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Impoverished living conditions despite new settlement policy after the genocide in Rwanda
November 24, 2009The goal of the new settlement policy for refugees and survivors of the genocide in Rwanda in 1994 was to provide new accommodation for all who needed it.
However, even though people were housed, a new thesis from the University of Gothenburg reveals that living conditions in the countryside did not improve.
The thesis analyses the new settlement policy that was put in place to deal with the major problems that arose out of the genocide in 1994. Rwanda has an area that is equivalent to the size of Dalarna in Sweden and a population of almost 10 million people. Besides a large number of people who lacked shelter and vital necessities in Rwanda, there were also 2.5 million refugees from Rwanda in nearby countries after the genocide.
- During the following years they returned to their devastated homes. To resolve these enormous challenges, new housing was built in well-structured villages in the countryside, so-called 'imidugudus', through contributions primarily from UNHCR, the UN's refugee agency. However, these funds came to an end in 2001 before the task as a whole was completed, says Emmanuel Havugimana who is publicly defending his thesis in human ecology.
The Government's goal is for 70 percent of Rwanda's rural population to live in this type of village, however, in 2008 this was the case for only 26 percent of the population.
The thesis addresses the way in which the living conditions of the residents in the new villages are affected by the new policy.
- The greatest problem is that the agricultural land has not been redistributed, which means that the distance to the fields has increased (up to 2 km) and consequently made the everyday agricultural work more difficult. Yields have become smaller than they were previously and agricultural methods based on manual work have not been made more efficient, says Emmanuel Havugimana.
- There is still a great deal of poverty in the countryside. Up to 60 percent of the people are living on the poverty line, i.e. earning less than one dollar a day.
The thesis proposes a number of possible ways of dealing with these problems and achieving rural development. They include more efficient agricultural methods with better use of fertilizers, water supply and activities to prevent erosion, electrification of the countryside, a focus on cooperative agricultural initiatives and development of additional sources of income other than agriculture such as fish farming, furniture-making etc.
University of Gothenburg
- During the following years they returned to their devastated homes. To resolve these enormous challenges, new housing was built in well-structured villages in the countryside, so-called 'imidugudus', through contributions primarily from UNHCR, the UN's refugee agency. However, these funds came to an end in 2001 before the task as a whole was completed, says Emmanuel Havugimana who is publicly defending his thesis in human ecology.
The Government's goal is for 70 percent of Rwanda's rural population to live in this type of village, however, in 2008 this was the case for only 26 percent of the population.
The thesis addresses the way in which the living conditions of the residents in the new villages are affected by the new policy.
- The greatest problem is that the agricultural land has not been redistributed, which means that the distance to the fields has increased (up to 2 km) and consequently made the everyday agricultural work more difficult. Yields have become smaller than they were previously and agricultural methods based on manual work have not been made more efficient, says Emmanuel Havugimana.
- There is still a great deal of poverty in the countryside. Up to 60 percent of the people are living on the poverty line, i.e. earning less than one dollar a day.
The thesis proposes a number of possible ways of dealing with these problems and achieving rural development. They include more efficient agricultural methods with better use of fertilizers, water supply and activities to prevent erosion, electrification of the countryside, a focus on cooperative agricultural initiatives and development of additional sources of income other than agriculture such as fish farming, furniture-making etc.
University of Gothenburg
Genocide Current Events and Genocide News RSSWar, genocide 'difficult knowledge' to teach younger students
Whether they're found in a museum or a textbook, historical narratives about traumatic events such as war and genocide are better left to older students, who have typically developed a more refined historical consciousness, says a University of Illinois professor who studies and teaches historical instruction.
Khmer Rouge trials offer baseline study for mental health impact to a society of war crimes tribunal
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Unspoken memories of Holocaust survivors find silent and nonpathological expression
A faculty member of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Haifa presented the results of a new research at an international Holocaust conference held at the University of Haifa.
Moral philosopher questions memory manipulation
Is medicated memory manipulation ethically sound? And perhaps more importantly, who should be charged with the decision to deliver such a treatment: patient or physician? Elisa Hurley, a philosophy professor, is seeking answers to these questions in her research currently underway at The University of Western Ontario.
Rwanda conservation effort to link isolated chimps to distant forest
A group of some 15 chimpanzees isolated in a pocket of Rwandan rain forest will have a greater range - and, thus, greater chances for survival - thanks to one of Africa's most ambitious forest restoration and ecological research efforts ever.
Number of conflicts in the world no longer declining
The trend toward fewer conflicts reported by peace researchers since the early 1990s now seems to have been broken.
Satellite images show destroyed and threatened villages in Darfur
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Study shows Darfur deaths in hundreds of thousands
The unimaginable tale of genocide in Darfur continues to unfold in the news, of people burned, mutilated and otherwise slaughtered.
Let regional organizations prevent genocide
The conflict in Dafur shows that the UN cannot guarantee international peace and security all by itself. The UN Security Council is too splintered to take resolute action to resolve the crisis, and international law does not allow any effective diplomatic alternatives. Gustaf Lind maintains in his recently submitted dissertation at the Department of Law, Stockholm University, that regional organizations of states should be granted greater powers to act in cases where the UN is paralyzed. One example is that the African Union should have the right to intervene to stop the genocide in Dafur even though this is prohibited by international law. The dissertation deals with the UN Charter reg
National Amnesty laws for prior governments are illegal under international law and often unsustainable in practice says new research
New research finds that national amnesties for agents of former regimes, used by countries such as Zimbabwe, Chile, and South Africa to try and ease the transition towards democratic government, are actually in conflict with international law and tend to fail in practice. The new research by Dr Ben Chigara from the University of Warwick's School of Law, is published this week as a book entitled "Amnesty in International Law: The legality under International Law of National Amnesty laws." Dr Chigara points out that there are areas of international law (norms "jus cogens") that restrict states even in their right to enter treaties with another state. He points to Article 53 o
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