Ubumuntu – In the name of humanity

Ubumuntu – In the name of humanity

Thanks to my niece, who is interning in Kigali, last week had an opportunity to visit the final night of the Ubumuntu Arts Festival held at the Amphitheater Kigali Memorial. It was a festival that showcased art from many participating countries in the form of workshops, panel discussions narratives, testimonies and skits. It is an arts centrist festival inspired by and created for the sake of humanity.

Indeed it is a very innovative initiative especially for Rwanda where there is no theater. It is an avenue where people from different countries come together to learn from each other and be empowered to spearhead the healing process in their countries. In fact it is art that goes beyond entertainment. It is art that forces one to introspect, empathize and perhaps even feel ashamed at the realization as to how low a human can fall.  The participating countries were Ethiopia , Sri Lanka, USA, Lebanon , Egypt, Canadian/ Serbian collaboration and  the five EAC nations Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Burundi.

Since we had limited time in hand, could witness the performances of USA, Rwanda/ Sri Lanka joint initiative and that of Burundi, although would have loved to stay back and see much more. The moving testimony of the Burundian who was barely six years old, whose teacher Berita ( Bertha)  was taken away in a jeep , as she was a Hutu , right during the class. The head of the school came a few minutes later on to state that Berita would never return again. It was only when the senior children from the other classes started moaning, was the time that the child realized the grim reality. The testimony starts stating as to how being silent has become a way of life. The narrator then details the atrocities of the time and the adverse condition in which he grew. The narration was accompanied by ghastly pictures and questions on the economy. What happened to the cotton, coffee, cocoa, nickel and all the other natural resources? He questions.

Before this heart rending narration, there was a ballet presented by two young ladies from the USA. Breath-taking performance by Nicole and Cassidy named ‘Antigone’. It is the story of four orphans - two brothers and two sisters. Two brothers who fight for the throne and the sisters trapped between opposing loyalty. Finally both brothers die and the sisters are mourning in anguish.

In between the plays the announcer appealed to the audience to evoke the motto by addressing to one’s neighboring person ‘I am because you are, You are because I am. ’ It was a funny moment as the person next to me was an unknown Rwandan and we were perfect strangers to each other. Was reminded of the ad from Airtel, on the theme of friendship – mainly about sharing between friends -- 'jo mera hai wo tera hai’ ( what is your is mine, what is mine is yours)

 Yet the highest point of that part of the show that I saw was the presentation ‘Dear Children, Sincerely’ performed jointly by Rwanda and Sri Lanka. It was like a conversation across generations. The performance was in the form of three stories that were based on elaborate conversations with elders of over 80 years old who were born in 30s. This was that generation, which had never been exposed to the new technology. So the thought was to document some of these experiences and develop insights  about how they have seen their countries changing, what they understand on humanity, politics, etc so that history is not lost and the younger generation is connected to these struggles.  The format of the performances was that of street plays.

The first story ‘Seven decades deep’ outlined the era  of seven decades from 1930 to 2000 , wherein beginning  from Rwanda in 1930s and  Sri Lanka of 1940s , every decade was played as a parallel narrative story alternated between Sri Lanka and Rwanda to  portray the history  in a dance drama form. One of the revealing truths was that although there were a variety of subjects like the introduction of ID cards in Rwanda. Sri Lanka’s independence, the beginnings of the Sinhala- Tamil conflict, the story of youth insurrections, the Rwandan story of exile and the genocide, there were a lot of parallels between the two countries like civil wars, human atrocities, change in leadership and the resultant freedom of expression. Both are building institutions of democracy and there is struggle for something that is considered a given by the developed world.  The second story dealt with how the issues of marriage, sex and love were dealt in the past. The performance was subtle yet humorous in some scenes. The third story was about land and its place in our daily life.

It was a humbling experience. As our eyes met, me and my niece conveyed gratitude to the Almighty for having kept us in protective environs. Truly life does not give chance to some innocents in this world.

Anagha Hunnurkar

Sunday, July 19, 2015