lot of time, patience, skills and  committmemt towards social change.

It is against this background that the Rwandan Women’s Network, put in place a center for women victims of violence known as “Polyclinic of Hope”. The center was established in 1995 with a mission to cater for medical, Psychological, and economic needs of the women victims of rape and other related crimes.  This process is one that is viewed as the  only process to achieve Peace and Reconciliation.  Currently the center is handling five hundred and four women victims with members of their families totaling to about 3,024 people.  The major interventions of the center for the welfare of the women and members of their families include :

Although on a very small scale and with very little support, Rwanda Women’s Network has created and availed a secure space – not just in physical terms but in emotional terms.  That space is what the victims of genocide and HIV sought.  In that space many things have evolved.  One of those things has been the solidarity the women have provided each other and the sense of belonging and security which they lost in the Genocide encounter.  This is measured thru the support they give to each other when one of them dies as a result of HIV/AIDS.  Women take turns to care for the sick and even when no funds are available, the Merry-go-round introduced to women has been of great encouragement to the work of the center.  

The initial support of the clinic has come from Church World Service (USA), the parent organization of Rwanda Women’s Network, others like USA Embassy, Canadian Cooperation, Norwegian Church Aid, USA State Department , GTZ have all supported RWN in carrying out different activities at the center.  RWN is currently lobbying for longer-term sustainable support.  The programme is focused on a construction of a women’s integrated center to enable Rwanda Women’s Network promote its activities in one place.  This long-term project is focusing on a bigger center to carter for more women victims because the experience shows that there is a high demand . A resource center for women for research purposes is in high demand based on a number of people visiting our offices everyday.  Special  attention is  focusing on economic support to the victims of HIV .At the clinic this programme has received very little attention and yet this is a major development challenge.  The HIV/Care support programme has proved  to be one of the mobilizing tool for HIV testing. The programme has opened the way for members of the clinic to talk freely about HIV, the Solidarity campaign in support of the victims of HIV has enabled many more members to accepting testing.  In my opinion, this is one of the best methods towards prevention and coping up with HIV.  Prevention beyond awareness, should be care of the HIV victims.  For this reason, donors and govts should pay more attention in the area of care systems for the victims. It is only then, the stigma will begin to disappear and people will begin to take the issues of AIDS more seriously.

DEVELOPING A COLLECTIVE CONSCIOUSNESS AND ACTION AGAINST GENDER BASED VIOLENCE:

Would the world today have a serious AIDS epidemic if gender inequalities were less pronounced? If more women were involved in the decision making of their national developments? If more women were allowed the right to be angry and express it? If more women had a greater control of matters related to their reproductive and sexual health?  If they enjoyed greater access to economic opportunities and resources so that they would not need to resort to exploitative occupations?  If more men were willing to assume responsibility for preventing HIV transmission and for caring  for family members who are HIV-positive?  It is against these questions that the Polyclinic of Hope beneficiaries intend to stage a campain of Clinic replication in the Health Centres  of Rwanda to enable them share their experiences with others who have not had the opportunity to do so.

The women at the center have had to learn to unmask their pains, anguish, shame, guilt and their silence if they have to live again. The women are beginning to learn to appreciate and value their many individual and collective rights :  the right to be; the right to feel pain and say it publicly; the right to be angry and express it; the right to say no and enough is enough to war and brutality in society; the right to condemn all forms of violence, discrimination in society; the right to build solidarity of women for women as women and above the right to political freedom and participation.

The women at the clinic for the last 5 years have been on a journey of self-emptying. They have reached a point where they can now talk about their experiences without that physical and mental pain.  They appear to be at a “safe place”now and are willing to come out and pick up the many pieces.

WAY FORWARD:  

1. Rwanda Women’s Network is developing 5 modules/guide based on the Polyclinic experience, about the real lived experience of the five hundred and four women who dared to trust RWN even though there were no guarantees of rehabilitation.  Potential users are all types of Institutions, organizations, Academicians and individuals working to rehabilitate victims of all forms of trauma from war.

2. Women themselves to promote and popularize their own process.  The principle enables the victim to reach out and to make vital links with the world outside her own.  “Look beyond Self”.  This process helps to the person to discover that there are others with same experience, pain, same anguish and same aspirations.  This principle shall facilitate the establishment of a vigorous but non-violent insistence on a collective consciousness that will say no to violence – never again to Genocide in Rwanda.

3. Replication process of integrating the Polyclinic of Hope spirit in Health Centres then begins.  This will begin with stepping down the modules to suit the grassroot usage with picture illustration.

4. Training the users.

Conclusion:

The only response to the HIV epidemic in post-conflict societies, should be addressed haulistically due to social realities and its interconnectedness if we are to achieve a lasting peace.  The challenge therefore is, the type of partnership that could prove effective and meaningful to the grassroots communities.  Is identifying recommendations the most urgent in this type of workshop? Or rather strategies towards a meaningful partnerships with practitioners, and donor community towards building a sustainable peace.

Contact:
Mary BALIKUNGERI
Coordinator
Rwanda Women’s Network
P.O. Box 3157
Kigali – RWANDA
Tel/fax: 0250-77199
Email: Prof:  rwawnet@rwandatel1.rwanda1.com
Pers:  balikungeri@yahoo.com