Africa After War: Paths to Forgiveness – Why Jeannette employs her family's killers

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A simple handshake says volumes.

Jeannette is standing outside Anastaz's house on a rutted dirt road. Before leaving, she walks over to say goodbye, extending her hand. But she doesn't face him directly – or look him in the eyes. He, however, faces her and carefully takes her hand in both of his. Expressions of regret and pain flash across his face. After an awkward moment, she manages a smile and steps away.

Because of what he did, she says later, "I feel so bad to shake hands with that man." Yet, even she says his murderous acts weren't entirely his fault.

"I have to shake hands with this man, because such people were innocent. It wasn't their will," she says. "It was an ideology raised by the government."

Despite the government's promises of wealth, she observes, he's still mired in poverty: "He looted many properties, but he's still poor." With a tone of indignation, she adds, "I mean, can you imagine? He lives with rabbits." Jeannette, meanwhile, has become increasingly prosperous. She lives in a tidy three-room house in a wealthier area.

In the end, the proximity of victims and killers in this crowded country – along with the strong hand of government preventing further mass violence – has forced a grudging, practical reconciliation. On certain hillsides, coffee has become an enabler for this fragile unity.

And, for Jeannette, the initial economic pragmatism has evolved into a budding empathy she might have once thought impossible. Still referring to his poverty, she says simply, "I have to employ him. I know how he lives."

Across Rwanda, a traditional form of justice is being meted out every day. The country's 12,000 "gacaca" – or "under the tree"– courts tackle smaller genocide-related crimes, such as looting and indirect involvement in killing. National and international tribunals prosecute those responsible for organizing the 1994 genocide. For instance, the UN's International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda – holding court in nearby Tanzania – is slowly trying those accused of masterminding the genocide.

Back in Rwanda, locally elected "gacaca" judges collect testimony from victims and encourage perpetrators to confess and apologize. Their task is enormous: An estimated 600,000 people had some role in the genocide. "Gacaca" courts are expected to hear about 100,000 cases – although that could mushroom to 500,000 as early testimony implicates new suspects. Although empowered to sentence wrongdoers to prison, the courts will reportedly soon be sentencing at least 55,000 to community service instead.

Supporters say it's an ideal forum for dialogue about the horrors of 1994. But critics say it only reprimands Hutus while ignoring the misdeeds carried out by Tutsis.

• Decades of ethnic tensions between Rwanda's dominant Tutsi minority and the majority Hutus exploded in 1994 when Hutus – apparently following government orders – killed about 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus within 90 days.

• In 2001, traditional "gacaca" courts – in which ordinary Rwandans judge their peers – began to hear genocide cases.

• Last year, the government began a mass release of 36,000 prisoners, most of whom have confessed to involvement in the genocide. It is the third phase of prison releases since 2003.

• The UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda has rendered 30 genocide judgments since the first trial in 1997.

– The Associated Press, BBC

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