Statement of Purpose

Through the history of Rwanda, there has always been some kind of conflict or struggle between the three native tribes located in the country; the Tutsi, Hutu, and Twa. Tutsi and Hutu disagreements have always been the conflicts that cause the most damage in Rwanda ever since Rwanda gained its independence. The violence between the two tribes culminated since Rwanda's independence, becoming bloodier with each fight until eventually one of history's most prominent genocides took place. In 1994, the Tutsi, who had been exiled to Uganda after the Hutu takeover of the government, raided Rwanda in an attempt to take back their position and allow their tribe back into the country. The killing was not prejudice against any type of person in Rwanda, claiming thousands of men, women, and children's lives in an attempt to take control of the country and enforce their ideals upon the other tribe. The genocide ceased after the Tutsi successfully gained control of the government, allowing the cooperative Hutu to remain in Rwanda and exiling the rebel forces to Uganda.
Genocide in Rwanda had ceased but the several children were left to fend for themselves, penniless and haunted by the daily horrors they had witnessed and continued to do so in the aftermath. Ten percent of Rwandan children lived on the streets after the genocide had ceased, but no one bothered to help them find food, shelter and water. A majority of the deaths in Rwanda were attributed to the children that were left on the streets since they were forced to care for themselves, in doing so were reduced to thieving and prostitution. Street children quickly became the lowest position on the social scale, with people avoiding and distrusting them. Several organizations began focusing their attention on the children that were left behind after the genocide in an attempt to care and reform them in concern for the future of Rwanda as the above video briefly demonstrates. The photographer of Striding Girl, Twagira, is one of the children that was orphaned after the genocide but was taken in by Through the Eyes of the Children, an organization dedicated to aiding children who have witnessed horrible events during the genocide and rehabilitate by expressing emotion through photography.

Striding Girl illustrates typical life two years after the genocide ended through the eyes of an orphaned boy and the metaphoric journey back home like the exiled tribes had done. Metaphorically, Rwandan children were at a crossroads in which they had to decide what would be best for them, but in this case the path has been chosen for the girl and takes her load and ardors on. The photo offers a brief glimpse into the life of a young girl, focusing upon the journey the girl is taking in her life than any other aspect of the photo. There is an attempt to appeal to pathos through the logos, in this case the logical order of the photo, of the vectors of attention appealing to specific aspects of the photo such as the road upon which the figure moves up. The photographer attempts to appeal to the audience's emotion by showing Rwanda and the lack of emotion of the figure as she continues on her way with whatever bundle she carries atop her head. The framing also supports the thematic element of the figure's journey through the usage of the rule of thirds, which places the figure to the side, focusing the audience's attention first on the figure then the rest of the photo. The bleak coloration and toned down lighting contribute to the angsty mood of Rwanda after the virulent genocide, especially for the orphaned children.

Striding Girl illuminates the angsty mood in Rwanda only a few years after the genocide. The photographer attempts to invoke pathos through the rhetorical appeals of vectors of attention, coloration, and cropping to describe the journey and role of children in Rwandan society as those that have to fend for themselves as if they were adults.