"Imana yirirwa ahandi, igataha mu Rwanda."
"God spends the day elsewhere, but sleeps in Rwanda."

In 1994, Rwanda suffered from one of the greatest tragedies of the modern era: the decimation of almost 1 million Tutsi and moderate Hutu in a period of 100 days. The wounds are deep, but are healing: the strong postwar government has brought security to the country; remote villages now have access to clean water; primary education is compulsory and accessible; and the country’s economic growth is skyrocketing.

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the genocide, and miraculously, Rwanda is stronger and more resilient than it has ever been. Yet, across the border in DRC, the suffering continues. Congolese Tutsi have been forced to flee violence, taking shelter in refugee camps in Rwanda.

In 2006, I spent six months working for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in the town of Gisenyi, in the northwest of Rwanda, along the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC). My work was centered both on collaborating with the refugee youth to provide programming and monitoring the return of Rwandan Hutu, including former combatants, to their homes. Through this, I had access to a unique view of the Great Lakes crisis; I both witnessed the hope of Rwandans returning to their towns and villages, and saw the suffering and dignity of the uprooted Congolese who wanted so desperately to return home.

Morgan Courtney
March 2009

The photographs in this display are from 2006, 2007, and 2008.

Biography

Morgan Courtney is a first-year MPA student at the Woodrow Wilson School. In addition to working with UNHCR, she has worked for the U.S. Peace Corps, where she helped to re-establish their operations in Rwanda. She has also worked as a researcher in post-conflict reconstruction at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C.