Efforts are constantly being made in that sense in Rwanda.
After the genocide and considering the extremely high number of murderers, the well-known Gacaca courts were created. It is a very interesting exercise because the judgment was made on a hill. Murderers were accusing other murderers. They knew the victims because they were their neighbours. They knew the names of those who had been killed. The exercise was definitely very difficult because the murderers could appear very arrogant to the victims as they related what happened and described exactly how they did the killings and so on. However, that sometimes gave them the opportunity to say for instance: “Finally, when your uncle Philippe fell, we buried him in that hole”. At that stage, the family of the victim could go and find Philippe's remains and bury them to have some closure. Despite the suffering, knowing where to find the remains of relatives, who were victims of the genocide, and being able to bury them made it possible to bring some closure and to grieve properly. I think that is a very important aspect in the security process because, if you do not grieve a loss, moving on is not easy.
My friend Paulin, who lives in Montreal, lost seven members of his family and he never found out where one of his brothers fell. Every time he goes to Rwanda, he is haunted by the idea that he is going to run into his little brother around the corner, especially when it starts getting dark. I bring that up to show that, in order to achieve security, those little things need to be addressed. So do the Tutsis feel safe in Rwanda right now? Yes and no.
Yes, they feel safe because the government is working hard to ensure the safety of all Rwandans. That is a well-known fact. No neighbouring country can boast such good domestic security. I was there in 2011 and I met with Canadian friends. They were not Canadians of Rwandan origins like me, they were Canadians from Quebec. One evening, they were walking in a popular neighbourhood and I ran into them on the street. They seemed quite comfortable. I was the one who was shocked. I said: “You must be mad. It is 11 p.m., aren't you afraid?”. They answered: “No, never. We are going to the bar.” Sure enough, we ended up at the bar. I was on vacation with my cousins and I turned to them and said: “This is unbelievable.”
One of my cousins, a soldier, told me: “You are my cousin. We are here. We are going out together, but let me tell you one thing. If something were to happen to those two, my vacation would end and I would start working right away.” Those are the types of efforts being made to guarantee the general security of all Rwandans.
Do the Tutsis feel integrated? Generally speaking, I think so. However, with this whole history of hatred, the sword of Damocles is always there somewhere hanging over our heads. Actually, as I mentioned earlier to Mr. Cotler, there is still work to be done in terms of education.
We have to wonder whether people feel safe just because resources are in place. However, the security is not intrinsic.