Story telling

Young people in Rwanda and in any other post-conflict society of the world are faced with what might seem to many as an impossible task. the task of dreaming and imagining a better society that the one that they live in. as a result of history, many of their society are full of broken hearts,fear, resentment and bitterness. Young people are victims of their history. Victims because they have to bare the consequences of actions that they did not undertake. The effects of these actions still define many lives in those post conflict societies and as we are trying to rebuild our lives and society we have to deal with those consequences on a daily basis. Whether through the constant reminders of our history, like the prevailing poverty or through constraints that are imposed us by our elders. The greatest consequence of conflict is the mentality of “us” and “them” where we are constantly told that “those people” are different from us that “those people”are evil and we are good people. This ideology is one that created the conflict itself, by dehumanizing the “other” it becomes easier to commit evil deeds against them because in your eyes they are “not human”. To break this pattern of though however is a hard thing because it requires a radical and complete change of mind and heart.
However, God's gift for young minds has always been a free mind that can imagine greater things and a undivided energy to work towards that future! In order for that to change, like suggested in my last posts there’s need for Hope and faith.
But today I want to share what I believe is important in this process of change and that’s story telling. If there’s anything that separates humans from animals it’s our ability to tell stories. Humans communicate through stories. According to walter fischer humans are homo narrans. We understand our world through stories: about ourselves, about other people.
Stories have a powerful influence on us, because it’s through stories that we find meaning to our lives and our identity.
But how can stories be used to reconcile former enemies”?
The “US vs them” mentality suggests that a group of people have the same story, which is simply untrue.
Each person has stories that define them, story that shaped not only their character but their lives. And as each one of us tells our story we break away from that mentality.
Imagine for example if a child of a perpetrator of the genocide and a child of a genocide survivor sit down together and share their stories. As they share their stories it becomes easier for each one of them to see the “ humanity” in the “other” it becomes easier for them to see that admitting that the other suffered does not mean that you did not suffer too! And as they tell their stories they slowly break the walls that separated them before.
However, story telling in itself is not enough if not backed with goodness and the willingness to listen to the “other” and accepting him as a fellow human being. Story telling also require humility and courage.

So my brothers and sisters, if we truly want to change the world and make it better lets go out there and look for the “other”. The person whom you have been told to hate, the person whom you have been told to fear and talk to them and don’t worry if you are scared,” Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the judgment that something is more important than fear. The brave may not live forever but the cautious do not live at all”
Have a nice day