Profile: At home

At home in Sweden and Rwanda

It took Eric Mirindi Dusenge just three months to finish writing his doctoral thesis. Why? Because he was in a hurry to start the postdoctoral European Union’s Marie Curie scholarship he had just received.

That meant returning to the University of Gothenburg and to tree plantings in Rwanda.

IT IS AN EARLY Sunday morning in Huye, a town in southwestern Rwanda where one of the University of Rwanda’s campuses is located. We have breakfast on the veranda of one of the hotel rooms: omelette, toast and a plate of banana, watermelon and pineapple. It was in Huye that Eric Mirindi Dusenge was an undergraduate student in the mid-2000s and here is also one of his favourite places in Rwanda: the arboretum where, as a student, he collected plant specimens and spent his time running and meditating. Now he is back as a postdoctoral fellow and involved in a project about how tropical plants absorb and emit carbon dioxide, a surprisingly unexplored area. The project is headed by Göran Wallin and Johan Uddling at the University of Gothenburg.

But when Eric tells me about his background, he starts in Kigali where he grew up. A lot of what he has to say is difficult to take in on a quiet Sunday morning. The worst thing, understandably, is the 1994 genocide, a tragedy that represents a sort of ground zero for Rwanda’s contemporary development. It began on April 7, lasted for a hundred days, and resulted in about one million deaths, mainly Tutsis but also moderate Hutus. The UN was later criticized for its inaction, despite having knowledge of what was going on.

– I was eight years old, the oldest of five siblings, and of course did not understand much about the events. But during the three months of the genocide, we did not dare leave our house. It was only at night that our parents snuck away to try to find food. In the end, we

were escorted by soldiers from the Rwandan Patriotic Front who took us to the Amahoro football stadium where thousands of people sought refuge. My mother held her hand over my eyes so I wouldn’t see all the dead bodies along the road.

THE GENOCIDE RESULTED in huge numbers of refugees, some of whom returned home. Those responsible were brought to trial at an international tribunal, but local public courts, called Gacaca, were also set up, mainly to get perpetrators to admit their crimes and ask for forgiveness. Since then, a reconciliation process has taken over, where for an entire week every year, April 7–13, the genocide is commemorated. Moreover, all 30 districts in the country have special memorial centres in honour of the horrific event.

Since the genocide, Rwanda has recovered and become a role model in Africa with strong growth and low levels of corruption. In particular, the country has made great strides in terms of equality; today, the proportion

The arboretum in Huye is one of Eric Mirindi Dusenge’s favorite places.

of women in Parliament is 64 percent, which is the highest in the world. Rwanda is also one of the safest countries in Africa to live in, Eric says.

– Everyone has health insurance, more and more people go to university, many obtain passports and travel abroad, which was very unusual in the past. And when I came home in 2019, after four years of doctoral studies in Canada, several blocks in Kigali had changed so much that I got lost and had to call my sister for help. But progress has not been beneficial for everyone. Eric has personal experience of this as well.

– My dad, who worked as an agronomist for thirty-three years, was forced to retire in the early 2000s because he did not have a university degree. He was only 52 years old. My mother worked as a primary school teacher and had to support the family. But then she was diagnosed with cancer and when she passed away there was practically no money to support the family.

That is when Eric decided to study hard to get a degree.

Even though I shared a room with two friends, my scholarship was barely sufficient for rent and food.

ERIC MIRINDI DUSENGE

– I did not want to end up in a situation where someone could tell me that I am not good enough. I wanted to have control over my life.

Today, most of the University of Rwanda has moved to Kigali. But when Eric started studying in the mid2000s, it was in Huye.

– My university years were hard. Even though I shared a room with two friends, my scholarship was barely sufficient for rent and food. But I had decided to continue studying and endure it. Eventually, I chose biology.

RWANDA IS A FORMER Belgian colony. Therefore, for a long time, French was the most important teaching language in schools. However, in 2009, the government decided to switch to English – with immediate effect. – Naturally, it was difficult. Many teachers were educated in France or Belgium, they did not know any English. The older teachers had to retire, while the younger ones simply had to retrain.

For Eric’s part, the language change meant that he had to quickly translate his undergraduate dissertation from French into English.

– I used Google Translate. The essay is undoubtedly full of linguistic errors, I would not actually dare to look at it now. But even though it was difficult, today most people think it was a good decision to switch languages, English is the language of science, after all.

In 2009, Eric came into contact with Göran Wallin and Johan Uddling, who were responsible for coordinating educational programmes, funded by Sida, in collaboration with the University of Gothenburg and the University of Rwanda. He got involved in a project on photosynthesis in tropical plants.

– IN 2012, I received a scholarship for one of the project’s master’s programmes and ended up at the Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences in Gothenburg. After graduation, I would have liked to continue my doctoral studies there, but at the time there were no vacant positions, so instead, I applied to the University of Western Ontario in Canada. But this autumn, when I found out that I had been accepted as a Marie Curie Fellow at the University of Gothenburg, I was very happy to be able to go back.

During all his years abroad studying, Eric sent money home to his family, including money to educate his sisters.

– It was so obvious that I haven’t even thought about it; in Rwanda you simply help your family.

An academic career, with research and teaching, that is Eric’s dream for the future. Preferably, he wants to stay in Gothenburg. However, he does not see working in Rwanda as an opportunity for now.

– I think my father’s experience and the life we went through after leaving his thirty-three years old-job as agronomist changed me. I want to continue build ing and focusing on my international career to the point where no one can decide overnight on my fate. I also want to offer my future children a life where they experience endless opportunities and not endless limitations.

As a postdoctoral fellow, Eric will do research on how tropical plants store carbon.

– FORESTS IN TEMPERATE regions account for about 13 percent of all carbon sequestration, while boreal forests account for 32 percent. Most of the carbon, about 55 percent, is sequestered in tropical forests, but oddly enough, not a lot of research has been conducted on these forests. So there is a lot to do.

Breakfast is over and Eric looks at his watch. Soon he has to get changed before attending Sunday mass. – Most Rwandans are religious, but they still have a fairly relaxed approach to religion. Basically, my own take on the world is to try to make things as good as they can be. In this way, I hope to contribute to the development of society, in Rwanda, Sweden and the rest of the world. Maybe I can repay society for some of the educational opportunities and other opportunities I have received.

Text: Eva Lundgren Photo: Johan Wingborg

Eric Mirindi Dusenge

Currently: He received the European Commission’s Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Gothenburg. Current research: Part of Göran Wallin’s and Johan Uddling’s project on how tropical trees can cope with climate change. Family: Father and three sisters in Kigali, a brother in Paris. Interests: Hiking in Rwanda, Sweden and Canada. Likes football and running, but he finds research the most enjoyable activity. Vision for the future: To be a researcher and lecturer and contribute to development in Rwanda, Sweden and the world. Religion: Catholic. Favourite place: In Rwanda: the arboretum in Huye; in Sweden: Hönö.