Hamburgers and Mosquito Nets

ALEX: Our third day of our experience here was a busy one indeed. Last night, we spent the evening watching the movie “Hotel Rwanda” that examined the genocide of the Tutsi people by their Hutu countrymen in 1994. We spent the remainder of the evening reflecting on historical accounts of those events. Today, we were afforded an in-depth look at how justice is being served to those responsible for the genocide in Rwanda. The United Nations International Criminal Tribunal on Rwanda (ICTR) has its home here in Arusha, Tanzania. We spent the morning observing proceedings against former members of Rwanda’s government and military who are charged with committing or encouraging the slaughter of the Tutsi people. The cases were interesting (although the action we saw today was mostly procedural) and the sheer scope of these trials is hard to believe. Some of the ongoing cases are in their fourth or fifth years.

Lunchtime was spent eating traditional Western food at MucMoody’s in Arusha. Students dined on hamburgers, chicken, and pizzas above the bustling streets of the city. And to think some of us thought we wouldn’t see fries for a whole month! We proceeded to walk around the area for a short time after lunch, including a short visit to the local market. All types of fruit, vegetables, meat, and fish products were available for sale. I walked for some time with a local vendor who explained parts of the market and the surrounding areas. We were the only tourists in this area, for this was where locals purchased their foods. After a short walk we boarded the bus for our next destination. We had a beautiful scenic drive outside of the city (it was our first day of clear skies and sunshine) to tour a local textile business. We saw many residents walking to and from the main city, including many small children dressed in their school uniforms. The kids here are very bright and inquisitive and loved to wave hello at us as we drove by. The textile business we visited was a sight to behold. The products being manufactured were long-lasting mosquito nets for sale across the continent of Africa. The firm employs over 1500 people and will double that amount in the next month. Women make up around 80% of the workforce for this company, and the management strives to empower the local population of women. We were very impressed to hear many of the socially responsible actions taken by the firm, including health benefits, an above average wage, plans for child care and housing, and maternity leave for its workers. It really illustrated how there are some companies conducting business here and are doing the right thing for their employees.

It was another eye-opening day for me, and I am enjoying the opportunities to learn as much as possible from this incredible experience. The Rwanda tribunal, my conversation with the street vendor, and our visit to the textile factory reminded me of how truly lucky we are to be in such a prosperous country such as the U.S. We very much take for granted what people here struggle for every day. We must, as leaders, fight for what is right and just. It’s easy to turn our backs to hardship and problems. But if we are to succeed and prosper as a society, we have to do the right thing, even if that action is difficult. We are off to dinner and to watch another film tonight on the challenges that Africa faces. We’ll tell you all about it tomorrow!