Mr. Charles Hazabintwali

    I have mentioned Charles only in passing so far.  It was through Charles I had initial contact with EDD.  It was Charles with whom I exchanged emails informing me what to be prepared for.  It was Charles who picked me up at the airport late that Monday night.  It was Charles who helped me with

the day to day complexities like Rwandan currency and buying food and using phones.  It was Charles who introduced me to the typical local diet (LOADS of potatoes!!).  And all this while performing his duties as executive director of EDD.
     Charles welcomed me into the heart of the school.  I enjoyed the way he conducted his every morning staff meeting.  I was so impressed with the inclusiveness of the meeting--how the whole staff met and contributed freely, even the night watchman.  Women staff members were clearly respected and their opinions valued.  He never allowed any consideration but the best interests of the kids to take precedence in decision-making.  And all this was very apparent to even one like me, who does not speak the language (Kinyarwanda) that the school's business was conducted in. 

     I was always interested in the topic of the Rwanda's terrible 1994 genocide, but worried about whether it was too delicate a topic to politely bring up.  Somehow Charles made it clear that we COULD (and should) talk about it.  These are only some of the things I learned from Charles:
     The famed conflict between Tutsis and Hutus was a rather artificial construction promoted by the Belgian colonizers.  It was very much in the interest of the Belgians to divide the population and encourage one faction to hate another faction and to feel the need to get the aid and support of the Belgians.  While there decidedly WERE at one time Tutsis and Hutus, there wasn't any particular animosity between them.  There was much inter-marriage and people lived in amongst each other, enjoyed friendships and the like.
     So the Belgians began a system of measuring people's heads and labelling them one way or another and requiring identification cards showing people to be one or the other.  They then encouraged each group to hate and blame each other.  Charles's own family saw the danger coming and left the country before the genocide occurred, but came back immediately afterward.  Immediately enough so that Charles remembers seeing massacred bodies strewn about Kigali, including very near EDD. 
     I think the single thing that impressed me the most is that now--only 20-some years later--the schism between Tutsis and Hutus has healed, and people mostly aren't even aware of which group their friends belong to.  It's hard for me to imagine Republicans and Democrats at home ever being able to heal their differences, much less grievances as large as these. 
     So Charles was not only responsible for educating me about Rwandan history, but he was the very model of kindness.  I certainly didn't expect him

to invite me to his home and meet his wife Adeline and 8-month-old baby boy Brave for a Sunday dinner.  But that's what he did.  It was actually the only Rwandan residence I was able to visit, and I was really flattered.  After dinner, Charles tried to teach us how to play Mancala, apparently a traditional African board game that is way too complicated for me to understand. 


     I felt sad when it was time to say good bye to Charles.  He told me he has two grant applications in the U.S. pending and, if he should be so fortunate to get one, he will be over to accept it.  If so, we will get together again.  I would really like that.