What it is like to conduct an experiment with university students in Rwanda?

Table of content

• How it all started and the long-term vision
• Why Rwanda over other countries from the region of the Great Lakes with a similar history of ethnic violence?
• Getting the approval of the Rwandan national ethic committee
• What you have to expect to pay & transport/recovery of the material
• Recovering your material
• Recrutement of volunteers
• Unexpected (and unwanted) costs
• Final Summary

How it all started and the long-term vision

I first have to say that the idea to go to Rwanda did not come into my mind directly. Possibly I would not even have thought about conducting a research project there.

I have been in contact with a Dutch NGO, Radio La Benevolencija (http://www.labenevolencija.org/). Their president, Georges Weiss, learned about my research by reading an article in the BBC future (https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20180709-our-ability-to-stand-up-to-authority-comes-down-to-the-brain) and reached out to explore potential collaboration. They are notably active in the African Great Lakes region, especially in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Rwanda. They develop radio soaps and educational programs, targeting citizens from vulnerable societies to recognize and resist hate speech and manipulation to violence. In Rwanda for instance, they are famous for having created Musekeweya (which can be translated by New Dawn), a radio program broadcasted in the entire country, whose messaging is based on the academic research of Erwin Staub, a professor in Psychology at the University of Massachusetts who wrote a book on the origins of genocide and other group violence.

I began thinking how my research could be linked to the current and historical situations in these countries. One critical question rapidly surfaced in my mind: How can we explain that so many civilians consented to participate in a genocide to exterminate their neighbors? Naturally, the answer to this question requires an interdisciplinary approach, encompassing history, politics, psychology, and more. However, as far as I am aware, this question has not been extensively investigated from a neuroscience perspective. Having worked in the field of social neuroscience, with a focus on obedience to authority for about five years, conducting field research in this region seemed both intriguing and relevant.

Such project would in addition be totally in line with one of my own personal aim, which is to produce meaningful research for individuals and societies. Identifying the neural mechanisms associated with the execution of atrocious acts under obedience has the potential to raise the hope of developing efficacious interventions to prevent blind obedience, even if there is still a long way to go. Unfortunately, however, when interventions are planned to prevent some behaviors or to promote some behaviors, the neural level is currently barely considered, except in some recent disciplines such as neuromarketing. This means that even if some changes are observed as a result of the intervention, no one really knows how those changes occurred and if some aspects of the intervention should be more emphasized to produce a greater behavioral change. In the case of obedience, many question remain: should such interventions target empathy and compassion, or rather target individual responsibility for one’s own actions? By using more objective and precise methods—by understanding how our brain processes the information in situations of obedience—we may be able to find strategies to help people resist blind obedience. I thus considered that conducting a research project on obedience to authority in Rwanda would be relevant, as it is in many other countries that will be the focus of some of my next research trips.

The present blog post is associated with the following publication:

Caspar, E. A., Gishoma, D., & Magalhaes de Saldanha da Gama, P. A. (2022). On the cognitive mechanisms supporting prosocial disobedience in a post-genocidal context. Scientific Reports, 12(1), 21875.

Why Rwanda over other countries from the region of the Great Lakes with a similar history of ethnic violence?

There are, in fact, three main reasons that influenced my decision to conduct the project in Rwanda. First, both individual and collective memories of the genocide remain vividly alive in the country. They have an overall concern about blind obedience and about the reasons that lead so many civilians to commit the act of a genocide, by vastly mentioning obedience to authority. Second, all roles observable during a genocide, as defined by academics, that are perpetrators, bystanders, victims, and rescuers were present in the country, and the family history of each citizen intertwines with these diverse facets. Of course, this classification is very abrupt, and does not capture what truly happened for many of the citizens who experienced it. Third, Rwanda is the only country in this region with a national ethics committee (http://www.rnecrwanda.org/), a crucial element for undertaking a research project. Although one might consider seeking ethics approval from their home country when working in a country without an ethics committee, it is always more beneficial to receive approval from a national body. Such a committee is more familiar with their population, local sensitivities, and culture, making them the most suitable to provide a considered opinion on your project.

Getting the approval of the Rwandan national ethic committee

Obtaining approval from an ethics committee is always the initial step before conducting any human research. Therefore, selecting Rwanda, with its national ethics committee, seemed an ideal choice. Initially, I reviewed several papers describing research conducted in Rwanda. Strikingly, none had officially sought approval from the Rwandan National Ethics Committee (RNEC). Some studies were conducted before the RNEC’s establishment, hence the absence of any mention of an ethics committee. However, other studies took place while the RNEC was operational. I reached out to various authors to understand why they did not requested ethics approval from the RNEC, but none responded. I later discovered that many scientists had carried out research in Rwanda without seeking the necessary permissions, even when their research topics were exceptionally sensitive, such as those focusing on traumatic experiences or intergroup conflicts.

Since I couldn’t find anyone to assist me with this initial step, I decided to contact the RNEC directly with very specific questions, such as: Could I submit a proposal myself, or would I need to be affiliated with a university or NGO? I learned that a submission to the RNEC required a fee of $900 (as of 2021, this has been updated to $1,500). This is something one must consider before submitting, given the uncertainty surrounding the project’s acceptance. Despite sending two emails and waiting a month, I received no response.

Subsequently, I reached out to the former Vice Rector of my university, Marie-Soleil Frère, to seek her advice on the matter. She provided me with the contacts of two PhD students also conducting research in Rwanda. They suggested that I reach out to a local psychology professor for assistance. That’s when I connected with Darius Gishoma, a professor of psychology at the University of Rwanda, who also happened to be a member of the ethics committee! This was indeed a significant breakthrough. We discussed the project, its relevance for the Rwandan society, and decided to proceed with the submission.

I was a bit surprised by the amount of details they wanted to know, even if they were not directly related to ethical questions. For instance, they wanted to understand why I opted for three action-tone intervals (refer to literature on the sense of agency), why I chose a 32-electrode cap over a 64-electrode one, the final layout of the EEG, and my data processing approach, among other things. It became clear that certain elements couldn’t be included in my experiment. Some exclusions were understandable, but unexpected, while others, though possibly sensible, limited the scope of my research questions. For example, my experiments involved delivering mildly painful electric shocks to another individual, either freely or under instruction (see Caspar, Christensen, Cleeremans & Haggard (2016). Coercion changes the sense of agency in the human brain. Current biology, 26(5), 585-592.). We decided to conduct this project with participants aged below 26 only, as they did not experience the genocide directly. Indeed, case of tortures with electricity were reported, thus making it too sensitive to apply with the generation of survivors.

Additionally, considering the current political climate in Rwanda, many seemingly innocuous questions elsewhere could be problematic here. I was aware that it was legally prohibited to mention ethnicity in Rwanda, but I was surprised to learn that inquiries about intergroup conflict and mistrust were also off-limits. Rwanda’s reconciliation programs primarily focus on fostering a unified Rwandan identity, meaning general questions about how participants identified with other co-participants during the experiment were not permissible, despite being integral to my research question. My goal was to determine whether viewing a co-participant as an in-group or out-group member influenced the expected results.

Had I decided to conduct my research in Burundi or the Democratic Republic of Congo, there wouldn’t have been any legal restrictions on such questions. However, I was committed to gaining approval from a local ethics committee, considering their superior ability to evaluate their own population.

The committee also necessitates researchers to be physically present during the ethical assessment of the project. So, one either has to arrange a trip to Rwanda for this one-hour meeting, or find a local researcher to be involved in the project who can attend in person. I had the latter option with my collaboration with Darius, but preparing for this meeting was challenging as this wasn’t his area of research or expertise. On the day my project was evaluated, I was extremely anxious. If things didn’t go well, they could either reject the project altogether or require me to travel to Rwanda to defend it. Significantly, the committee requires submission of consent forms and information sheets in both English and Kinyarwanda. So, ensure all your files are translated before project submission to the ethics committee. Finally, after a few revisions, I received the final approval! The excitement was almost comparable to having a publication accepted in Science, as I was about to go in Rwanda!

Update in 2023: you can now defend the project during an online meeting. The dates of the meeting, that always happen on Saturdays in the morning, are available online on their website: https://www.rnecrwanda.org/. They also have now developed an online portail for the submission with all the necessary documents to help you through the submission: https://rnecrwanda.rhinno.net/login

So basically step 1 was achieved – it took “only” 5 months in total 🙂

What you have to expect to pay and how to prepare the transport of the material

First and foremost, remember to budget for a Kinyarwanda translator in your project proposal (I was quoted approximately €40/day). You must also mention this in the protocol submission to the RNEC as they need assurance that you can cover the necessary costs. Rwanda offers a specific research visa, which is more expensive than the tourist version (€120, although since 2021, a visa is no longer required for Belgian and French citizens). Additionally, you must provide drinking water to your participants and cover their travel expenses. Include these in your ethical proposal budget as well. Bear in mind that many people may not have email accounts or internet access. Therefore, ensure you have a phone (and a Kinyarwanda-speaking contact) for recruitment purposes. For the transportation of equipment, I opted to rent a car (I advise against taking the bus with expensive gear). However, car rentals can be quite pricey, especially four-wheel drive vehicles, which may be necessary for rural areas. Therefore, remember to account for this in your budget.

Another amusing anecdote is linked to my attempt to find a room for conducting my experiment. One individual from the university agreed, but only on the condition that I either include him as an author on the paper or hand over my portable EEG system in exchange—a system valued at €30,000, just for a room. Considering the rates, it seemed that conducting the testings in the local Hilton would have been less expensive. Finally, I contacted my university and they put me in touch with someone more reliable.

Another significant aspect that I haven’t addressed so far is the choice of techniques you might wish to utilize. In my case, using fMRI would have been optimal, but the 1.5T machine at King Faisal Hospital Kigali is solely reserved for medical studies and lacks the necessary equipment for functional analyses, such as MRI-compatible screens and button boxes. As a result, I had to explore other options for my initial projects. I opted for EEG because pilot studies yielded very promising results for the neuro-cognitive processes I intended to investigate. Furthermore, an EEG system has the advantage of being portable, which is beneficial if you need to conduct tests in rural areas—you merely need your portable EEG system and a computer, and you’re all set! (While this sounds simple in theory, practical application is another story, which I’ll discuss later.) I also heard of researchers using portable fNIRS in Cambodia, though I’ve yet to try it. So, using neuroimaging techniques in such locations is challenging, but achievable. If you’re committed to using MRI, I believe the local team would be more than willing to assist with MRI access, as there’s a keen interest in developing neuroscience expertise in Rwanda. The main challenges would be managing the 1.5T scan and its immobility. Update for 2023: With my ERC project DISOBEY, I’m planning to develop functional analyses.

A complex question arose: ‘How can I safely transport the delicate and expensive equipment to Rwanda?‘. Generally speaking, I harbor doubts about customs procedures everywhere on Earth, fearing they might find a pretext to seize the equipment. After reaching out to numerous people and exploring different options, the safest solution ‘in theory’ seemed to be the diplomatic bag. It’s expensive, charging €15 per kilogram, and doesn’t provide any assurance of safe transportation, but it does guarantee the equipment’s arrival in Rwanda, at the same time as me. So, theoretically, this problem too has been resolved. Now it remains to be seen whether the equipment will indeed arrive. At the very least, I believe I’ve made it abundantly clear that the material in the box is fragile. Taking out insurance for your equipment and keeping your fingers crossed are basically the two best strategies I can recommend at this stage!

Honestly, as I was packing everything, I found myself regretting having such a complex experimental setup… The electroencephalogram (EEG) system, along with all the necessary supplies, four computers, a Digitimer along with the supplies for the shocks, cameras, specialized button boxes, etc. It all added up to a diplomatic bag of about 10kg, plus an additional 58.9kg distributed across three pieces of luggage. (And no, it wasn’t my clothing or shoes that accounted for the weight!).

Until the very last minute, I was uncertain whether all the necessary materials would arrive on time in Kigali. The EEG was supposed to arrive on the 9th or 10th of January via the diplomatic bag, but the services in Belgium informed me that Rwandan customs sometimes hold boxes containing batteries for up to two weeks… Indeed, I had two batteries with the EEG system, and, of course, nobody had informed me of this beforehand. Fortunately, everything went smoothly (but if you’re considering doing the same, bear in mind the battery issue: It’s better to carry them with you as hold baggage on your flight). I must admit, I nearly shed a tear of joy when I retrieved the EEG at the Embassy on the expected day. I was able to discard plans B, C, and D in case the EEG system didn’t arrive

I gathered many invaluable insights to consider for testing when I reached Rwanda. Firstly, one must procure their own electricity to recharge the electricity meter, which functions similarly to prepaid mobile cards: you visit shops to purchase prepaid electricity cards, or if you have a Rwandan telephone subscription, you can use that to refill. If your experiment relies on electronic devices in a place that operates on this system, ensure that you’ve loaded sufficient electricity. I suggest dedicating two or three days to understand how much electricity each device consumes (especially old fridges.. We had to re-fill almost on a daily basis to keep the fridge cold! But also the hot water for the shower..). Secondly, prepare for potential power outages; always charge your equipment whenever you can. Water shortages are a frequent occurrence, even on the university campus. If your equipment needs water for cleaning, arrange for bottled water or explore methods to clean it without water.

As you prepare the materials, ensure everything is ready and potentially available in multiple copies (lists can be handy!)… Don’t forget to bring along several hard drives and devise a secure method to store your data online. You may also need to handle issues concerning the ‘transfer’ of data from Rwanda to Belgium. Try to anticipate everything that could potentially go awry, as surprises are certain! And don’t forget to enjoy the journey – it’s a truly exhilarating and challenging experience!

Recruitment of volunteers

When we arrived in Rwanda, the local team told us we were supposed the first team ever using EEG in the country, but that they just had another EEG project that started a month before us. That was a sort of personal “funny” challenge for the entire team, as it showed the exceptionality of the procedure. Actually, it still nonetheless shows how exceptional the procedure is. We would have been somehow proud to mention that we would have been to be the first-ever team to conduct EEG studies there 🙂

The experiments I’ve designed, particularly those involving electric shocks, are highly complex. Typically, I disclose the nature of the task from the very outset when recruiting participants, and I use the same procedure in all the countries where I have conducted this study so far.

We opted to begin with the recruitment of students from the University of Rwanda for convenience (language – they all study in English – as well as accessibility to the campus and testing room). Should we not recruit enough volunteers, our contingency plan was to connect with local NGOs that work with young people. But, in reality, recruitment was a breeze. A single call resulted in over 200 people expressing interest in participating in the experiment!

Two common adversaries of a good EEG signal are African-type hair and high temperatures, both of which are encountered when testing in Rwanda. The high temperatures weren’t always as severe as anticipated thanks to the wind. However, there were days of extreme heat and we lacked air conditioning or ice packs to reduce the room temperature. While fans can provide some relief, unless draped with ice, their effect is minimal. Yet, the ice would melt within 10 minutes, rendering this approach inconvenient. African hairstyles, especially among female volunteers, presented another big challenge. This is a key reason why Africans are often excluded from EEG studies, thus limiting the extension of neuroscience to larger, more diverse population samples. I recommend this very interesting paper about this huge concern in neuroscience published in The Lancet, that provides methods to overcome these racial biases in the recruited samples: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(22)00079-7/fulltext

By then, I learned to use EEG with various types of African hairstyles to avoid bias in recruitment. Now, I frequently have colleagues of mine asking me how to use their EEG with Afro hairstyles. Nevertheless, with some very specific hairstyles, an EEG just won’t function as the cap can’t be placed on the head. This is the case for braided hairstyles tied together in a ponytail, a hairstyle that cannot be undone. This was common in Kigali, being a trendy style among young women at that time. Consequently, we ended up testing primarily male participants. However, in the villages, as explained in the next blog post, women generally didn’t follow this haircut trend and we could easily incorporate them into our studies.

Needless to say, it’s unrealistic to expect a Faraday cage to ensure a clear EEG signal. As such, I suggest the use of two reference electrodes (for my study, I utilized the two mastoids with a bipolar montage), along with aluminum to ‘ground’ your participants if required (refer to the image below). This is a procedure I used before in the basement of University College London, when my EEG signals was sometimes capturing various sources of electrical noise. Various options are available, particularly when the university offers a room that lacks any grounding connection. With these adjustments, the signal should significantly improve. This system allows testing in virtually any location, potentially even in the jungle! Alternatively, a 50Hz filter proves effective if you’re dealing with a stationary power line noise. For non-stationary power line noise, I detail alternative methods in the subsequent blog post about Rwanda, and in the research projects undertaken in Cambodia.

So far, we’ve conducted tests on 14 volunteers. Our daily testing stretches around 10 and a half uninterrupted hours, which is fairly intense. You’ll find a few pictures below. While we seem cheerful in the photos (and indeed we are), we’re often combating mosquito invasions, scorching temperatures, and continuous problem-solving – it can sometimes feel like we’re living a nightmare. So, don’t neglect your mosquito repellent and remember to take your daily anti-malaria pills!

Unexpected (and unwanted) costs

Firstly, food prices in Rwandan supermarkets are surprisingly high. They primarily stock items from an affordable Belgian brand, which ironically isn’t cheap here at all. A simple cake, costing about €1 in Belgium, can fetch around 7,100 RWF (approximately €7) here. Similarly, you could be paying the equivalent of €15 for cornflakes or €28 for basmati rice. Locals prefer shopping at local markets, which can be cheaper if you’re adept at haggling – this skill becomes even more crucial if you’re a ‘foreigner.’ To ensure a fair deal, it’s wise to ask local individuals about the usual price for a kilogram of a particular item before initiating any negotiations.

We also had to cover unanticipated ‘service’ fees at the university. They assigned us a room brimming with unwanted items, and to have it cleaned, we were essentially told to ‘motivate’ the university workers. We paid 2,000 RWF to each of the ten workers and 5,000 RWF to the person in charge of the rooms. On top of that, we ‘promised’ to cover the cost of plastic sheets to protect all the stuff, which amounted to 30,000 RWF (€30). While this seems to be standard practice here, it’s a good idea to bear such unexpected expenses in mind before making the trip.

FINAL SUMMARY

There is one word that resumes perfectly our state after 3 weeks in Rwanda: E.X.H.A.U.S.T.E.D.

This was unequivocally one of the most complex work experience I’ve ever had, filled with both highs and lows. In this section, I’ll share a recap of our journey in Rwanda. We unquestionably gleaned a wealth of knowledge, and I believe our insights will prove invaluable for other researchers contemplating similar field studies. We plan to return to Rwanda for more projects; this venture was indeed a vital foundational experience.

Using electroencephalography

When I submitted the paper from this study to a scientific journal, I was uncertain about the reviewers’ reaction to our reasons for losing participant data. Typically, you might encounter reasons such as a “faulty electrode,” “no discernible ERPs,” or even “excessive eye blinks.” However, those concerns barely scratch the surface of the challenges we faced. More unique obstacles caused data loss, such as “heavy rain on a tin roof” (which drowns out any auditory potentials), “flocks of crows traipsing on the roof,” “tight braided hairstyles,” “50Hz noise from a building that wasn’t grounded and had a satellite dish right above,” “power outages,” “extreme heat,” and so on.

Be prepared to everything

Unanticipated costs, unforeseen technical issues you would never have thought about prior to your arrival, basic working conditions, communication challenges with the volunteers, and so forth. Even if the experiment typically takes 2 hours, prepare for it to stretch to 3 or even 4 hours here. As mentioned in previous sections of this blog, it’s not beneficial to try and compile an exhaustive list, because if you’re launching similar field research, you’ll probably encounter unique and unexpected problems. Endeavor to be ready for anything, even matters you wouldn’t have foreseen before arriving!

Moreover, be ready for the heartbreaking stories you’ll hear… Rwanda is primarily recognized for the 1994 genocide against the Tutsis, resulting in approximately 1,000,000 deaths within just 100 days. I won’t delve further into this here, as many books detail this tragic chapter of Rwandan history. Nonetheless, beyond historical books, the following three publications, which include interviews with victims, perpetrators, and rescuers, are extremely insightful (equivalent books likely exist in English). Particularly if your work pertains to the trauma associated with the genocide, I strongly recommend reading these interviews to brace yourself for the narratives you might hear here.

Discovering a country that you would perhaps have never discovered otherwise!

Rwanda, the country of a thousand hills… A very charming country that is also, to our biggest and most pleasant surprise, probably one of the cleanest countries in the world. That was very unexpected because we had also traveled to some border countries before, and clearly, trash was everywhere… Apparently, Kigali is the cleanest city in Africa. We discussed about this with different locals, and we heard many reasons. One of the main reasons is that many people can’t afford to buy packed food in supermarkets (neither can we…), so they prefer to buy from local markets where plastic is totally banned. A second reason is the “Umuganda” day, which happens every last Saturday of each month. Every Rwandan citizen must take part for 3 hours (from 8 AM to 11 AM) in an activity that will either improve the facilities in the country (cleaning an area, building a road) or help others (providing medical transportation, helping someone rebuild their house after a storm, etc.). This traditional Rwandan activity was re-established after the genocide as a way to promote reconciliation and build a unified Rwandan nationality. Another, third reason would be that the government acts forcefully against people who could “deteriorate” the visual aspect of Kigali. Anyway, the entire country is very clean.

When you travel through Rwanda, even as a tourist, you still see the damage of the genocide, not only on people but also on wildlife. The first road trip was very striking: not a single dog along the streets, nowhere. The reason is truly heartbreaking. During the genocide, many dog owners were killed, and dogs started to eat human flesh to survive. In the aftermath of the genocide, dogs developed an appetite for human flesh, and they were all exterminated. A movie tells this story: “Shooting dogs”.

One of the most typical national parks in the country is Akagera, located at the border with Tanzania. If you have also traveled in the Serengeti or N’gorongoro, you will directly notice the difference: the very limited presence of wildlife. Again, this is a result of the genocide. First, the park’s area was drastically reduced after the genocide because space was needed to help survivors and refugees rebuild. Second, animals in the park were hunted for their flesh during and after the genocide. Lions became extinct, rhinos disappeared, and only one single elephant survived (the one known to attack tourist cars). The government tried to reintroduce these species to develop the country’s tourism by purchasing them from neighboring countries. Now, they have the famous African big five (lion, leopard, elephant, rhino, and buffalo), but it will take years to fully recover.

Something that we truly regret is the price of the permit to see the famous gorillas: $1,500 per person is really excessive. In Uganda, the price is $600, and in Congo, it’s $400 (which is still quite expensive…). Rwanda aims to develop luxury tourism, and it’s evident. Unfortunately, due to the high prices, we were unable to participate in several activities. However, we thoroughly enjoyed discovering the country and immersing ourselves in the local culture! Sharing some pictures below 🙂