Platteau and Andre are not suggesting the genocide was an inevitable outcome of population pressures. The killings were clearly influenced by political decisions made by power-hungry politicians. But several scholars, including French historian Gerard Prunier are convinced that a scarcity of land set the stage for the mass killing. In short, the genocide gave landless Hutus the cover they needed to initiate class warfare. “At least part of the reason why it was carried out so thoroughly by the ordinary rank-and-file peasants was feeling that there were too many people on too little land,” Prunier observed in The Rwanda Crisis, “and that with a reduction in their numbers, there would be more for the survivors.”
The Eastern Congo Village of Shasha—roughly equidistant to Goma to the north, Bukavu to the south, Masisi to the west and Lake Kivu to the east—has become a grim crossroads for roving rebels seeking land, minerals, and revenge. Nearby mines holding eastern Congo’s abundant tin, coltan, and gold are almost exclusively under the control of various armed groups—the Hutu and Tutsi paramilitaries, the Mai-Mai militias of the indigenous groups—each descending on Shasha village in a macabre rotation, one after another, month after month, in a wave of mayhem.
A woman named Faida weeps quietly as she recalls what happened to her a year ago. She is petite and ebony-skinned, with fatigued eyes and a voice just above a whisper. In her hands is a letter from her husband, announcing that he is divorcing her because he fears she might have contracted HIV from the men who raped her.
On that fateful day, Faida was on the same road she always took after working in the peanut fields some 40 miles southwest of Goma. She would walk an hour and a half to the market at Minova with the peanuts on her back; then return home with firewood on her back. Faida was 32 and of the Hunde tribe, married with six children, and for 16 years this had been her routine. She believed no one would attack a woman in broad daylight.
The three men were rebel Hutu. She tried to run, but the load on her back was heavy. The men instructed her to lay down her bag. They told her to choose between life and death. Then they dragged her into a cattle field. She lost consciousness.
Today she lives with neighbors and cannot work. Her ex-husband quickly remarried. The damage done to her reproductive organs is extensive. “I’m really suffering,” she says. “Please help me get medication, I beg you.”
Shasha’s population is about ten thousand, twice what it was in 1994, and its story is, writ small, that of the eastern Congo. A Hunde stronghold since antiquity, Shasha began to receive Hutus in the 1930s, when the Belgian occupiers brought them in to work their coffee and tea plantations. Later, in the wake of the 1994 genocide, came thousands of Tutsi refugees. Land disputes became overheated and were frequently resolved at the point of the gun. The area’s vast mineral wealth only made things worse. Scarcity and abundance both exist here side by side, fueling grievances as well as greed, spiraling into inexplicable violence against innocents.
Goma women’s advocate Marie Gorette estimates that over eight hundred women in the village have been raped. They range in age, she says, from six months to eighty. Gorette offers to introduce me to the women of Shasha. And so one afternoon we sit in a village hut while the ladies enter one by one to tell their stories.
Odette is strong-shouldered and wears a blue print dress. It happened to her just ten days ago. Her 12-year old son found her unconscious in the cassava fields where she had been working.
Chantel is forty-two. Tutsi rebels barged into her house four years ago, took all the family’s money and declared it was not enough. Her husband was forced to watch at gunpoint. Justine looks much younger than twenty-eight, with lively eyes. The Congolese Tutsi warlord Laurent Nkunda (now-imprisoned) brought his CNDP army into Shasha in 2008. Justine was far from the only one—many of her relatives and neighbors were raped as well.
In 2005, the UN estimated that some 45,000 women had been raped in the eastern province of South Kivu alone. And despite international attention following a 2009 visit to the region by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the abuse continues. Just as the “Hutu Power” Rwandans in 1994 sought to eradicate the Tutsis by deliberately massacring women and children, Shasha’s invaders are human heat-seeking missiles aimed at the village’s women. “Because it’s the corridor, Shasha is the worst place in the region when it comes to mass rapes,” says Gorette. “They use rape as a weapon to destroy a generation.”
I am somewhere in Rwanda when my car breaks down. A man pulls over to where I’m hovering over the smoking engine and offers to drive me the remaining 70 or so miles to Kigali. “If this were the Congo, you would be in big trouble,” he laughs.
The 41-year old man’s name is Samuel, and though he is from the farming community of Romagana, his vocation is carpentry. By the region’s standards, Samuel’s family is small—“only four children,” he says. “I think that’s the ideal size.” Schools cost Samuel about four thousand dollars per child each term. “But I think education is the solution. Otherwise people have no work. They just resort to having lots of children and stealing to survive.” The broad-faced man smiles and says, “I’m very optimistic about our country. The future is indeed bright.”
It is no small miracle that the country where the Albertine Rift Valley’s anxieties and resentments metastasized into genocide would, less than two decades later, emerge as the region’s beacon of hope. Rwanda’s president, Paul Kagame, drove out the Hutu leaders of the massacre and set up a minority Tutsi regime that has been in power ever since. Recently Kagame’s luster has been tarnished as he’s come under criticism for civil rights abuses against dissidents—and for using paramilitary groups to divert mineral riches from the eastern Congo. Though Rwanda has largely stopped the direct plunder of resources that occurred during Congo’s last civil war, Kagame’s plans to build up his country definitely depend on continuing to covertly exploit its neighbor’s mineral wealth.
Still, in this neighborhood, there’s no denying the long list of successes Kagame has piled up in an incredibly impoverished place. Rwanda is now one of the safest, most stable, and least corrupt countries in Africa. The roads are paved, the landscape is tidy, and cutting down so much as a single tree has been illegal since 2005. Government programs offer poachers alternative livelihoods such as beekeeping. An event known as Kwita Izina has raised awareness of wildlife conservation with an annual ceremony to name every newborn mountain gorilla in Rwanda. A law passed this past January provides compensation for livestock killed by wildlife. An environmentally sensible regazzetting of Rwanda’s Akagera National Park in 1997 gave hundreds of acres back to its citizens, while hundreds of additional acres owned by wealthy landowners in the country’s eastern province were redistributed in 2007—though Kagame himself, and other influential cronies, continue to own sprawling estates.
Unlike in Uganda, where President Musevini has declared its high birth rate a tool in building a productive workforce, Rwanda is tackling its high fertility rate with an aggressive family planning campaign. “When I look at the problem of Rwanda’s population, it starts with the high fertility rate among our poor women. And this impacts everything—the environment, the relationship between our people, and the country’s development as a whole,” says tktkt, the deputy speaker of Parliament. “For all the visible progress Rwanda is making, if we don’t address this matter, then it will create a bottleneck, and our development will be unsustainable.”
Yet even if Rwanda’s fertility rate falls below replacement level, as it’s projected to in 2050, its population will still double beyond what it was during the 1994 genocide. Forty-five per cent of Rwandans are under the age of fifteen; the same percentage are illiterate. Nearly 85 percent live in rural areas. To feed its burgeoning population, and protect the wildlife still left in its parks, Rwanda will need to figure out how to produce much more food on much less land—a tall order in this part of the world. Even Kagame’s strongman government can only do so much so fast.
“The average fam
ily of six has little more than half an acre here,” says Pierre Ruzirabwoba. “And of course, those children will have children. Where will they grow crops? That small piece of land has been overworked and is no longer fertile. I’m afraid another war could be around the corner.”
Another full-scale war in the heart of the Albertine Rift Valley? It’s an awful thing to contemplate. Ruzirabwoba fretfully ponders the way out. High-yield farming techniques, of course. Better job opportunities in the city. And “a good relationship with our neighboring countries.”
Then he shrugs and says, “Perhaps some of our people can migrate to the Congo.”
Inspiring people to care about the planet
The National Geographic Society is chartered in Washington, D.C., as a nonprofit scientific and educational organization “for the increase and diffusion of geographic knowledge.”
* * *
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE
EDITOR IN CHIEF
Chris Johns
DEPUTY EDITOR Victoria Pope
CREATIVE DIRECTOR Bill Marr
EXECUTIVE EDITORS Dennis R. Dimick (Environment), Kurt Mutchler (Photography), Jamie Shreeve (Science)
MANAGING EDITOR Lesley B. Rogers
TEXT
DEPUTY DIRECTOR: Marc Silver. STORY DEVELOPMENT EDITOR: Barbara Paulsen
ARTICLES EDITOR: Oliver Payne
SENIOR EDITORS: Lynn Addison (Features), Robert Kunzig (Environment), Peter Miller (Expeditions). EDITOR AT LARGE: Cathy Newman. FEATURES EDITORS: Glenn Oeland, Jane Vessels EDITOR, MISSION PROJECTS: Hannah Bloch. ASSISTANT EDITOR: Amanda B. Fiegl SENIOR WRITERS: Jennifer S. Holland, Tom O’Neill, A. R. Williams. WRITER: Peter Gwin ADMINISTRATION: Nicholas Mott; Katia Andreassi
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Caroline Alexander, Don Belt, Joel K. Bourne, Jr., Robert Draper, Cynthia Gorney, Peter Hessler, Mark Jenkins, David Quammen
DEPARTMENTS DIRECTOR: Margaret G. Zackowitz DEPUTY DIRECTOR: Luna Shyr. EDITOR: Jeremy Berlin. ADMINISTRATION: Catherine Zuckerman
PHOTOGRAPHY
DEPUTY DIRECTOR: Ken Geiger
SENIOR EDITORS: Bill Douthitt (Special Editions), Kathy Moran (Natural History), Susan Welchman (Departments). EDITOR AT LARGE: Michael Nichols
SENIOR PHOTO EDITORS: Alice Gabriner, Kim Hubbard, Todd James, Elizabeth Krist, Sarah Leen, Sadie Quarrier. PHOTO EDITOR SPECIALIST: Deirdre Read. RESEARCH EDITOR: Mary McPeak STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER: Mark Thiessen. STUDIO: Rebecca Hale. DIGITAL IMAGING: Edward Samuel, Evan Wilder. PHOTO ENGINEERING: Walter Boggs, David Mathews, Kenji Yamaguchi RIGHTS MANAGER: Elizabeth Grady. ADMINISTRATION: Whitney Hall, Jenny Trucano; Sherry L. Brukbacher, Jeanne M. Modderman, Kate Napier, Elena Sheveiko
DESIGN / ART
DEPUTY CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Kaitlin M. Yarnall. DESIGN DIRECTOR: David C. Whitmore ART DIRECTOR: Juan Velasco. MAPS DIRECTOR: William E. McNulty
SENIOR DESIGN EDITORS: John Baxter, Elaine H. Bradley. DESIGN EDITOR: Oliver R. Uberti SENIOR GRAPHICS EDITORS: Fernando G. Baptista, Martin Gamache, Virginia W. Mason, John Tomanio. SENIOR CARTOGRAPHY EDITOR: Gus Platis. ART RESEARCH EDITOR: Amanda Hobbs GRAPHICS SPECIALISTS: Jerome N. Cookson, Lawson Parker, Maggie Smith SENIOR DESIGNER: Betty Clayman-DeAtley. DESIGNERS: Sandi Owatverot-Nuzzo, Hannah Tak ADMINISTRATION: Cinde Reichard; Michael Kritikos
COPY / RESEARCH
DEPUTY MANAGING EDITOR: David Brindley
SENIOR COPY EDITOR: Mary Beth Oelkers-Keegan. COPY EDITORS: Kitry Krause, Cindy Leitner DEPUTY RESEARCH DIRECTOR: Alice S. Jones. RESEARCH EDITORS: Heidi Schultz, Elizabeth Snodgrass, Christy Ullrich, Barbara L. Wyckoff. SENIOR RESEARCHERS: Karen C. Font, Nora Gallagher, David A. Lande, Nancie Majkowski, Taryn Salinas, Brad Scriber PRODUCTION: Sandra Dane. ADMINISTRATION: Jacqueline Rowe
E-PUBLISHING
DIRECTOR: Melissa Wiley. SENIOR VIDEO PRODUCER: Hans Weise. DESIGNER: Lindsay Powell
PRODUCTION SPECIALIST: Susan Park Lee. ADMINISTRATION: Trish Dorsey
NGM.COM
SENIOR PRODUCER: John Kondis. ASSOCIATE PRODUCER: William Barr SENIOR PHOTO EDITOR: Monica C. Corcoran. ART DIRECTOR: Shawn Greene
ADMINISTRATION
Karen Dufort Sligh (Asst. to the Editor in Chief), Valarie Cribb-Chapman (Finance), Carol L. Dumont (Scheduling); Nikisha Long; Alicia LaFrance
COMMUNICATIONS VICE PRESIDENTS: Beth Foster, Mary Jeanne Jacobsen; Barbara S. Moffet
IMAGE COLLECTION AND SALES VICE PRESIDENT: Maura A. Mulvihill; William D. Perry
LIBRARIES AND INFORMATION SERVICES DIRECTOR: Barbara Penfold Ferry; Renee Braden
PRODUCTION SERVICES
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT: Phillip L. Schlosser
IMAGING VICE PRESIDENT: Thomas J. Craig. GENERAL MANAGER: Bernard Quarrick; John Ballay, David J. Bulebush, Neal Edwards, James P. Fay, Arthur N. Hondros, Gregory Luce, Ann Marie Pelish, Stephen L. Robinson. PRINTING: Joseph M. Anderson. QUALITY DIRECTOR: Ronald E. Williamson; Clayton R. Burneston, Michael G. Lappin, William D. Reicherts DISTRIBUTION DIRECTOR: Michael Swarr
* * *
INTERNATIONAL EDITIONS
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR: Amy Kolczak
PHOTO AND DESIGN EDITOR: Darren Smith. PHOTOGRAPHIC LIAISON: Laura L. Ford PRODUCTION: Angela Botzer. ADMINISTRATION: William Shubert
EDITORS
ARABIC Mohamed Al Hammadi
BRAZIL Matthew Shirts
BULGARIA Krassimir Drumev
CHINA Ye Nan
CROATIA Hrvoje Præiæ
CZECHIA Tomá Tureèek
ESTONIA Erkki Peetsalu
FRANCE François Marot
GERMANY Erwin Brunner
GREECE Maria Atmatzidou
HUNGARY Tamás Schlosser
INDONESIA Hendra Noor Saleh
ISRAEL Daphne Raz
ITALY Marco Cattaneo
JAPAN Shigeo Otsuka
KOREA Sun-ok Nam
LATIN AMERICA Omar López
LITHUANIA Frederikas Jansonas
NETHERLANDS/BELGIUM Aart Aarsbergen
NORDIC COUNTRIES Karen Gunn
POLAND Martyna Wojciechowska
PORTUGAL Gonçalo Pereira
ROMANIA Cristian Lascu
RUSSIA Alexander Grek
SERBIA Igor Rill
SLOVENIA Marija Javornik
SPAIN Josep Cabello
TAIWAN Roger Pan
THAILAND Kowit Phadungruangkij
TURKEY Nesibe Bat
* * *
ADVERTISING
161 Sixth Avenue, New York, NY, 10013; Phone: 212-610-5500; Fax: 212-610-5505
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND WORLDWIDE PUBLISHER: Claudia Malley. NATIONAL ADVERTISING DIRECTOR: Robert Amberg. VICE PRESIDENT MARKETING: Jenifer Berman. VICE PRESIDENT BUSINESS AND OPERATIONS: Margaret Schmidt. NATIONAL MANAGER: Tammy Abraham
INTERNATIONAL MANAGING DIRECTOR: Charlie Attenborough. DIRECTORS: Nadine Heggie (International), Rebecca Hill (Marketing), David Middis (British Isles)
CONSUMER MARKETING VICE PRESIDENT WORLDWIDE: Terrence Day. DIRECTORS: Christina C. Alberghini (Member Services), Anne Barker (Renewals), Richard Brown (New Business), John MacKethan (Financial Planning and Retail Sales), John A. Seeley (International)
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY
CHAIRMAN AND CEO
John Fahey
PRESIDENT
Tim T. Kelly
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENTS
Terrence B. Adamson
PRESIDENT, ENTERPRISES: Linda Berkeley
MISSION PROGRAMS: Terry D. Garcia
COMMUNICATIONS: Betty Hudson
CFO: Christopher A. Liedel
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Joan Abrahamson, Michael R. Bonsignore, Jean N. Case, Alexandra Grosvenor Eller, Roger A. Enrico, John Fahey, Daniel S. Goldin, Gilbert M. Grosvenor, Tim T. Kelly, Maria E. Lagomasino, George Muñoz, Reg Murphy, Patrick F. Noonan, Peter H. Raven, William K. Reilly, Edward P. Roski, Jr., James R. Sasser, B. Francis Saul II, Gerd Schulte-Hillen, Ted Waitt, Tracy R. Wolstencroft
COUNCIL OF ADVISORS
CHAIRMAN: Edward P. Roski, Jr.
Darlene T. Anderson, Lucy C. Billingsley, Michael R. Bonsignore, Howard G. Buffett, Virginia Busch, Jean N. Case, David Court, Roger A. Enrico, Juliet C. Folger, Robert B. Haas, David H. Koch, Iara Lee, Deborah M. Lehr, Sven-Olof Lindblad, Bruce L. Ludwig, Claudia Madrazo de Hernández, David P. Margulies Michael L. Matkins, Mark C. Moore, Larry Mullen, Jr., Sally Engelhard Pingree, W. Russell Ramsey, Catherine B. Reynolds, Joseph E. Robert, Jr., Victoria P. Sant, B. Francis Saul II, Ted Waitt, Sam R. Walton, Garry A. Weber, Tracy R. Wolstencroft, William Wrigley, Jr.
RESEARCH AND EXPLORATION COMMITTEE
CHAIRMAN: Peter H. Raven
VICE CHAIRMAN: John M. Francis
Kamaljit S. Bawa, Colin A. Chapman, Keith Clarke, Steven M. Colman, J. Emmett Duffy, Philip Gingerich, Carol P. Harden, Jonathan B. Losos, John O’Loughlin, Naomi E. Pierce, Elsa M. Redmond, Thomas B. Smith, Wirt H. Wills, Melinda A. Zeder
7 Billion Page 9
