We Cry On The Inside Image Theater And Rwanda s Culture...

It is often discussed that Rwandans have a â€Å"culture of silence† or an aptitude to withhold their personal struggles or opinions. There are phrases in Kinyarwanda that demonstrate this cultural trait such as â€Å"keep it all inside† and â€Å"we cry on the inside† (Blair Fletcher 4). In Blair and Fletcher’s article We Cry on the Inside: Image Theater and Rwanda’s Culture of Silence, a member of one of the theater activities stated â€Å"It’s not easy to explain your problems to another. It’s considered unacceptable in our society and therefore people resist† (qtd in Blair and Fletcher 2). Clearly in Rwandan society there is an idea that personal problems are just that, personal. This specifically applies to the causes of the genocide. While people are apt to discuss their personal experiences of the genocide, they rarely mention the underlying feelings of friction between Hutu vs. Tutsi (Buckley-Zistel 1). This cultural sil ence surrounding the genocide also applies to Rwandan Patriotic Front war crimes, the history of Rwandan ethnic groups, the government’s promotion of unity while being mainly RPF aligned Tutsis, a presumption of all Hutu guilt, and the lack of research done on the reconciliation efforts and effects in Rwanda (Zorbas 14-20). These cultural silences have a profound effect on reconciliation in Rwanda and the types of reconciliation processes that have occurred and are continuing to occur. How the Culture of Silence Affects Reconciliation While this cultural silence is an