Jul 30 2007

Notes on Rwanda, Democracy & Authoritarianism

A few weeks ago, I wrote a very optimistic post about Rwanda for the Guardian’s Comment is Free.  A very many people accused me of being a propagandist mouthpiece for Kagame, although I wasn’t sure how much weight to give certain comments once the conversation descended into a debate about whether there was ever a genocide in Rwanda.

But then I received an email I could not ignore.  It was written by an aid worker who has been living in Rwanda for 3 years and who undoubtedly has a much deeper understanding of the country than I possibly can.  She found my depiction of the situation there “appalling.”

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