Reflections on sunday: ‘Heresi’, whither art thou today?

I recall with nostalgia, the early 1960s when we lived in an environmentalist’s paradise. By now you know, no doubt, that when I talk about the early ‘60s, I am talking about life in the sprawling refugee camp of Nshungerezi, south-western Uganda. What you don’t know is that, before it became a paradise, the place was not at all fit for human habitation. When we were unceremoniously ‘deposited’ there from hired lorries, courtesy of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), it was a game park. And like all tropical game parks, it was home to all sorts of wildlife and wild diseases. So, we set about making it habitable to humans by taming the beasts and rendering ourselves immune to diseases. Taming an animal like a lion, of course, is not like weaning your baby boy or girl. It is a business of give-and-take – give your life to the lion or take its life! Many of our fellow refugees were turned into meals by the carnivores; if they were not first trampled by large herbivores. In the end, of course, man triumphed over beast and the surviving animals sought residence in other parks. That revealed to us the enormous task involved in making the place habitable. The survival race was not only in who could ‘out-eat’ who, but also who was not stung by what. It was not enough to chase away the big animals when a sting from a mosquito or tsetse fly could kill you in a matter of hours. And however good you were with your spear or bow, you could not hope to shoot all the mosquitoes and tsetse flies out of existence. That is when ‘Heresi’ came to our rescue. As I came to learn later, this was the Kinyarwanda corruption of what was known as ‘a health officer’. In a twisted logic only known to Banyarwanda, they had shortened the title into one totally different word! Heresi was dreaded like the plague! So much so that even a new born baby immediately stopped crying when you shouted: “Heresi!” The health officer of the refugee camp did not entertain any nonsense: you either observed strict hygiene or it was instant punishment. He didn’t go into your kitchen, TV cameras in tow, to observe its cleanliness. No, he went around with a demolition squad. If he saw any dirt or disorder around the house, he’d shout “Demolish!” and the house would be destroyed immediately. No one likes to sleep out in the open, especially in a forest that was only recently a game park, and so everybody observed hygiene like their lives depended on it. Not only were the households kept spotlessly clean but also the surrounding fields and forests, as well as the roads and pathways that connected the households. The man (I never saw a woman!) in charge of all this was Heresi. Come Saturday morning, he would make his rounds, after being announced by his assistant, who shouted: “Heresi!” File in one hand and pen in the other, he’d make a thorough inspection of everything before ticking, if he was satisfied, and shouting “Demolish!”, if he was not. Of course, there were some cunning Banyarwanda who sometimes succeeded in fooling Heresi. Like a gentleman we used to call Ruharwa. Ruharwa always received top marks for especially having a pit latrine that had no trace of odour at all, something that was practically impossible to achieve, however clean you were. One Saturday when Heresi was inspecting Ruharwa’s household, he got the urge to answer the call of nature. Once inside Ruharwa’s latrine, Heresi removed the lid that covered the hole, only to find there was no hole. Blasphemy of blasphemies! The demolition squad set to work. By the time they were through with their work, Ruharwa had not only lost all his property but had also almost lost his life. From that time, no one else ever dared to fool around with Heresi. The homesteads were kept clean, the pathways and roads were tendered carefully and the forests and swamps were sprayed with insectide. Meanwhile, the friendly, wild animals that had not had to flee lived happily with their human neighbours, and any human who tried to disturb them was dealt with by the demolition squad. Our disorderly villages here in Rwanda can definitely do with the services of Heresi. Contact: ingina2@yahoo.co.uk