The ethnographic museum of the Institute of the National Museum of
Rwanda in Butare. Belgium has agreed to repatriate important archived
records to Rwanda in the next two years. FILE PHOTO | NATION
Brussels
said it will send the records in digital format, but still needs
special approval from Belgian Privacy Commission for some of the
documents.
In a consultative meeting with experts,
archivists and librarians convened by the Ministry of Sports and
Culture, which oversees archives and library business in the country,
officials from museums in Belgium assured the government of access to
the data in two years.
Guido Gryseels, Director General of Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA), told The EastAfrican that Belgium was willing to share the files containing cultural and national heritage of its former colonies.
“We
will make efforts in the next two years to digitise those archives and
return them to Rwanda in digital format. We have already digitised some
photos and films, some of which have been returned,” he said.
Thousands of files
Belgium possesses thousands of files extracted during the
colonial era dating mostly between 1900 to 1960 from Rwanda, Burundi and
Democratic Republic of Congo.
According to him they
have agreed with government of Rwanda to have completed the exercise in
the next two years after all files materials are digitised, a project
that is supposed to cost around €300,000 ($372,000).
Mr
Gryseels said that some private documents will need special permission
from the Belgian Privacy Commission, citing those involving children
from mixed marriages.
“Some of these children were
later sent to orphanages or foster families in Belgium and we have their
files but we will need to respect personal privacy and for that kind of
file we must have the permission of the commission,” he said.
Julienne
Uwacu, Rwanda’s Minister for Sports and Culture, commended Belgium for
the decision to repatriate the important archives.
Ethnographic collections
The
Royal Museum of Central Africa (RMCA) has been working with the
Institute of National Museums of Rwanda, especially its ethnographic
branch in Huye district, mostly on exchange of ethnographic collections
involving historical, ethnographic and archaeological artefacts.
Of
the preserved materials in Belgium, there are at least 10 million
copies of German archives, 65 million of copies relating to Rwanda-
Burundi (Ruanda-Urundi) as a protectorate of Belgium, their territorial
and administration services and archives of research institutes during
the colonial era.
The museum also claims possession of
files dating 1890-2017 on 2,300 ethnographic objects from Rwanda,
comprising of wickerwork, wooden pots, baskets, metal objects, utensils,
music instruments; archives on scientific missions in Rwanda and around
4,000 photographs and number of films on Rwanda.
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