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Changing Poison Into Medicine Through Social Processes Of CHANGING POISON INTO MEDICINE THROUGH SOCIAL PROCESSES OF “FINDING PATHWAYS OUT”: THE RWANDAN CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW DESTINY IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE 1994 GENOCIDE by MARTHA ANN POTTS Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation Advisor: Dr. Eric Neilsen Department of Organizational Behavior CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY August 2011 CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES We hereby approve the thesis/dissertation of Martha Ann Potts ______________________________________________________ Ph.D candidate for the ________________________________degree *. Eric Neilsen, Ph.D (signed)_______________________________________________ (chair of the committee) Ronald Fry, Ph.D ________________________________________________ David Kolb, Ph.D ________________________________________________ Mark Chupp, Ph.D ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ June 07, 2011 (date) _______________________ *We also certify that written approval has been obtained for any proprietary material contained therein. © Copyright by Martha Ann Potts 2011 All Rights Reserved Dedication To Dr. Daisaku Ikeda who has taught me the most direct route to world peace starts with the inner transformation of each individual. To all the Batwa, Hutu and Tutsi who have lost their lives to violence throughout the centuries. i Table of Contents Dedication ............................................................................................................. i Table of Contents ................................................................................................. ii List of Tables ....................................................................................................... vii List of Figures ..................................................................................................... viii Acknowledgements ..............................................................................................ix Abstract ................................................................................................................ 1 1 Introduction .................................................................................................... 3 1.1 Background of the Study ........................................................................ 3 1.2 Statement of Phenomenon of Interest .................................................... 4 1.3 Purpose of the Study .............................................................................. 6 1.3.1 A Note About the Study ................................................................... 6 1.3.2 Significance of the Study ................................................................. 8 1.4 Research Methodology .......................................................................... 9 1.4.1 Emergent Theory .......................................................................... 10 1.5 Outline of the Dissertation .................................................................... 11 2 The Personal Journey ................................................................................. 13 2.1 Introduction .......................................................................................... 13 2.2 Trauma and the Search for the Greater Self ........................................ 13 2.3 Addiction and Subsequent Substance Abuse Recovery ...................... 15 2.4 Introduction to Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism .................................... 16 2.5 Pursuit of Higher Education .................................................................. 17 2.6 Why Research in Rwanda? .................................................................. 18 3 Rwanda: An Historical Overview ................................................................. 22 3.1 Introduction .......................................................................................... 22 3.2 The African Great Lakes Region .......................................................... 24 3.3 Pre-Colonial Early Inhabitants .............................................................. 25 3.3.1 Batwa Pygmies ............................................................................. 25 3.3.2 Hutu-Bantu Great Lakes Migration ................................................ 27 3.3.3 Tutsi of the Great Lakes Region.................................................... 30 3.3.3.1 Foundation Myths ...................................................................... 31 3.3.3.2 Hamite Hypothesis .................................................................... 33 3.4 Pre-Colonial Rwandan Clan System .................................................... 37 3.4.1 A Political Snapshot ...................................................................... 42 ii 3.4.2 The Reign of KIGERI Rwabugiri (1860-1895) ............................... 45 3.5 Theories of Race .................................................................................. 46 3.6 Colonization ......................................................................................... 48 3.6.1 German Colonial Rule (1897-1916): Indirect Rule ........................ 48 3.6.2 Belgian Colonial Rule (1916-1962): Disruption of Traditional Society .................................................................. 49 3.6.2.1 Higher Education ....................................................................... 50 3.6.2.2 Ethnic Identity ............................................................................ 50 3.6.2.3 The Roman Catholic Church and “The White Fathers” .............. 51 3.7 Some Consequences of Colonialism in Rwanda .................................. 53 3.8 Hutu Revolution (1959) ........................................................................ 54 3.9 The Role of Hate Media ....................................................................... 59 3.10 The Final Solution…100 Days of Genocide ......................................... 60 3.11 Summary .............................................................................................. 62 4 Methodology and Research Design ............................................................ 63 4.1 Introduction .......................................................................................... 63 4.2 Classic Grounded Theory ..................................................................... 64 4.3 The Evolution of the Research Design ................................................. 71 4.4 Preparing for Travel to Rwanda ........................................................... 72 4.5 2006—Travel to Rwanda (September 6-October 15) ........................... 74 4.5.1 Women Investment Fund .............................................................. 76 4.5.2 Avega-Agahozo............................................................................. 82 4.5.3 Duhozanye .................................................................................... 85 4.6 The Next Steps .................................................................................... 87 4.7 2007—Things Don’t Always Go As Planned (March 30-April 21) ......... 90 4.8 Thinking About Additional Measures .................................................... 95 4.9 2008—Concluding Data Collection (March 12-April 20) ....................... 97 4.9.1 Coporwa ........................................................................................ 98 4.9.2 Ibuka ........................................................................................... 100 4.10 Summary ............................................................................................ 102 5 Genocide and the Way Forward ................................................................ 105 5.1 Introduction ........................................................................................ 105 5.2 Overview of Genocide ........................................................................ 106 5.2.1 Conditions of Genocide ............................................................... 110 5.3 Fundamentals of the Way Forward in Post-Genocide Rwanda .......... 112 iii 6 Results and Related Literature .................................................................. 118 6.1 Introduction ........................................................................................ 118 6.2 A Grounded Theory of “Finding Pathways Out” ................................. 118 Individual Pathway ........................................................................................ 127 6.3 Managing the Void ............................................................................. 128 6.3.1 Numbing down ............................................................................ 133 6.3.1.1 Literature Related to Numbing Down ....................................... 134 6.3.2 Masking ....................................................................................... 135 6.3.2.1 Literature Related to Masking .................................................. 136 6.3.3 Mimicking .................................................................................... 138 6.3.3.1 Literature Related to Mimicking ............................................... 139 6.3.4 Episodic recall ............................................................................. 140 6.3.5 Confronting the void .................................................................... 142 6.3.6 Catapulting the
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