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11 Harv. Negot. L. Rev. 421
Harvard Negotiation Law Review
Spring 2006
Note
COMICS MEDIA IN CONFLICT RESOLUTION PROGRAMS: ARE THEY EFFECTIVE IN PROMOTING AND
SUSTAINING PEACE?
Ellen Yamshon, Daniel Yamshond1
Copyright (c) 2006 Harvard Negotiation Law Review; Ellen Yamshon; Daniel Yamshon
Introduction1
Posters2 that read in the mother tongue, “Kinyrwanda: Inkiko Gacaca Ukuri kurakiza” across the top and “Dutore:
04/01/2001” at the bottom began hanging at local Rwandan election offices in 2001.3 *422 On these posters, a mostly black
and white cartoon depicts a sun rising over the hills of Rwanda with villagers holding hands as they move from darkness
towards the light. The only color present is that of the yellow sun. The one word message at the bottom of the poster
commands citizens to vote in the election of gacaca (pronounced ga-cha-cha) judges. The statement at the top, “The Truth
Heals” follows the caption “Gacaca Tribunals.” The poster appears to serve a dual purpose: to encourage community
participation in the election4 and, at the same time, to promote the institution itself. 5
The Rwandan comics poster is a specimen of what is referred to by international media specialists as peace journalism.
Comics6 as peace journalism have the potential to positively influence behavioral responses to conflict and shepherd in a new
era of understanding, harmony, and security in conflict regions and broken societies across the world. Significantly, the
government of Rwanda and international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are using comics media to foster tolerance
and reconciliation.
There is a small but growing trend in international development circles to use comics media to communicate with, educate,
and influence incapacitated populations, especially those with low literacy rates. Programs addressing poverty, illiteracy,
disease, and violent conflict through comic strips, wall posters, and leaflets are cropping up across the globe, particularly in
Africa, Asia, and Latin America.7 Campaigns using comics are being directed at effecting attitudinal and behavioral change,
as “The Truth Heals” poster demonstrates. *423 Comics, while potent simply standing alone, have also been used to enhance
programs that use radio, television, video, and film as the primary communication medium. 8 In response to this kind of
interdependent use, programs are now being designed around comics. 9
Some theorists believe existing conflict resolution analyses and approaches may be inadequate in a rapidly changing world.
Practitioners must be open to novel and creative techniques.
If we are to deal effectively with our multiplying sociolegal enigmas, we must evolve new methods of jural research and
development; we must think much more creatively about the resolution of social conflicts. That means we must develop
novel and untried hypotheses and then test them--first in theory and then in practice.10
This note presents a challenge to conflict resolution theorists and practitioners: to devise, study, and analyze comics media in
the context of conflict resolution programs.
Part I states the authors’ thesis that comics media can produce efficacious and durable outcomes in the context of conflict
resolution. Part II gives an overview of the historical background of the Rwandan genocide to frame the following discussion
of comics media in the context of building national unity and reconciliation. Comics media and related visuals, observed by
the authors while participating on the 2004 Fulbright-Hays Project in Rwanda,11 are outlined in *424 Part III. Part IV
discusses the relevant characteristics of comics media and their strengths and weaknesses. The section concludes with a
query, whether the effect of comics media on peace and conflict resolution can be measured, and an invitation for academics
and practitioners to further explore this area in order to answer that question.
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I. Can Peace and Conflict Resolution Be Advanced Durably Through Comics Media?
The use of comics, graphics, and images can constitute powerful tools to sensitize, educate, and motivate people to
participate in and prepare for dispute resolution. In this note, we are concerned with comics and other graphic images as
peace building communication media.12 They serve a news function (what’s happening), an educational function (explain the
meaning and significance of facts), and operate as a channel to express different perspectives with the objective of
influencing others’ opinions, attitudes, and behavior. 13
Media can raise consciousness and foster the free flow of information. Indications in the education field are that graphic
novels14 positively engage students and, therefore, serve the educational function of media. 15
*425 Conflict is created, escalated and perpetuated when there is a lack of information; 16 sharing facts and a diversity of
viewpoints serves to de-escalate hostilities. This edification process helps separate issues from interests and positions if the
information is truthful and presented in a constructive manner.17 Moreover, media can influence opinion; when opinions
change, attitudes and behavior shift. This is the genesis for forgiveness, healing, and reconciliation.
Media can positively influence reconciliation in the aftermath of violent conflict just as the negative use of media magnifies
and promotes conflict.18 Comics are particularly suited to aid in the healing process and minimize the gulf between groups
after mass conflict.
Comics do not have to be funny but those that are have palliative powers. Humor operates through incongruity and irony.
Negative emotions are redirected and lighthearted disengagement results, if only for a moment. 19
Exaggerations in comic format can be uplifting even when the content is sad. 20 They can convey highly charged emotions in
a non-threatening manner. Narration through comics de-personalizes the reality and at the same time addresses very deep
matters. For those who have lived through war, genocide or other extreme violence, the trauma is simply too deep and too
raw to confront. Comics can indirectly poke at wounds too painful to contemplate through satire and paradox. Victims can
experience a sense of relief, however vicarious, *426 which is a critical first step in healing. Thus, comics are well-suited to
deal with violence, even the evils of the genocide.
The authors believe that conflict resolution programs can produce positive, measurable, and sustainable outcomes by using
comics media because comics are engaging and have pedagogical properties. That marketing and public relations campaigns
directed at affecting people’s dispute resolution process choices may be enhanced through the use of comics is another
benefit. In addition to their attributes of influence, comics media can be produced and distributed relatively inexpensively. 21
Moreover, comics media and their messages engender strong identification by viewers if there is trust in the creative
source.22 Inquiry must be made: are positive results quantifiable? Are they sustainable?
Marketing and public relations campaigns directed at affecting people’s dispute resolution process choices may be enhanced
through the use of comics. The evidence, albeit anecdotal, is that individuals who are prone to use violence as a method of
conflict resolution have been positively influenced by comics. 23 The campaign for community-wide participation in gacaca is
an example, notwithstanding the legal obligation to participate. The campaign was aimed at getting genocide perpetrators and
victims to participate in gacaca, thereby forgoing a violent response.
For these reasons, comics media should be central in designing conflict resolution programs, especially in poor regions of the
world, where people confront communication challenges or cannot comprehend resolution technologies.
Those interested in peacemaking should consider using comics media as a central component of conflict resolution
curriculum and campaigns. This is a call to practitioners and scholars to introduce and critically evaluate comics as peace
building journalism. Comics should be tested for efficacy and durability as an educational and public relations medium on a
long term basis. Why not start in Rwanda and other areas in transition from violent conflict?
*427 II. Getting Beyond Violence: The Rwandan Experience in Putting Society Back Together
Rwanda is one of a myriad of countries using comics to reach its citizenry as it emerges from violent conflict. 24 The use of
comics media vis-à-vis the contours and scope of the Rwandan genocide and the attendant responses demonstrates the
potential for comics media as an impetus for social justice.
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In April 1994, as the world was exulting in the first free elections that brought Nelson Mandela to power in post-apartheid
South Africa, Rwanda collapsed into genocidal madness. 25 On April 6, 1994, the plane carrying the president of Rwanda,
Juvenal Habyrarimana, a Hutu,26 was shot down as it was landing in the Rwandan capital, *428 Kigali.27 The massacres that
followed were not merely a spontaneous response to the downing of the plane;28 they had been years in the making.
The death and destruction were so fast and ferocious that nearly 800,000 Tutsis and 50,000 politically moderate Hutus
perished in just under one hundred days.29 Although the genocide was orchestrated by the government, the plan was carried
out by the Interahamwe, the youth militia, and an astounding number of ordinary Hutu civilians against the Tutsi, moderate
Hutu, and Tutsi sympathizers.30 It was an “intimate genocide”: neighbors killing neighbors, relatives killing their own or
turning them over to the authorities.31
Hutus and Tutsis have shared power ever since the killings ended in June 1994, and the current government of Rwanda is
committed to fighting the ideology of genocide32 and maintaining a democratic state based on the rule of law. 33 The matter
of the genocide and the attendant issues of justice, compensation, and reformation continue to inform social policy.
Conflict management features prominently in the scheme to prevent the unraveling of the delicate concord that has existed
since genocide ended in Rwanda. The mandate for peace and conflict prevention goes beyond prayer and rhetoric. It is the
supreme law of the land, institutionalized in the constitution, and the government of Rwanda is committed to national unity
and reconciliation.34
*429 Figure 1
A tolerant, conciliatory, unified posture is expected of all Rwandese, victims, perpetrators, and returnees 35 alike.
Discrimination or *430 divisionism36 based on regionalism, ethnicity, or any other basis simply will not be tolerated.
Furthermore, ethnicity is not a topic for public discussion, although people do ask each other about it in private. The terms
“Hutu” and “Tutsi” are almost never used in polite conversation; they are forbidden. See Figure 1.
Gacaca, discussed below, is premised on the development of a public memoir, a history of the genocide to foster healing and
reconciliation. The new restriction on references to ethnicity may be counter-productive. Without discourse about group
identity, frank discussions of inter-ethnic relations are almost impossible.
The scale of the genocide was so extensive, the execution so fast, and the devastation so complete, that it left Rwandan
society reverberating with pervasive trauma.37 Rwanda could not wait the interminable hundred-plus years it would have
taken to bring all suspects to justice.38 Justice was meted out slowly because the justice system, inherently weak to begin
with, was obliterated by the genocide and had to be rebuilt. 39
Realities on the ground necessitated a new approach to justice in order to facilitate the monumental task of prosecuting nearly
120,00040 genocidaires41 as well as the re-uniting of a society divided by hatred and incapacity. Figures vary, but it is
believed that only *431 80,000 genocide suspects are still being held.42 This indicates that between 30,000 and 40,000
suspects have been released. Released, however, does mean absolved or pardoned; the government of Rwanda intends to try
to punish every guilty party and is looking to a hybrid alternative dispute resolution process called gacaca.43
Rwanda restored gacaca,44 an indigenous community based form of conflict resolution used in pre-colonial times.45 Gacaca
was modified to meet the modern challenges of transitioning from lawlessness to order. Traditional gacaca served three
purposes: to help the defendant appreciate the gravity of the damage caused, 46 to bring the community back to equilibrium,47
and to reintegrate the defendant into the community.48 Serious crimes were not brought before the traditional gacacas.
In contrast, the modern gacaca courts were conceived to expedite genocidal justice in the interest of rebuilding social
infrastructures such as education, economic development, and democracy. The gacaca courts were instituted to achieve five
precise objectives: (1) to reveal the truth about what happened; (2) to speed up the genocide trials; (3) to eradicate the culture
of impunity; (4) to reconcile the *432 Rwandans and reinforce their unity; and (5) to prove Rwandan society has the capacity
to settle its own problems through a system of justice based on Rwandan custom. 49
The modern Gacaca Jurisdiction is a sweeping prosecution program designed to expedite genocide justice. However, as
pointed out above, prosecution is not the only objective.50 Restorative justice features prominently in the gacaca scheme.
Gacaca contemplates confessions, plea bargains, community service (both as punishment and restitution), and reintegration. 51
Confessions, if timely,52 result in release from prison or a reduced sentence while umuganda (community service) may be
imposed as a form of punishment. Though this does not vary significantly from criminal punishment in the West, community
service as restitution for murder and mayhem is sui generis. 53
Gacaca’s nature as an indigenous form of conflict resolution is important in rebuilding Rwandans’ sense of worth and in
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fostering a new national consciousness. Although the phrase does not appear in the constitution, a collective Rwandan
self-determination is evident.54 The Government of Rwanda recognized and has steadfastly clung to the notion that genocide
justice had to be administered by Rwandese55 and that Rwanda needed to fashion its own resolution process. A coterie of
foreign jurists mobilized by the United Nations to serve as judicial officers was relegated to a supporting role. 56
*433 Gacaca is a census, community discovery, arbitration, plea bargain and sentencing process all in one. 57 Technically, the
modern Gacaca is a court-annexed arbitration program.58 The design, implementation, and operation of the Gacaca, however,
is radically different than Western-style arbitration.59 These differences can be broken down into two major areas: legal
representation and participation. Most arbitration rules in the United States allow parties to be represented by counsel, 60 and
participation may be as a witness or as a party. There are constitutional limits on required participation, for example, as
provided by Amendment V to the Constitution. Gacaca is different. As will be discussed below, in Gacaca, everyone is
obligated to participate. For example, one official document refers to the gacaca as “amicable arbitration,”61 whereas critics
might refer to gacaca as “arbitration by ambush”62 because the participation is imposed, not voluntary.
*434 Gacaca is fashioned to foster healing of all Rwandese: victims, perpetrators, bystanders, and returnees. 63 Since the
genocide affected every Rwandese (including returnees), every Rwandese is a stakeholder in the outcome of gacaca. All adult
Rwandese are duty bound to participate in gacaca64 and, according to the Teaching Manual on Gacaca-Jurisdictions, all
Rwandese citizens are expected to actively participate.65
This participatory approach to justice brings victims, perpetrators, bystanders, and returnees face to face to tell what
happened in the spring of 1994. It involves the entire community66 so that any resident member of the cell67 present at a
hearing may speak for or against the defendant.68
*435 Failure to testify on what happened in the cell is punishable under law. 69 A prison sentence of three to six months may
be imposed for a first offense70 while repeat offenders may be sentenced to a year in prison. The Law of Gacaca applies
whether the failure to testify was an omission or an intentional act. 71
Implementation of Gacaca is proving to be arduous and slow because many fear public testimony or are unable to
comprehend the process. These exigencies require a concerted effort to educate the citizenry about and to encourage
voluntary participation in gacaca. Education is essential to reconciliation. Rwanda has made enormous strides in addressing
the problems of widespread illiteracy, but challenges remain. The illiteracy rate is still around 25%. 72
Like arbitration in the West, gacaca testimony is not constrained by evidentiary or procedural rules, and concepts of
relevance are much broader than in Western justice systems.73 The General Assemblies74 participate in the proceedings,75
and any member may testify in defense of or against a defendant. Unlike Western arbitration, gacaca is held in a public venue
and defendants are not entitled to legal representation.76 The public nature of gacaca lends transparency to, and helps foster
confidence in, the process.
*436 Naturally, people are cautious about testifying at gacaca. Participation can be disturbing and threatening, particularly for
genocide survivors who fear retaliation. As many as 40,000 genocide suspects were released from prison in 2005. 77 In 2003
alone, over 20,000 genocide detainees were released.78 At least 1500 of those have since been returned to prison for allegedly
threatening witnesses or lying in their confessions. 79 One official said, “We are aware that some people, especially genocide
survivors may not understand the reason we do this, but we are simply going by the law. We will continue to use every effort
possible to sensitize everyone.”80 Testifying poses risks because in Rwanda there is no witness protection program.
Avoidance, although understandable, is not an option. Because of the challenges that exist with getting people to participate,
sensitizing the general public about the importance of participating in Gacaca is a continuing effort. 81
In the United States and Europe, arbitrators are expected to be highly skilled, neutral, and have no conflicts of interest.
Gacaca judges, on the other hand, have no formal legal training, are well known to the victim and defendant, and, by virtue of
their membership in the community, cannot avoid conflicts of interest. These judges are elected by the people in the local
communities, serve voluntarily, and are untrained in the law. In fact, some cannot read or write. A provision in the Law of
Gacaca that expressly states that election to the Coordination Committee, which registers appeals against gacaca judgments,
is conditioned on literacy in the mother tongue, Kinyarwanda, is emblematic. 82
*437 III. The Contemporary Use of Comics Media in Rwanda
Raising the issue of post-genocide justice in a comic may seem disrespectful. Historically, comics have been used to
entertain, to make political statements, and regrettably, to monger hate. Comics used leading up to the Rwandan genocide are
appalling examples of media used for evil: to justify genocide.83 Rwanda, however, has put comics media to positive use in
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the post-genocide era.
The advent of comics as peace journalism is ironic in Rwanda where the Hutu media used cartoons to villanize and
dehumanize the Tutsi minority in one of the most vitriolic examples of genocidal propaganda since the Holocaust. 84 The
pairing of cartoons with the radio, the medium with the widest possible reach, was hauntingly reminiscent of the
hatemongering activities of Julius Streicher. Streicher, a Nazi sympathizer, incited hatred of Jews through film and cartoons.
In Rwanda, cartoons and caricatures were used as weapons of mass destruction. 85 The media was used to escalate racial
tensions and to incite ordinary citizens to maim and murder.
In Rwanda, radio was the dominant media because of low literacy rates, poor access to print media, and difficulties with
television transmission86 across the undulating topography.87 Kangura88 magazine ran anti-Tutsi screeds that were later
broadcast and analyzed over the radio.89 Pairing comics with radio was especially effective. Although it is unclear to what
degree the Kangura propaganda contributed to the genocide, the killings may never have reached the *438 scale that they
did90 but for the collaboration of the cartoon and radio media.
As much as comics have been used to cause destruction, they are being used to inspire healing and restoration following the
genocide. “The Truth Heals” poster objectifies one of many lofty expectations the Government of Rwanda has for gacaca: to
promote healing and national unity and reconciliation in the aftermath of the 1994 genocide. It stands as a testament to the
positive use of comics.
Comics have been used for positive purposes in mediation training curriculum in Rwanda. Oxfam GB, the London based
international NGO, in cooperation with the government of Rwanda and the local chapter of a Canadian NGO, published a
conflict resolution training manual which contained pages of comic illustrations by the Rwandan graphics artist, H. Joan
Marie.91 The manual contained the basic curriculum for the mediation training. 92
In addition, hand-drawn diagrams were hung on the wall at the training site and were the center of discussion. As will be
discussed below, viewers identify with crudely drawn comics that they believe were created by, or with input from, someone
in their community.
Comics have likewise been used in strictly educational settings. The poster “The Twins,” as depicted in Figure 2, hung in an
all girls’ school near Kigali.93 It shows two cartoon figures, obviously children, wearing only briefs. Their facial features are
the same. The child on the left has short hair and is wearing blue briefs. The child on the right, with a short but obviously
feminine hair style, is wearing pink briefs and is slightly taller than the other child. It is obvious the child on the left is the
boy twin. Each child is holding their own brief away from their body by the waistband. The boy is looking into *439 his
brief. The girl, while holding her brief out, is glancing over at the boy, saying, “So that’s why you have more opportunities.”
Figure 2
TABULAR OR GRAPHIC MATERIAL SET FORTH AT THIS POINT IS NOT DISPLAYABLE
Dual Messaging: Logo Conveys Second Message--Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE)Used with Permission
Even logos placed on the cartoons themselves can be used to educate and communicate. The credit at the bottom of “The
Twins” *440 states “Federation of African Women Educationalists (FAWE Rwanda),” along with its contact information.
The FAWE Rwanda logo, a map of Rwanda in a dark circle, appears to the left of the credit. The map appears to be made of
concrete blocks, rather than roads or cities, giving the impression that Rwanda is an impassable wall, a reference to the
barriers women face there. There is a doorway in the middle of the wall, taking up the vertical distance of the map. A woman
is walking through the door. The door appears to be opening outward and the doorpost contains the letters “FAWE.R” written
vertically. There are fewer lines in the doorway than in the wall, so the woman appears to be walking into the light. The
picture spells hope for women through FAWE.
The girls appeared to be in their early teens in the FAWE school, where special emphasis is placed on sensitizing the girls to
peace building and gender equality.94 The cartoon was designed to raise issues of gender equality and to stimulate the girls’
thinking about traditional gender roles in Rwandan society. It is lighthearted enough to not be threatening but at the same
time startling enough to motivate a viewer to think beyond current stereotypes. No further explanation is necessary to convey
the message: gender discrimination prevents girls from getting the same opportunities as boys. The communicative impact of
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graphic art is amply demonstrated by this cartoon.95
Perhaps even more interesting is the FAWE Rwanda logo. The logo adds to the graphic’s impact. Only the acronym,
FAWE.R appears; the complete name does not. Unless one already knows the acronym, the initials alone do not convey the
feminist underpinnings of the organization. The FAWE logo communicates genuine power, that of women transcending
barriers and stepping into a better life. The focus becomes one of action rather than names. The symbolic strength in the
FAWE logo in contrast with the wry humor of the cartoon serves, in this case, to strengthen the impact of the cartoon. The
combination of illustrative art and written humor demonstrates *441 that the impact of the comic book or cartoon form may
have potential to change or raise social consciousness. In the context of conflict resolution and peace building, the Twins
poster serves to raise awareness that girls face gender discrimination. It is a starting point for a dialogue and new
understanding.
A. Use of Images in the Political Sector
The 2003 presidential election ballot is an example of the power of graphics to build capacity in Rwanda. Although the ballot
contains no cartoons or caricatures, it does feature some graphics, including an image of the fist that represents the political
party, Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). This party was responsible for stopping the genocide and produced the current
President of Rwanda, H. E. Paul Kagame.
The ballot is a matrix of sixteen rectangles (5 cm high by 4 cm wide) in a grid four rectangles high by four rectangles wide.
Across the top is a series of smaller rectangles that label the columns of rectangles. Reading left to right, the first column of
rectangles lists the name of the candidate in Kinyarwanda. The second lists the logo and/or the acronym for the candidate’s
political party. Images include a raised fist, a blue square, a growing corn stalk, and a tree very similar in shape to a stylized
evergreen. The third column of rectangles has a full color photograph of the candidate. The fourth column of rectangles is
blank. This space is intentionally left blank for the authenticating mark on the ballot, the voter’s thumbprint. The result of
using this kind of ballot is that voters may read the ballot for the name of the candidate or obtain the same information
through graphic images.
Voters need to choose and cast votes with confidence; they need to know that each of their votes, for the candidate of their
choice, will be counted. As is customary on election materials such as posters and leaflets, images and graphics on ballots can
be critical, especially in a country such as Rwanda where several languages are spoken and illiteracy is high. These barriers
to communication make information gathering about candidates difficult and discourages voters from going to the polls.
Unless voters can determine who is running for election, they cannot determine their values. If voters cannot find out who is
running for office and what they stand for, voters will not be motivated to vote. Images on posters and leaflets help identify
candidates so voters can determine what the candidates stand for, how they will govern, and how they intend to resolve
conflict. Images on the ballot *442 expedite candidate recognition and reassure voters that they have picked the right
candidate. This demonstrates how images and graphics serve educational and motivational functions.
How does one communicate with a largely illiterate electorate? How will constituents gather the necessary information for
thoughtful decision making? These are key issues as an informed voting population is a precursor to a durable democracy and
insurance against mass violence. Information gathering and comprehension, bilateral communication, and influence are the
foundational processes of negotiation and apply to the political process.
It is not clear whether the ballot was designed with a conscious understanding of the impact of graphics or by an intuitive
decision. The combination of symbols, pictures, and words, however, allowed illiterate voters to make an informed choice.
This way voters could be sure they cast a vote for the candidate of their choice, even though they may not be able to read the
candidate’s name. Full participation in an election by a qualified but overwhelmingly illiterate electorate demonstrates that
graphics and symbols have become an integrative part of the democratic process in Rwanda. The use of graphics in the
electoral process may be one of the few methods to insure communication, fairness, and transparency in a fledgling
democracy such as Rwanda.
B. The Post-Genocide Rwanda Case
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Three official languages, Kinyarwanda, French, and English are recognized in Rwanda. 96 Kiswahili is spoken there as well.
Not everyone speaks more than one of the languages, and in the authors’ experience, individuals with fluency in all the
languages are rare. Fiscal deficits dictate a scarcity of printing resources; the need for three versions of official documents
exacerbates the shortage. The graphics on the presidential ballot are an attempt to address the potential for breakdowns in
communication. Familiar images and visuals allow voters to clearly understand for whom they are voting.
For these reasons, imagery is a very fast, effective way to communicate and educate in Rwanda. 97 The government of
Rwanda has *443 used comics media in the context of gacaca, in education, and in politics, as discussed above. For example,
comics media98 directed at AIDS education was very common.
A blitz of gacaca billboards99 prominently placed at intersections was observed across Rwanda in the summer of 2004. At
some intersections there were multiple gacaca billboards. Each billboard contained four photographic images. 100 The scene
on the left showed a person holding a machete, standing in front of a pile of machetes, beyond which was a burning building.
A small scene on the upper right showed a classroom with young people sitting very stoically. The picture on the lower right
showed two young women, one leaning on a farming tool, standing in front of some vegetation. One woman is looking at the
ground, the other, eyes facing left. In the middle is a large photo of a man and a woman. The male is holding his head with
two hands; the woman appears to be gritting her teeth.
In Kinyarwanda the billboard reads, “Inkiko Gacaca Ukuri Kurakiza. Tuvuge ibyo twabonye. Twemere ibyo twakoze
bizadukiza.” In English the billboard reads, “Gacaca Tribunal the Truth--Let’s Tell What We Saw and Admit What We Did,
and We Will Be Saved.”
No gacaca comics media were observed on billboards. Is it possible that a billboard showing a burning building would be
more of a motivation to participate in gacaca than a group on a hillside, holding hands, moving toward the light? Did the
government find that the comics media did not work? Was the photo-realistic approach a conscious decision? Was the comic
just a complement to the gacaca program? These questions need to be studied.
IV. Why Use Comics?
Historically, comics have been dismissed as frivolous, “mindless pap,” but educators are beginning to appreciate their
pedagogical value. The very justification for denigrating the genre (that comics *444 are amusing and simplistic) may be the
reason to use them.101 Because they are easy to understand, comics are particularly well-suited to raise awareness, change
how people think, and influence behavior. They are vehicles for emotional release and as social counteragents. 102
If you have any doubt about the power of comic books, consider they are now required reading for the future military leaders
of America. In order to graduate from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, cadets from the class of 2006 must study
Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel, Persepolis, a coming of age tale set during the Iranian revolution. It is a wise choice for the
syllabus not only because it is such a compelling read but also because the simple black and white frames of Satrapi’s family
saga will likely give cadets a better understanding of Iran than any other academic text, newspaper report, or strategy paper
ever could. Persepolis shows Iranians not as banner waving fanatics of higab-covered shadows, but as individuals--funny and
often fearful of the strange, powerful forces unfolding around them. 103
A. An Emerging Genre of Comic Books
Genocide is no laughing matter, but humor can promote healing. Significantly, comics and graphic novels can be utilized to
communicate values and relay history about the genocide to the young, uniformed, illiterate, even the skeptical. 104
More and more, comics and graphic novels are being regarded as mainstream literature. 105 They cover serious themes such
as war, prejudice, racism, social justice, genocide, AIDS, triumph over adversity, homophobia, and acceptance. 106 Maus, the
graphic novel about the Holocaust, where Nazis are portrayed as cats, Jews as mice, won *445 a Pulitzer Prize in 1992.107
Palestine and Safe Area Gorzazde: The War in Eastern Bosnia 1992-95 are recent titles by Joe Sacco, a journalist utilizing
graphic novel formats to describe war. Joe Kubert, a cartoon artist, used cartoons to chronicle more than a year of fax reports
sent from behind Bosnian war lines by his friend in Fax From Sarajevo. 108 In the United States, graphic novels are being
used to supplement social studies courses, so students learn the skills to become informed citizens. 109
At least two graphic novels about the Rwandan genocide have been published in French: Rupert Bazambanza’s Sourire
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Malgre Tout: Histoire Du Genocide Au Rwanda and Deogratis: Le Dossier by Jean Philippe. 110 An image from
Bazambanza’s forthcoming graphic novel, Mutesi in New York is shown in Figure 3. Mutesi is the story of a spirited girl
who settles in New York after escaping the genocide, looking for a missing brother, and her sometimes hilarious struggle to
deal with reality.
B. Use Comics to Grab Attention
Under comic theory, drama conveys a message through a story, and a good story is often premised on a challenge or conflict.
The clash of interests is engaging only if it is not too complicated; otherwise some readers will lose interest. Once engaged,
the reader will want to know how the story ends. 111 The plot should be the focus with the message or information
embedded.112
*446 Figure 3
TABULAR OR GRAPHIC MATERIAL SET FORTH AT THIS POINT IS NOT DISPLAYABLE
Message conveyed through drama based on conflict--from Mutesi in New York by Rupert Bazambanza
Used with Permission
The practice of embedding information in a story has produced positive results in a radio program in Rwanda. 113 Leif
Packalen, *447 Chairman of World Comics-Finland, the NGO funded by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland,
Department for International Development Cooperation, found that readers prefer a program where the emphasis is on the
story and not on the educational message.114 They urge writers to “[c]hoose only one or two important messages. More will
confuse the reader.”115 The authors believe that if true in radio, it could be true for comics as well.
While the format must be entertaining and the story meaningful to the reader, good storytelling, however, is not enough to
convey information correctly and accurately. Informational comics need to be created by artists and writers with input from
government officials, mental health professionals, and conflict resolution specialists to assure that the media conveys the
message simply, accurately, and in a culturally relevant manner. 116 Artists and writers may not be aware of the intricacies of
the gacaca process, for example. Therefore, oversight in the early creative stages is critical.
C. Strength of Comics
“Comics are visually engaging and famously easy to understand.”117 Consequently, because comics look like an easy read,
even reluctant readers are drawn in. Joe Sacco, a comics journalist who covered the war in Bosnia for Details magazine, put it
simply, “comics are inviting.”118 For this reason, other communication methods or programs may be enhanced or
strengthened by using comics.119
*448 Comics are accessible. With little training, anyone can learn to draw comics, albeit very crude ones. Thus, comics
designed to sensitize, educate, and motivate can be created at little or no cost. Societies where material resources are
extremely limited as they are in Rwanda can use comics to create media very inexpensively. Using local human resources to
generate informational and educational comics indirectly produces a capacity building effect and the potential for economic
gain.
Comics are inexpensive to produce and can be reproduced on a copy machine. No special equipment is necessary to access
the information, as is the case with film and video. 120 The use of comics media in developing countries is projected to grow
because of these features. This is important in Rwanda, where resources are limited and access to technology is
problematic.121 Moreover, the information in locally hand-drawn comics is inherently respected because the illustrator is
“one of us.” In other words, if the viewer identifies with the artist, then the information it carries will be trusted. 122
The use of comics media is projected to grow internationally in general because visual communication is a “universal
language.” The expansion of intra-rather than international conflicts may increase the refugee population and the need to
learn a new language.123 The use of comics in situations such as this will help bridge the language gap that the situation is
creating.
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Unlike film, video, television, and theatre, comics are not restricted to a specific location or specific time.124 Comics are less
confining than radio. Radio can be portable, but station programming, not individual choice, determines listening times. Also,
radio depends on power sources, not always reliable in third world countries. Readers, however, can view written material at
their leisure and at their own pace.125 This allows people to go back and “re-read” the *449 material. For some, learning new
concepts requires processing time, so being able to go back and review material is beneficial. This is important in developing
deep understanding.
Comics can be read and re-read and passed on to friends, family, classmates, or co-workers. For example, the tradition of
passing comics novellas or short form graphic novels from family member to family member, then to another family unit, has
been observed in Mexico.126 This tradition informed the California Agricultural Relations Board’s decision to publish and
distribute a comic novella (fourteen pages) to migrant farm workers, explaining their rights and obligations under the
Agricultural Labor Relations Act.127 The novella was developed with the knowledge of how the novella fit into the culture. It
was expected that the novella would be read, shared and passed around to others. The format was chosen to reach a broader
group than a “text only” pamphlet would have.
Unlike film and television, the nature of the comics format is such that the action between panels must be filled in by the
reader. It is easier to integrate new information when the imagination is used. 128
Blunt remarks may be offensive or disturbing but can be made without personalizing the matter through the use of a random
“bubble” or statement originating from a narrator or bystander in a story. Comics can humanize a personality or a situation.
Comics are drawn by hand and because readers are aware of this, the harshness of a situation is ameliorated. Sensitive,
offensive, even unbearable issues can be handled indirectly, whereas the use of photographs requires *450 direct, stark
realism.129 Comics can be used to coax reluctant participants and encourage open discussion on difficult subjects. 130
D. Shortcomings of Comics
Comics have their limitations. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but competency and proficiency require more.
Comics may grab someone’s attention but not be the right venue for communicating complex ideas or sophisticated analysis.
The use of comics for educational purposes may meet institutional resistance, as the subject and format may not be perceived
as serious. Another shortcoming arises from the ethical questions regarding the use of comics in serious situations. It is
possible to convey the atrocities of genocide through visual literature but is it moral to do so? The simplistic form of comics
could be perceived as trivialization in Rwanda. Although it is possible that comics publishing could run afoul of the
constitution, the government itself has used comics to sensitize, educate, and mobilize.
Theodor Adorno, the German social critic, asserted that, after the Holocaust, it would be barbaric to write poetry. 131
Adorno’s admonition could stand for the proposition that nothing short of silence should relay the horrors of mass violence.
Some might find pairing comics and genocide insensitive or criminal, analogous to vandalizing a Holocaust memorial.
Conclusion
Comics media in conflict resolution, education, and politics have been used in Rwanda and increasingly around the globe.
The programs utilizing them have assumed comics are effective, based only on experiential or anecdotal evidence, if any. It is
a given that comics are engaging in a way that realism is not. If comics serve only to *451 raise awareness, they are worthy
of consideration for peace-building campaigns. However, comics media campaigns should produce positive, measurable, and
sustainable outcomes. The authors believe long term studies of the efficacy of comics media as pedagogical and motivational
tools should be undertaken.
Footnotes
d1
Ellen Yamshon is an attorney/mediator in Sacramento, California and holds the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter
insurance designation. Ms. Yamshon is a trainer for the Center for African Peace and Conflict Resolution and has taught Conflict
Management and Negotiation at the College of Business Administration at California State University, Sacramento. Daniel
Yamshon is an attorney/ADR neutral in Sacramento, California. He has been the lead trainer for the Center for African Peace and
Conflict Resolution since 1996 and trains for other international organizations. Yamshon was named ‘Peacemaker of the Year‘
during California Mediation Week, 1994, and in 2001 was the recipient of the Africa Peace Award. The authors wish to thank Ian
Lobel, our research assistant, and Michele Finerty of the Gordon D. Schaber Law Library at the University of the Pacific,
McGeorge School of Law. Special thanks to Mathilde Mukantabana and Arlette Nkuraia for translating and facilitating
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communication with Rwandan counterparts.
1
This note was researched and written prior to the controversial publication by a Danish newspaper and the violent response
around the world to political cartoons depicting the prophet Mohammed in a manner offensive to many Muslims. One Iranian
journalist compared the power of the cartoons to that of nuclear power. Ali Mostofi, Neptune Grand Cross: Cartoon Power vs
Nuclear Power, Persian J., Feb. 4, 2006, available at http://www.iranian.ws/iran_ news/publish/article_12908.shtml. Current
events prove the power of the cartoon. In this Article, the authors argue that that the use of cartoons and other comics media can
and should be used to promote peace and reconciliation.
2
The poster is on file with the authors and at the Center for African Peace and Conflict Resolution, California State University,
Sacramento. It is referred to as “The Truth Heals” poster. See also Pernille Ironside, Rwandan Gacaca: Seeking Alternative
Means to Justice, Peace, and Reconciliation, 15 N.Y. Int’l L. Rev. 31, 47 (2002) (citing Sheena Kaliisa, Gacaca: Election of
Judges in Rwanda Continues, Internews (Arusha), available at http://www.allafrica.com/stories/200110080106.html (last visited
Mar. 25, 2002) (describing the poster)).
3
Gacaca is a sweeping alternative dispute resolution program designed to develop a public memoir of the genocide in the service of
expediting justice and fostering national unity and reconciliation. The gacaca program was inaugurated with the election of gacaca
judges in April 2001.
4
Citizens voted for judges by lining up behind the candidate of their choice. Rwandan Gacaca: A Question of Justice, http://
web.amnesty.org/library/index/engafr470072002 (last visited Feb. 12, 2006). The get-out-the-vote campaign, of which the poster
was a part, included radio broadcasts and a national mobile van tour showing a film, accompanied by a comic book based on the
film. Press Release, John Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs, Rwandans Turn Out in Force to Elect Gacaca
Judges
After
Communication
Campaign
Urges
Post-Genocide
Reconciliation,
(Oct.
29,
2001),
http://www.jhuccp.org/pressroom/2001/10-29.shtml (last visited Feb. 12, 2006).
5
See Ironside, supra note 2, at 47.
6
For brevity, the terms “comics” and “comics media” are used interchangeably, except where noted. There are technical
differences among cartoons and caricatures, graphic novels, comic books, and comic strips. The technical differences are not
material for the purposes of this piece. All use a visual component to communicate an idea or tell a story.
7
World Comics-Finland, an NGO funded by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, and the Department for International
Development Cooperation, an international NGO, both promote the use of comics as a communication tool in educational
development and cross cultural communication. World Comics-Finland, http://www.worldcomics.fi (last visited Feb. 25, 2006);
see generally Global Finland, http:// www.global.finland.fi/index.php?kieli=3 (last visited Feb. 25, 2006).
8
World Comics-Finland, http://www.worldcomics.fi (last visited Feb. 25, 2006). Comics are being used in the Congo to
complement radio programs aimed at a peaceful transition to normalcy after decades of violent conflict. See Search for Common
Ground, Social Harmony Through Arts and Cultural Activities, http://www.sfcg.org/programmes/drcongo/drcongo_social.html
(last visited Feb. 25, 2006) [hereinafter Search for Common Ground]; see also Press Release, Search for Common Ground, Search
for Common Ground in the Democratic Republic of Congo Programme Overview 2 (May 2005), available at http://
www.sfcg.org/Documents/Programs/DRC.pdf.
9
Common Ground Indonesia has devised a conflict resolution program around the use of comics. The comic book series Gebora is
aimed at teenage boys who are prone to violence. It tells the story of five teenagers who form a football team while providing
imbedded information about how to resolve conflict without violence. Drawing competitions, drama, music, discussions, and
football competitions were organized around the introduction of the series. Search for Common Ground, Conflict Transformation
Comic Book Programme, http:// www.sfcg.org/programmes/indonesia/indonesia_comic.html (last visited Feb. 4, 2006)
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[hereinafter Conflict Transformation Comic Book Programme]; see also Search for Common Ground, Conflict Transformation
Comic: Activities, http:// www.sfcg.org/programmes/indonesia/indonesia_activities.html (last visited Feb. 4, 2006).
10
Alfred F. Conrad, Macrojustice: A Systematic Approach to Conflict Resolution, 5 Ga. L. Rev. 415, 417 (1971).
11
2004 Summer Fulbright-Hays Seminar in Rwanda: Culture, Ethnicity, National Reconciliation and Development in Post
Genocide Rwanda, July 6-Aug. 10, 2004, the tenth anniversary of the Rwandan genocide. This Group Project Abroad-Faculty
Development Seminar was conducted under the auspices of the California State University, Sacramento (CSUS) Center for
African Peace and Conflict Resolution (CAPCR) in collaboration with the Center for Conflict Management (CCM) at National
University of Rwanda (NUR) in Butare and funded under grant number Grant No. P021A040083, by the United States
Department of Education.
12
In democratic societies, communication media serve five functions: first, to inform citizens of what is happening around them (a
news function); second, to educate on the meaning and significance of the “facts”; third, to provide a platform for political
discourse that provides a space for the expression of dissent; fourth, to give publicity to government and political institutions; and
fifth, to serve as a channel for the advocacy of political viewpoints. Sandra D. Melone et al., Using the Media for Conflict
Transformation: The Common Ground Experience, Berghoff Handbook for Conflict Transformation 3 (2002), available at
http://www.berghof-handbook.net/articles/melone_hb.pdf (citing Brian McNair, An Introduction to Political Communication
21-22 (1999)).
13
Melone et al., supra note 12, at 4 (citing Robert K. Manoff, Role Plays: Potential Media Roles in Conflict Prevention and
Management, Track Two, Dec. 1998, at 11-15).
14
“Graphic novel” is defined here as a book-length story, not necessarily fiction, with words and comics.
15
According to the Maryland State Department of Education, which launched a comics education program in the primary grades,
“[g]raphic literature has drawn increasing interest from educators. They can be used as powerful motivational tools, provide
context for written text for students who have difficulty with visualization, and provide reluctant readers with the foundations they
need to move on to more challenging materials. Comic books have found their place in both remedial and gifted classrooms.”
Press Release, Maryland State Department of Education, MDSE Launches Comic Book Initiative to Boost Reading (Dec. 15,
2004), http:// www.marylandpublicschools.org/MSDE/newsroom/pressreleases/NewsReleaseSummaryTable.htm. See generally
Maryland
State
Department
of
Education,
The
Maryland
Comic
Book
Initiative,
http://www.marylandpublicschools.org/MSDE/programs/recognition-partnerships/md-comic-book.htm (last visited Feb. 25,
2006). Dr. Stephen Tabachnick, Professor and Chairman of the English Department at the University of Memphis, who teaches
classes on the graphic novel, is directing a comics and graphic novel acquisition program at the Ned R. McWherter Library “[i]n
preparation for doctoral research and other high-level scholarship.” Dr. Tabachnick states, “[I] find that I never have to explain to
students why they should like these works; they just do, because, owing to the media, they are used to visual art in all of its
forms.” Press Release, University of Memphis Comics Books (for Serious Research) on Display at University of Michigan
Through May (May 20, 2003), http:// www.memphis.edu/newsarchive/may03/comics.html.
16
Susan L. Carpenter & W. J. D. Kennedy, Managing Public Disputes 258-63 (1988).
17
See Melone et al., supra note 12, at 3.
18
Id. at 1.
19
Ellen Yamshon, Comics in the Context of National Unity and Reconciliation in Post-Genocide Rwanda, Paper delivered at the
Second International Conference on Genocide 14 (Oct. 2004).
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20
See, e.g., Judd Winick, Pedro and Me: Friendship, Loss, and What I Learned (2000).
21
See World Comics-Finland, supra note 7 (reporting that groups can be taught to draw comics, which can be reproduced and
distributed inexpensively). See Leif Packalen & Frank Odoi, Comics with an Attitude: A Guide to the Use of Comics in
Development Information, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, http://www.global.finland.fi/comics/about.htm (last visited
Nov. 14, 2005).
22
See World Comics-Finland, supra note 7.
23
See Search For Common Ground, Programme Overview, supra note 8; see Conflict Transformation Comic Book Programme,
supra note 9.
24
See Search for Common Ground, Programme Overview, supra note 8, at 2; see Conflict Transformation Comic Book Programme,
supra note 9. See also World Comics-Finland, supra note 7; see Amy Lang, News from Search for Common Ground (Sept. 20,
2005), http://www.thataway.org/news/archives/000534.html (summarizing a program that organizes ex-combatants to write comic
books about their experiences).
25
See
Nelson
Mandela,
Speech
Announcing
the
ANC
Election
Victory
(May
2,
1994),
http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/history/mandela/1994/sp940502.html; see generally U.S. Dep’t of State Dispatch, South Africa’s
April
1994
Elections:
The
Process
and
the
Transition
(May
15,
1994),
available
at
http://
www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1584/is_nSUPP-4_v5/ai_15650340.
26
Rwanda’s population is comprised of three groups: Hutu (85%), Tutsi (14%) and Twa (1%). See Richard Orth, Rwanda’s Hutu
Extremist Insurgency: An Eyewitness Perspective, 12 Small Wars & Insurgencies 76 (2001). The Tutsi were pastoralists, the Hutu
were cultivators, and the Twa were hunter-gatherers. All share a common language (Kinyarwanda), religious tradition, and
culture. Distinctions between the groups reflect more of a caste system than an ethnic or genetic divide. Traditionally, Rwandese
differentiated themselves by clanship, lineage, and regional identity rather than race. In the late 1800s, when Rwanda was
colonized and race science was invoked to justify “civilizing the savages” of Africa, the doctrine known as the Hamitic theory
was espoused by the British explorer John Hanning Speke to classify Hutus and Tutsis. According to the theory, Tutsis were a
tall, sharp featured, caucasoid tribe descended from Noah’s son, Ham. They had migrated to Rwanda from Ethiopia, took a
monarchical system of government with them, and were considered superior to the native “Negroids.” See Dina Temple-Raston,
Justice on the Grass: Three Rwandan Journalists, Their Trial for War Crimes and a Nation’s Quest for Redemption 17-21 (2005).
First the German and then Belgian colonial administration institutionalized these differences, installing the Tutsi as local rulers
and the Hutu as servants. The Belgian authorities furthered the divide between Hutu and Tutsi by issuing identity cards, beginning
in 1926. Anyone holding ten or more head of cattle was determined to be a Tutsi. Later, a census using these identity cards
established the demographics of each group. See generally Norwegian Helsinki Committeee for Human Rights, Prosecuting
Genocide in Rwanda: The Gacaca System and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (2002), available at http://
www.donika.com/prosecuting_genocide_in_rwanda.htm.
27
Gerard Prunier, The Rwanda Crisis: History of a Genocide 229-30 (1995).
28
See William A. Schabas, Justice, Democracy, and Impunity in Post-Genocide Rwanda: Searching for Solutions to Impossible
Problems, 7 Crim. L. Forum. 523, 523-24 (1996).
29
See Alison De Forges, Leave None to Tell the Story: Genocide in Rwanda 14 (1999).
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30
See Ironside, supra note 2, at 31.
31
Ervin Staub, Advancing Healing and Reconciliation Project Final Report 3 (July 2004) (reporting to Trauma Research and
Training Institute, Inc. and United States Agency for International Development based on Grant #623-G-00-02-000-46-0). See,
e.g., De Forges, supra note 29; Mahmood Mamdani, When Victims Become Killers (2001); Prunier, supra note 27.
32
Constitution, pmbl. § 2, 4 (2003) (Republic of Rwanda).
33
See id. § 6.
34
In Rwanda, the terms unity and reconciliation are officially linked. The phrase “national unity and reconciliation” has become a
term of art and appears in official documents as well as news reports. The constitution uses the phrase at least nine times, two of
which refer to the creation of the independent agency, the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission. See Constitution,
pmbl. § 4, art. 178, § 1, 3-5, 7 (2003) (Republic of Rwanda).
35
Returnees are a diverse group, distinguished by the time they or their parents left Rwanda. Tutsis fled to Democratic Republic of
Congo, Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania, and Europe beginning in 1959 when the Hutu majority overthrew the ruling Tutsi king and
took power, just as Rwanda was transitioning to independence from Belgium. Tutsi children born in Uganda organized a rebel
group, defeating the Hutus in June 1994, more than thirty years after the first wave of refugees left Rwanda. The victorious rebel
group settled in Rwanda. Tutsis and Hutus who sought asylum in neighboring countries during the genocide returned afterwards,
as did many old-case refugees who obeyed the call of the Government of Rwanda to return home. See Sara Ehrlichman, Mirroring
Rwanda’s Challenges: The Refugee Story, Pambazuka News, Apr. 1, 2004, at 8; see also CIA World Factbook - Rwanda,
available at http:// www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/rw.html (last visited Feb. 25, 2006).
36
See Constitution, arts. 3, 9, 33 (2003) (Republic of Rwanda).
37
See Staub, supra note 31, at 3-5.
38
See Ironside, supra note 2, at 32 n.8, 40 (citing Human Rights Watch, Report on Rwanda: Justice and Responsibility 11, 15-16
(1999), available at http://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/rwanda/Geno15-8-05.htm; Danna Harman, Rwanda Turns to its Past for
Justice, Christian Sci. Monitor, Jan. 30, 2002, at 9 (opining that it will take 200 years to try some 135,000 suspects in custody).
39
Commencement of the gacaca hearings phase began in earnest after many false starts in March of 2005, more than ten years after
the genocide. Approximately 11,000 local jurisdictions or cells are reported to be convening trials. See Gacaca Jurisdictions as an
Alternative Solution to the Settlement of the Genocide Litigation, Republic of Rwanda Supreme Court, Department of Gacaca
Jurisdictions (2003).
40
See Question and Answer Session, U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Committee on Conscience, Justice After Genocide:
Rwanda (Jan. 29, 2002), http://www.ushmm.org/conscience/analysis/details.php?content=2002-01-29; see also Official Website
of the Government of Rwanda, http:// www.gov.rw/government/historyf.html (last visited Feb. 25, 2006); Africa Rights,
Rwandan Prisoner Releases a Risk for the Gacaca System, Genocide Watch, Jan. 6, 2003, available at http://
www.genocidewatch.org/RwandaPRISONERRELEASES.htm.
41
Genocidaire is the French word for genocide perpetrator. The term is widely used in Rwanda genocide literature.
42
See, e.g., James Munyaneza, 36,000 Genocide Suspects Freed, The New Times, July 29, 2005, available at
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http://www.newtimes.co.rw/index.php? option=com_content&task=view&id=168; William Schabas, Genocide Trial and Gacaca
Courts, 3 J. Int’l. Crim. Just. 879, 888 (2005) (citing to Special Representative Mr. Michel Moussalli, Report on the Situation of
Human Rights in Rwanda, 1999/20 UN doc. E/CN/2000/41 Sec. 136).
43
See Schabas, supra note 42, at 882.
44
The name “gacaca” (pronounced ga-cha-cha) is derived from the Kinyarwanda word for lawn, a reference to the location where
the members consider the matters before them. See Danielle Tully, Human Rights Compliance and the Gacaca Jurisdictions in
Rwanda, 26 B.C. Int’l & Comp L. Rev. 385, 395 n.85 (2003). See generally Jeremy Sarkin, The Tension Between Justice and
Reconciliation in Rwanda: Politics, Human Rights, Due Process and the Role of the Gacaca Courts in Dealing with the Genocide,
45 J. Afr. L. 143 (2001).
45
See Tully, supra note 44, at 396. See also Garine Hovsepian, The Gacaca Tribunals for Trying Genocide Crimes and Rwanda’s
Fair Trial Obligations Under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 7 (2001) (unpublished thesis, Institut
Universitaire de Hautes Etudes Internationales) (on file with the Boston College International and Comparative Law Review).
46
See supra note 45.
47
George B. N. Ayittey, Indigenous African Institutions 40 (1991).
48
See Tully, supra note 44, at 396.
49
Aloysie Cyanzayire, Teaching Manual on Gacaca Jurisdictions, Republic of Rwanda, Supreme Court Department of Gacaca
Jurisdictions, Aug. 2001, http://www.inkiko-gacaca.gov.rw/En/ObjectivesDetails.htm (untitled document with the section
Objectives of the Gacaca Courts) (on file with the authors).
50
Shannon Connolly, Gacaca: ADR as a Response to Rwanda Genocide, Synergy: An Online Dispute Resolution Resource, Mar.
2005, http:// www.ipa.udel.edu/crp/synergy/vol3no1/feature.html.
51
Alana E. Tiemessen, After Arusha: Gacaca Justice in Post-Genocide Rwanda, 8 Afr. Stud. Q. 57 (2004).
52
Organic Law, No. 16 (2004) art. 55, law 16, Official Gazette of the Republic of Rwanda, available at
http://www.inkiko-gacaca.gov.rw/pdf/newlaw1.pdf.
53
See Tully, supra note 44, at 396. See also Stef Vandeginste, Justice, Reconciliation and Reparation after Genocide and Crimes
Against Humanity: The Proposed Establishment of Popular Gacaca Tribunals in Rwanda, Paper presented at the All Africa
Conference on African Principles of Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation, 1, 20 (Nov. 8-12, 1999).
54
“Rwanda shall be governed by a Constitution comprising ideas expressed by Rwandans themselves.” Constitution, pmbl. § 12
(2003) (Republic of Rwanda).
55
See Schabas, supra note 42, at 883, 892; see also Rwanda Fulbright-Hays Lectures at the National University of Rwanda
(July-Aug. 2004).
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56
See Schabas, supra note 42, at 883.
57
See Yamshon, supra note 19, at 5; Connolly, supra note 50, at 1.
58
In the United States, court-annexed arbitration is mandated as a precondition to trial proceedings in some states but is usually
non-binding. Many states have adopted court-annexed arbitration programs. For example, California’s statute mandates
submission to arbitration if the amount in controversy is under fifty thousand dollars. Cal. R. Civ. Proc. § 1141.11. For a general
overview of court-annexed alternative dispute resolution, see generally Larry Ray, The Multi-Door Experience, Multi-Door
Courthouse (Dispute Resolution) Centers Project of the American Bar Association (1988). Contrast the Gacaca, where
participation is mandated but decisions are binding and can be appealed. See Tully, supra note 44, at 396 (citing Philip Reyntjens’
observation that there was a certain complementarity between the state courts and gacaca). See also Hovsepian, supra note 45, at
7.
59
See Tiemessen, supra note 51, at 65.
60
See American Arbitration Association, Construction Industry Arbitration Rules and Mediation Procedures, available at http://
www.adr.org/sp.asp?id=22004#R25 (last visited Feb. 25, 2006) (providing in Rule 25 that “[a]ny party may be represented by
counsel or other authorized representative.”).
61
Organic Law, No. 40/2000 (2001) established the Gacaca Jurisdiction and outlined the objectives of the Gacaca Courts. This law
illustrates the capacity of Rwandan society to settle its problems through a legal system based on Rwandan custom. Although the
cases that the “Gacaca Jurisdictions” will hear are different from criminal cases that are normally resolved within the “Gacaca”
framework, these jurisdictions fit well into the custom of settling differences by arbitration, even amicable arbitration. See
Schabas, supra note 42, at 892. The arbitration decision, binding on both sides to the dispute, can be taken in accordance with
rules of law (classical arbitration) or on an equitable basis (amicable arbitration). See European Judicial Network, Alternative
Dispute Resolutions-General Information, http:// europa.eu.int/comm/justice_home/ejn/adr/adr_gen_en.htm (last visited Feb. 25,
2006).
62
For an explanation of the term, see Robert M. Ackerman, The September 11th Victims’ Compensation Fund: An Effective
Administrative Response to National Tragedy, 10 Harv. Negot. L. Rev. 135, 146 (2005).
63
In her dialogues with the notorious killer Eugene de Kock and her work on the South African Truth and Reconciliation
Commission, psychologist Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela found that a society can begin to heal itself and a sense of collective worth
can drive the discourse of the past through the vicarious experience of stories of forgiveness. See Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, A
Human Being Died That Night: A South African Woman Confronts the Legacy of Apartheid 133 (2003).
64
See Organic Law, No. 16/2004 (2004) art. 29 (revising Organic Law, No. 40/2000 (2001) (establishing Gacaca jurisdictions));
Organic Law, No. 8/1996 (1996) (setting up specialized chambers to hear genocide cases). See also Constitution, arts. 143, 152
(2003) (Republic of Rwanda) (establishing the specialized Gacaca Courts, responsible for the trial and judgment of cases against
persons accused of the crime of genocide and crimes against humanity committed between October 1, 1990 and December 31,
1994 with the exception of cases for which jurisdiction is vested in other courts). Organic law determines the organization,
competence, and functioning of Gacaca Courts and establishes a National Service in charge of supervising and coordinating
activities of the Gacaca Courts.
65
See Cyanzayire, supra note 49, at 3.
66
See Ironside, supra note 2, at 49.
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67
The administration of gacaca is organized around administrative (political) subdivisions. Cellules (hereinafter cells) are the
smallest political sub-divisions in Rwanda, and within these sub-divisions defendants are categorized according to the crimes they
are accused of. A typical cell has about 100-200 households. See Judith Dunbar, Ubudehe and the Kecamatan Development
Project: Case Study and Comparative Analysis 5 (Apr. 2004) (unpublished M.A. thesis, Tufts University), available at http://
fletcher.tufts.edu/research/2004/Dunbar.Judith.pdf. The larger political divisions are sectors, districts and provinces. Organic Law
No. 16/2004 art. 4 (Law of Gacaca). It is estimated there were between 9,000-11,000 cells at the commencement of Gacaca. See
Schabas, supra note 42, at 893. The Gacacas serve as a trial court for cases involving crimes against property. Crimes involving
murder, great bodily harm, and other serious attacks with the intent to kill, including conspiracy, are heard at the sector level.
Crimes involving the genocide masterminds and organizers are not prosecuted in Gacaca. Rather, they are either prosecuted in the
traditional court system or at the International Criminal Tribunal of Rwanda, situated in Arusha, Tanzania.
68
See Ironside, supra note 2, at 53.
69
Organic Law, No. 16/2004 (2004) art. 29 (establishing the organization, competence, and functioning of Gacaca Courts, and
revising Organic Law No. 40/2000 (2001) (establishing the Gacaca Jurisdiction)).
70
Id.
71
Id.
72
See CIA World Factbook, supra note 35.
73
See, e.g., American Arbitration Association, Commercial Arbitration Rules and Mediation Procedures, Rule 31, available at
http:// www.adr.org/sp.asp?id=22440#R31 (last visited Feb. 25, 2006) (allowing all relevant and material evidence and
specifically stating that “[c]onformity to legal rules of evidence shall not be necessary”).
74
The General Assembly of any given cell consists of all residents aged eighteen and above (the entire adult population) living in
that cell. There are also Sector General Assemblies, but delegates are elected at the cell level (Organic Law, No. 16/2004 (2004)
art. 17).
75
See Tully, supra note 44, at 399.
76
See Organic Law, No. 16/2004 (2004). Even if there were an express right to counsel in the Gacaca Courts, access to legal
services is extremely limited. Abject poverty, a general lack of awareness of legal rights, and a dearth of trained lawyers prevents
access to legal services. See Bernadette Villa et al., Upscaling Poverty Reduction Through Judicial Reform,
http://info.worldbank.org/etools/docs/reducingpoverty/doc/47/file/Matrix%20of%CCC20Judicial%CCC̈eforms.pdf (last visited Feb. 25, 2006). See also
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank, Reducing Poverty Sustaining Growth--Scaling Up Poverty Reduction: Case Study Summaries Global Learning Process and Conference, Shanghai, China (May 25-27, 2004), http://
info.worldbank.org/etools/reducingpoverty/docs/Scaling-Up-Poverty-% 20Reduction.pdf.
77
See Munyaneza, supra note 42.
78
Id.
79
See Rwanda: Release of Suspects in the 1994 Genocide Angers Survivors, IrinNews.org, Aug. 9, 2005, available at http://
www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=48504; see also Press Release, U.S. Department of State, U.S. Position on Rwandan
Prisoner Release Announcement (Jan. 8, 2003), http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2003/16475.htm.
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80
See More Genocide Suspects To Be Provisionally Released, Fondation Hirondelle News Agency in Arusha International Criminal
Tribunal for Rwanda, July 22, 2005.
81
See Linda Mbabazi & William Rutaremara, Rehabilitate Ex-Inmates: Urge Local Leaders, The New Times, Nov. 3, 2005,
available at http:// www.newtimes.co.rw/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2000.
82
Members of the Seat for a Gacaca Court elect among themselves with a simple majority the Coordination Committee, which is
made up of a President, a second Vice President, and two Secretaries. All of them must know how to read and write Kinyarwanda.
See Organic Law, No. 16/2004 (2004), art. 11.
83
For example, a 1992 cartoon poking fun at Hassan Ngeze, the publisher who was later tried and convicted for inciting genocide in
his newspaper, Kangura, shows Ngeze being psychoanalyzed and responding to the query, “What ails you?” He responds with
“Tutsi, Tutsi, Tutsi.” This cartoon is less offensive than others of the pre-genocide era because the villain poked fun at himself by
re-publishing the cartoon in Kangura. See also Temple-Raston, supra note 26, at 197.
84
Marlise Simons, Trial Centers on Role of Press During Rwanda Massacre, N.Y. Times, Mar. 3, 2002, at A3.
85
Figures vary widely over how many perished in the genocide. The Constitution of Rwanda states that one million sons and
daughters of Rwanda perished. Constitution, pmbl. §1 (2003) (Republic of Rwanda). Roughly 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus
died. CIA World Factbook, supra note 35.
86
Dina Temple-Raston, Radio Hate, Three Rwandan Media Executives on Trial for Inciting Genocide, Their Case--the First of Its
Kind Since Nuremberg--Will Pressure International Courts to Crack Down on Free Speech, Legal Affairs, Sept.-Oct. 2002, 29-30;
see Temple-Raston, supra note 26, at 216.
87
Rwanda is affectionately known as the land of a thousand hills.
88
“Kangura” in Kinyarwanda means “Awaken” or “Wake It Up.” Prosecutor v. Nahima, Case No. ICTR-99-52-T. See Emily Wax,
Journalists Sentenced in Rwandan Genocide, Prosecutor Said Hate Media Urged Killings, Wash. Post, Dec. 4, 2003, at A20.
89
Temple-Raston, supra note 26, at 29.
90
Mary Kimani, The Media Trial Accounting for the Rwanda Genocide, Internews Arusha Office: ICTR Reports, Dec. 5, 2000. The
conviction of the Kangura publisher, Hasan Ngeze, and the two media executives of the radio station Radio Mille Collines
(popularly known as “Radio Hate” or “Radio Machete”) raises the issue as to whether it is legal to publish comics that denigrate
or incite and if so, where the line should be drawn. At what point does publishing or even creating political cartoons become
criminal? Notions of freedom of expression, censorship, incitement to commit crimes, and hate crime are at stake. In contrast, the
Rwandan constitution expressly prohibits any revisionism, negation, or trivialization of the genocide. Constitution, art. 13 (2003)
(Republic of Rwanda).
91
Leoncie Mukandiza et al., Where There Is Peace Five People Will Sleep on a Hare’s Skin: Understanding and Resolving Family
and Community Conflicts in Rwanda, Oxfam GB: Rwanda, National Unity and Reconciliation Commission of Rwanda and
Reseau Femmes (undated, on file with the authors and CAPCR).
92
Visit to community mediation training in Ruhengeri (July 29, 2004).
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93
Visit to the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) Girls’ School, Gisozi District, City of Kigali, Rwanda (Aug. 3,
2004).
94
Visit to the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) Girls’ School, Gisozi District, City of Kigali, Rwanda (Aug. 3,
2004). See also United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Emerithe Can’t Wait to Take Up “Surfing,”
http://www.usaid.gov/regions/afr/success_ stories/rwanda.html (last visited Feb. 25, 2006)
95
The proverb a picture is worth a thousand words may be considered to be too colloquial, but this cartoon demonstrates its truth.
The proverb was coined in 1921 in an advertisement by Fred R. Bernard in a graphic arts trade journal, Printer’s Ink. See Burton
Sevenson, Home Book of Proverbs, Maxims and Familiar Phrases 2611 (1948).
96
Constitution, art. 5 (2003) (Republic of Rwanda).
97
Comics address the problem of lack of information and illiteracy. See Search for Common Ground, supra note 8; see also Yian Q.
Mui, Schools Turn to Comics as Trial Balloon--Novel Maryland Program Uses Genre to Encourage Reluctant Readers, Wash.
Post, December 13, 2004, at B01; John A. Lent, The World’s Potent, Witty World, http://
www.wittyworld.com/articles/worldspotentLent.html (last visited Mar. 2, 2006); Student
Materials Index,
http://www.readwritethink.org/student_mat
(last
visited
Mar.
2,
2006);
The
Comic
Creator,
http://
www.readwritethink.org/student_mat/student_material.asp?id=21 (last visited Mar. 2, 2006).
98
The authors collected AIDS stickers and took pictures of the myriad AIDS billboards across Rwanda. In some places, there were
several AIDS billboards in one location. Stickers and pictures on file with the authors and CAPCR.
99
The USAID logo appears on the bottom right; the official coat of arms of Rwanda appears on the bottom left.
100 An electronic image of the Gacaca billboard is on file with the authors and CAPCR.
101 See Ellen Yamshon, supra note 19, at 10, 12.
102 David Hajdu, Comics for Grown-Ups, N.Y. Rev. of Books, Aug. 14, 2003.
103 Rana Foroohar, Comic Relief, Newsweek, Aug. 22, 2005, at 58. Some may argue with Newsweek’s conclusion that comics, with
their combination of text and graphics, can give a better understanding than a well-written narrative. Think about how a picture
gives the same fixed image, albeit open to individual interpretation, to each viewer, while a narrative requires the reader to create
the visual in the mind. Smirks, smiles, frowns, and furrowed brows may to many people be clearer when drawn than when read as
words on a page, particularly when varying rates of literary sophistication or vividness of imaginations are taken into account.
104 Ellen Yamshon, supra note 19, at 14.
105 Id.
106 Id.
107 Art Spiegelman, the creator of Maus, deliberately used anthropomorphism to poke fun at the Nazis who mobilized the Germans
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against Jews by portraying them as vermin.
108 Joe Sacco, Palestine (2000); Joe Sacco, Safe Area Gorazde: The War in Eastern Bosnia 1992-1995 (2001); Joe Kubert, Fax From
Sarajevo (1996).
109 Philip Charles Crawford, Beyond Maus: Using Graphic Novels to Support Social Studies Standards, Knowledge Quest, http://
www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslpubsandjournals/kqweb/kqreviews/crawford/v31n4.htm (last visited Feb. 25, 2004).
110 Rupert Bazambanza, Sourire Malgre Tout: Histoire du Genocide au Rwanda (2004). Jean Philippe, Deogratis: Le Dossier,
Dupuis, Belgique par Proost/Fleurus (2000). An English version of Bazambanza’s book, translated by Lesley McCubbin, is now
available: Rupert Bazambanza, Smile Through the Tears: the Story of the Rwandan Genocide (Lesley McCubbin trans., 2005).
111 See Packalen & Odoi, supra note 21; Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, Comics with an Attitude, http://
www.global.finland.fi/comics/why/why.htm (last visited Mar. 2, 2006).
112 Id.
113 See Staub, supra note 31, at 14. La Benevolencija (Rwanda Reconciliation Radio) drama series: radio programs of entertaining
stories with embedded information on the origins of genocide and explanations of perpetrators’ actions in order to reduce the
tension that is likely to arise in the course of the gacacas. The programs are also embedded with information about trauma,
retraumatization, and healing. Project directors report there are direct benefits to providing information in this manner. It can help
people find ways to protect themselves from retraumatization and show how to move toward reconciliation.
114 See Packalen & Odoi, supra note 2.
115 Id.
116 Id. (stating that comics should be thoroughly rooted in the target group’s surroundings and culture).
117 Kristian Williams, The Case for Comics Journalism, Colum. Journalism Rev. (Mar./Apr. 2005), available at http://
www.cjr.org/issues/2005/2/ideas-essay-williams.asp (last visited Feb. 25, 2006).
118 Id.
119 See Search for Common Ground Programme Overview, supra note 8 (using cartoons and participatory theatre performances to
reinforce radio messaging in the Congo).
120 See Packalen & Odoi, supra note 21. However, it is possible to animate comics, in which case some electronic equipment would
be necessary.
121 See
Jason
Beaubien,
News
&
Notes
with
Ed
Gordon,
NPR.org,
Aug.
23,
2005,
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4811417. The Government of Rwanda has embarked on an ambitious
program to get wired and hopes to become the “Internet Hub of Central Africa” in the next fifteen years.
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122 See Packalen & Odoi, supra note 21. See also Melone et al., supra note 12, at 6.
123 See Foroohar, supra note 103 (noting that immigrants used the universal language of comics to learn English when they came to
America in the early twentieth century).
124 See Packalen & Odoi, supra note 21.
125 Id. For example, wallposters are hung in an accessible place and can be read at any time. Wallposters have been used in Tanzania
and India. Leif Packalen, World Comics Wallposter Comics--A Great Campaign Tool for NGOs 2 (2005), available at
http://www.worldcomics.fi/pdf/africa_wallposter_ manual.pdf.
126 Interview with Javier Juarez, author and illustrator of the California Agricultural Labor Relations Board’s novella, La Ley
Laboral, in Sacramento, Cal. (Nov. 4, 2004); Telephone Interview with Antonio Barboza, Executive Secretary, California
Agricultural Labor Relations Board (Nov. 2, 2005). See also ALRB in the 21st Century: Executive Summary #8300-3001-0001
(Jan. 2001) (report to the California Legislature, evaluating, in part, outreach and educational efforts aimed at expanding farm
workers’ awareness of collective bargaining and labor rights).
127 Cal. Agric. Labor Relations Bd., La Ley Laboral: Derechos y Obligaciones de Empleadores y Trabajadores en la Agricultura
(2004).
128 Learning is enhanced when students use their imaginations. See Sara Xie, HyperCard: Using Imagination and Creativity to
Enhance Learning, 7 Asian J. of Eng. Language Teaching 101, 101-12 (1997), http:// www.cuhk.edu.hk/ajelt/vol7/rep1.htm (last
visited Feb. 26, 2006). The same is true when instructors use their imaginations. David McQuoid-Mason, Using Your Imagination
to Light Up Knowledge, Skills and Values for LLB Students: Lessons from South Africa, UK Centre for Legal Educ., http://
www.ukcle.ac.uk/interact/lili/2006/papers/keynote2.html (last visited Feb. 26, 2006).
129 See Packalen & Odoi, supra note 21. Aware of the power of realism to make readers uncomfortable, Op-Ed columnist Nicholas
Kristof used a set of four photographs of deplorable conditions in Darfur, Sudan to call attention to the genocide that is unfolding.
“Photos don’t normally appear on this page. But it’s time for all of us to look squarely at the victims of our indifference.”
Nicholas D. Kristof, The Secret Genocide Archive, N.Y. Times, Feb. 23, 2005, at A19.
130 See Packalen & Odoi, supra note 21; The Sex Patch, http:// www.global.finland.fi/comics/samples/s32.htm (last visited Nov. 11,
2005) (using a comic strip to generate open discussion about a taboo subject).
131 “It is a barbaric act to think of writing a work of poetry after Auschwitz” (“E un atto di barbaric pensare di scrivere un’ opera di
poesia dopo Auschwitz.”). T. W. Adorno, Critica della cultura e societa, Prismen, Kulturpolitik und Gesellschaft, Suhrkamp
Verlag (1955).
End of Document
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