I am a teacher, author and philanthropist, and I was a racist. Racism doesn't have to mean you hate those who are different than yourself. It can mean the subtle, pernicious accumulation of unconscious prejudices against those who see the world differently.
I was raised in Scranton, Pennsylvania and attended Catholic and public schools all the way through college. My first notion of the poor in other countries was when the nuns, dressed imposingly in black tunics covered with pulverized chalk, prevailed upon us to put our milk money into an empty can of Crisco marked in crayon, "For Pagan Babies."
I joined the Peace Corps and went to Kenya when I was twenty-one years old. I lived in a mud hut, learned Swahili, built a village school and returned to the USA to do my graduate degree in African Politics at Columbia University. I remain in touch with my fellow teachers and students from the village to this day. Still.
The values and norms of the institutions in which we live and work wash over us. I went into the development industry with sound intentions, and worked extremely hard, but my results were meager. I worked in 35 nations at a very high level. I wrote books and lectured at the world's greatest universities. After a while, my successful script became stale, and my resume grew like a tall tree with leafy branches, though its core was hollowing with age. I had fallen under the spell of the development industry. I was prey to donor fashions, the whims of the Ivy League, Capitol Hill and Brussels, and the cynical detachment of over-educated, under-appreciated international journalists and aid bureaucrats. I believed that nothing good comes out of Africa.
Dusty, Poor Nations
Then, ten years ago, I went to work in Rwanda. Leaders of the World Bank introduced me to Paul Kagame, for whom I am a Senior Advisor and who had been president for a few weeks. I had no reason to believe he was anyone special. I committed to work hard, but if I am being truthful, I had no reason to believe my advice would amount to anything more than it did in Bolivia in the early nineties, Uganda or Tatarstan in the late nineties, or any number of dusty, poor nations in between.
My first meeting with Kagame was forty hours long, spread over five consecutive days. My experience was that no head of government ever worked that hard, ever focused like that. Over the next few years, I was privileged to learn from Rwandan leaders and observe first-hand how they grew their nation. Rwanda's leaders, not just Kagame, but also its Prime Minister, cabinet and the remarkable women who serve in parliament, have given me hope and courage.
Rwanda is one of the few nations in the developing world that spends more on education than on the military. Though Kagame is from one ethnic group, his Prime Minister and 70 percent of his cabinet are from the other, and a world-leading 56 percent of parliament is now women. The country is secure and the World Bank's Doing Business report recognized Rwanda as the greatest reforming nation in the world last year.
The economy has grown at an average of 8 percent since 2001. More important, wages in export sectors increased by up to 30 percent each of the last nine years.
Rwanda has a good neighbor policy. It played a key role in reducing recent tensions between Kenyans, vastly improved its relations with the Congo (the two presidents routinely share information), and was the first country to send peacekeepers to Darfur. Working side by side there, many of the Rwandan soldiers are children of both the perpetrators and victims of the genocide. The international press and sentimental filmmakers overlook these stories.
They prefer to speculate that Rwandan prosperity means they must be stealing minerals from Congo, that clean streets and rule of law mean suppression, that Kagame will not step down from power when his next term is up. They have seen the world like this for some time. I see it in their eyes, still.
A Tad Deeper, Please
In my view, one of those self-branded CNN shows focusing on what Bill Maher has called "Disaster Porn," spent way too much time asking Paul Kagame about a minor opposition candidate in the upcoming elections. The journalist didn't acknowledge that Victoire Ingabire had just taken a Rwandan passport, and arrived in January with close aide Joseph Ntawangundi. When allegations arose of his complicity in genocide, Ingabire persuaded diplomats, journalists, and NGOs that he was not only innocent, but that the charges against her aide were politically motivated. There was international silence in March, when Ntawangundi confessed to using a pseudonym to reenter the country, to killing 8 people in the genocide, and to previously being sentenced to 17 years in prison.
Now, due to international and regional cooperation, there is evidence of wire transfers showing that Ingabire sent thousands of dollars to Congo to pay for arms and ammunition. There are phone logs, emails and co-conspirator confessions concerning her contacts and coordination with FDLR leaders, and attempts to create a violent splinter faction. Ingabire was indicted on April 21st and released on bail the following day.
Rwanda's genocide denial laws have been characterized as "unique, vague, and overbroad." Rwanda has also been accused of using these laws to stifle free speech and government opposition.
But over a dozen European nations have specific laws criminalizing genocide denial and related speech. In fact, all EU Member States are now legally obligated to criminalize genocide denial when it is carried out to incite violence. The Rwandans have proposed an international conference where prosecutors compare genocide denial and hate speech laws and develop best practices for their use.
The Government of Rwanda has been accused of cracking down on so-called opposition newspapers. On April 13, 2010, the government issued six-month suspensions to two Kinyarwanda-language newspapers, Umuvugizi and Umuseso, for publishing language such as the following:
"He who refuses a peaceful political revolution makes a bloody revolution necessary... The queue of those who want change in the governance of this country, (and not a peaceful one since all avenues for peaceful revolution can no longer work) is growing by the day. This is leading Rwanda into total darkness. (Umuseso)
Their words became reality on February 19th and March 4th of this year when terrorists threw grenades into public establishments in Kigali and killed innocent civilians. Rwanda knows a lot about freedom of speech and the role of the press. After all, in 1994, it was the press that ignited the genocide.
I called the Communications Director for the President and formally requested the list of news outlets that work in the country that have not been banned. The office provided the list to me in a few hours, and I was told that no one else has ever made that request. It is a varied list of world-class organizations functioning well.
Time, Newsweek, New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, AP, AFP, NPR, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, CBS, CNN, NBC, CBC, Guardian, Times of London, Independent, Financial Times, Daily Telegraph, Economist, Al Jazeera, NHK, East Africa TV, SABC, ETV, France 24, TV5, FR3, TF1, RFI, Canal+, Jeune Afrique, Der Spiegel, Arte TV, VPRO
Also, during the time of the genocide, there was one radio station, Radio Rwanda. Today Rwanda has thirteen independent radio stations.
There are other illustrations, some of which are funny: the Rwandan general who recently ran from the country and claimed he was a political refugee. A senior military official informed me that the general was actually sleeping with the wife of another general who was away on duty, and was about to be indicted under military law. The general ran away and convinced the international press that he was a heroic figure standing up to oppression and asked for asylum. I bet he needs it, too, from the irate husband.
Or the Human Rights Watch employee who claims that Rwanda is preventing her from working there: She was given a work permit within three days-- until it was found out her papers were fraudulently signed by her organization to expedite the process. Still, her office remains open.
A fair-minded person might inquire: Why is all right for Germany to outlaw (Nazi) hate speech, but not so for the Rwandans? Why did journalists crusade for Victoire, but not subsequently report on her connections to aggressive splinter groups? Why hasn't anyone contrasted the activities of the three-dozen press organizations that thrive in Rwanda versus the two that were banned for six months? And, if working papers were rescinded in the USA when an international organization tried to take short cuts, Why would that not make the international news?
I believed for too long that not a lot of good comes out of Africa. The Rwandans held up a mirror to my face. I could see that my way of doing things wasn't helping, and I began to add value when I became willing to be guided by their vision.
I still tend to parentalize the poor, though I no longer believe the American conceptualizations of democracy and human rights are superior to all other peoples, or that the world should progress at the rate I determine. But one good thing about having been a racist, I can spot others a mile away.
Michael Fairbanks has been an advisor to a number of heads-of-government in Africa -- including Rwandan President Paul Kagame -- the Caribbean, Latin America and Asia, and author of Harvard's landmark book on Enterprise Solutions to Poverty, "Plowing the Sea", and more recently, "In The River They Swim."
Where do you stand on dialogue- Rwanda’s Rehab Prison in Lake Kivu? Here's exchange on NYT article, 5/1/10, Jeffrey Gentleman, “Rwanda’s Mix: Order, tension, Repressiveness” between New Times Journalist Gloria Abanyo and me;
Bob: Gloria, what is discouraging about this article is that you will call it a bunch of lies. Of course, they, RW govt, let the NYT reporter on the prison island to interview and take photos. Where are the lies? Is Gasigwa Gakunzi not 14 years old? What is his crime? Why is he in this prison? Why no trial? He is not accused of genocide. I support Kagame but he is getting too repressive here. I think they need to close this prison.
Gloria: Its a rehabilitation centre, I don't even know why you have decided to call it a prison. Why is it a bunch of lies? Like in the US, I believe you have numerous rehabilitation centers for Alcoholics, drug addicts and even sex addicts like where Tiger wood was, only difference is that the rich can afford to go to these places, while those who can't end up becoming bums on the streets and no one gives a damn about them, they are ignored like they do not exist yet you know very well that they need help.
Gloria
In my opinion, these are the fundamental issues that most people should be focusing on and paying attention to instead of having a myopic view of Rwanda today and where the country is headed based on their simplistic wishes. Let's discuss what matters to Rwanda and Rwandans and not what is ideal to a few self serving individuals that think they have a place in this society.
In his article, Mike Fairbanks mentions key indicators that demonstrate these achievements. Let me use this opportunity to also point out many more of these achievements. Rwanda is also on track to achieving the Millennium Development Goals including achieving universal primary education; reducing child (infant) mortality ratio from 107 per 1000 live births in the year 2000, to 62 per 1,000 live births in 2008. The under-five mortality ratio also declined from 196 to 103 per 1000 over the same period. At this declining rate, Rwanda will meet the MDG 4 target which is 28 per 1,000 live births by 2015; and 50 per 1,000 for the under-five mortality ratio.
I have been living in Rwanda for three years. The country in your article is not the country I live in. It is a country where I have seen friends swept up off the street and held in prison for being accused of thinking the wrong way. It is a country where there rich are making a wonderful life for themselves while the poor are scraping by to survive. It is a country where I have to read papers published in Uganda, Kenay, New York, and London in order to get accurate news.
Press freedom – Reporters without borders ranks Rwanda 157 out of 175 nations in press freedom. That is lower than China and Russia. You can make excuses for why it was a good idea to shut down two independent newspapers. Explain why the country systematically imprisons reports, shuts down papers, and shut up anyone who disagrees.
However the only election that Kagame cares about is winning his approval in the hearts and minds of western leaders. You are merely a pawn in this effort. The west has found a dictator who isn’t making a mess of a country so they keep him in place until he is no longer socially acceptable. It is a cycle of foreign policy going on for generations. If the image of Rwanda is tarnished perhaps the coveted foreign investment and billions in aid will dry up. Or perhaps Kagame will be forced to stand trial for war crimes as he has been indicted for in two countries. As long as he is a liked dictator by America, he gets to delay that one.
Mr. Fairbanks is obviously qualified and highly credible to provide his opinion. His extensive biography is up on this site and available for anyone to read.
He's responded to these questions below. But there are a number of comments, on two pages, so you may not have read through them all. He has no financial relationship with the Rwanda government. He wrote the piece himself, because "he believes in the Rwandan people." He advised the country on export competitiveness in the early part of this decade, which is why he knows the country and its economy.
I think a quick search will show you that Mr. Fairbanks has been at some point an advisor to Rwanda's president Kagame.
What an amazing analysis and way of putting things.
I was getting too tired of reading bad news from a place full of better news.
The past few months have been as though it rained petrol in Rwanda through the media, and some Rwandan happened to smoke a cigarette and they nation caught fire.
It is amazing to see how people choose to ignore other facts and post or publish what suits them or what they want to hear. I actually wondered whether some of the respondents to your article live in Rwanda or if they want or wish Rwanda well.
To the supporters of the paper Umuseso, i dare them to go to any western democracy and publish an article, a lie, that: the army chief of staff has been jailed, a secretary or minister wants to have a coup d'etat, the head of state is exile and cannot return, inciting and predicting a war internally......
the list is endless. this is what these media were doing.... if such people can survive a day in the open without police storming their home then am the dreamer.
When African leaders don't fight corruption and other irregularities or misuse of power, it is a problem and when Rwanda arrests wrong doers whether they are generals or regular civil servants then Rwanda is in a crisis, WHAT INSANITY IS ATTACKING THIS WORLD WE LIVE IN?
Let's not burn the country further, let's rather build it, lets criticize constructively.
Mike S.
"Their words became reality on February 19th and March 4th of this year when terrorists threw grenades..."
You seem to be hinting it's the newspapers fault? Why not the government? Why not the FDLR or CNDP? How on earth is it the fault of the journalists for reporting that some people want to bring down this government? It's reality.
"After all, in 1994, it was the press that ignited the genocide."
And who exactly is "the press"? RTLM may have started off its life pretending to be an independent radio station, but we now know it was funded and managed by people within the previous regime to start brainwashing citizens in a very calculated way.
"Why hasn't anyone contrasted the activities of the three-dozen press organizations that thrive in Rwanda versus the two that were banned for six months?"
Your list of media organizations still functioning in Rwanda misses the point entirely. Only the BBC broadcasts in Kinyarwanda and even they were temporarily shut down for interviewing the wrong people last year. The majority of the population here doesn't speak English. The Umuseso and Umuvugizi newspapers were the only local independent newspapers publishing in Kinyarwanda.
Does it still count as being independent when you're afraid to criticize anything the government does?
"the Rwandan general who recently ran from the country and claimed he was a political refugee..."
I think you are confusing General Karenzi Karake and Kayumba. And why would you just accept without question what your "military official" source tells you?
A small anthropological perspective on your choice of name:
For those who do not understand the languages of the region it might amuse them to know that Umuzungu is a word that has come to mean white person or European in East Africa. But the etymology of the word is from the root –zungu, which means, literally, to repetitively go in circles or to be crazy, which is how the first whites to the region were viewed.
I agree with Mr. Fairbanks media today only looks at the surface of Rwanda and does not search for the truth which no doubt is complex when it comes to Rwanda. We cannot assume that after 16 years since the 1994 genocide that Rwanda has healed from its divisive past under Kayibanda and Habyarimana. It will take time for development to occur at all levels. With that said Rwanda today has greatly invested in education and economic development. I believe that through education Rwanda will be able to increase capacity building, become competitive within the east African region, and promote civil society. Through education Rwanda and Rwandans will heal.
I am so thrilled about what you said of Rwanda. I must recognize that the less appealing title is what drove me to this article.
Many times in the media, Africa is portrayed like God's forsaken continent. The few foreigners that want to portray the continent in a new light rarely get their work published or not published at all.
In the past few days, the international media went gaga about an "alleged" arrest of Victoire.
This woman came from nowhere and wants to lead Rwanda. She was on a self-imposed asylum, because clearly nobody was after her. The same media that calls Rwanda an undemocratic country never questioned her credibility.
I used to read Umuseso, frankly speaking, I would compare this newspaper to cheap gossip magazine, except that the latter don't incite people to hatred.
Please, ignore all the name callings, and the negative comments, but rejoice in knowing that you have spoken the truth about a little country few know about.
God bless you!!!
About the tutsi being favoured more by the state is an outright lie. From the nation's history, one will learn that the tutsi did have a social upperhand before independence, however this is cancelled out as the inception of a hutu admin, led to discriminative laws against the tutsi. This has however changed dramtically. Nobody is asked what their ethnicity are, if they are to enrol in education institutions or seeking business lisences. The ethnicity ratio of cabinet members is an unnecessary issue, all officials should be selected on the basis of merit.
And another thing, people who are busy criticizing indirectly Mr. Fairbanks on having limited knowledge about Rwanda, read the gentleman's bio. Am sure you won't help but be embarassed. His attempting to be modest about his depth of knowledge, and even how deeper he has dived in "the rivers" of practicals expireince.
Also, Mr. Fairbanks, could you please site exactly when and in what section Umuseso published the hateful quote you mentioned above? Based on my recent experience in Rwanda and my contact with analysts on the ground, such a quote would never be published in Rwanda. Editors are intimately aware of the consequences of publishing such hateful rhetoric and would not be so foolish as to do so. The editor of Umuseso had been accused of some far less serious publishing infractions prior to Umuseso's closure. The infractions included publishing the results of an investigation into a particular government official's marital infidelity.
Thank you for asking.
Africa Freedom, below, has given a good and valuable syllabus of one end of the spectrum.
I think Steven Kinzer’s, “Thousand Hills” is a big fat book that seeks to be balanced. Anne Jolis wrote an excellent piece on Rwanda two weeks ago in the Wall Street journal, and I have a piece in the Washington post on line a few weeks ago.
Between Africa Freedom's suggestions, and these, you might find the whole story.
~ Mike