The
day after my one month marker in Tanzania...I left the country. My
co-worker/friend Hilary had suggested earlier on in the week the idea
of going back to Rwanda to spend some time in Kigali. She had a
friend from grad school that worked there that she really wanted to
visit...and although the transit took more than half a day each way
and we couldn't leave til Saturday...we decided it might do us some
good to get out and see a bit more of East Africa. I'd flown into
the Kigali, but all I had really seen so far was the airport.
Saturday
morning started with an early morning pick-up from Edson (our
co-worker) at our house, a ferry transit to the border, and then
boarding a bus for Kigali. The bus was rather posh (compared to
others I've ridden on in developing countries), but crowded. It
cost us 3,000 Rwandan Francs...which is approx. $5 USD. The
highlight of the journey without a doubt was our ticket taker, who
rode the bus with us the whole way to Kigali. His t-shirt was the
best I've seen so far. The second hand clothing market is really
huge here, and so people sport a lot of shirts from Europe and the
United States...without having a clue as to what they say in English.
This man's shirt was neon pink, and read on the front “Q: Which
girl does Jesus love?”...and on the back... “A: This girl”. I
had to use all my restraint to not reach for my camera and snap a
shot to share with you all. I also had to contain my laughter each
time he passed through the bus.
After
5 hours of transit we arrived safely, and our amazing weekend in
Kigali brought us to realize that it is a very complex city. On the
outside, Kigali is a Westerner's dream: nice restaurants, clean
streets, and hip clubs. But there is a lot more going on beneath the
surface. For example, the French are banned in Rwanda, due to their
funding of arms during the genocide for the Hutus, and the lack of
support shown by the French government after the event had subsided.
In connection, English is now the primary/first language taught in
school, and although French is widely used in Rwanda still today,
I've heard they only like to speak it with those who aren't native
French speakers (which, luckily for me, worked in my favor).
People
in Rwanda don't like to talk about the genocide, and the country is
doing everything it can to clean up its image and attract Westerners
(with money) to the area. For example, after the genocide subsided,
a mandatory “clean up” was established by the government. One
Saturday a month, from 8am-11am, every citizen was required to go
outside and clean something: their yard, their house, the street. At
that time, there were bodies littering the street and debris
scattered everywhere. Kigali still adheres to its once-a-month
cleaning strategy, and guards/policemen with rifles are posted on
every street corner...making sure you follow regulations.
In
another effort to create a “clean” look, Rwanda has recently
(apparently approx. 2 months ago) decided to stop funding orphanages.
They plan on closing all the orphanages in the country in the next
few months. Their plan? Find families for the children. With all
of the thousands upon thousands of orphaned children, this of course
will not happen, and most if not all will become street kids. This
policy is an example, in my opinion, that does not stray far from
many other policies and decision I have seen made so far in Africa.
Rash, quick decisions, with good intentions, backed by little or no
education or plan.
Out
of respect, we paid a visit to the genocide memorial in Kigali first
thing upon our arrival. Although of course difficult to stomach, it
is very well done and as the museum mentions, is an important
reminder of what happened and why we should never let something like
this happen again. There were many quotes that lined the walls of
the museum, but one struck me more than others: “After the
holocost, they said never again...did that not apply to us?” The
museum had tools on display that were used by the Hutus to kill and
torture the Tutsis, an entire room of human bones and remains, and a
separate “childrens” room with photos of kids killed during the
genocide, detailing how they lived their last moments. At this
museum/memorial site alone, 250,000 people are buried.
I
couldn't help but to look up from the displays every once in a while
and notice the people around me, visiting the museum and taking in
all the sites and horrors. Who were they? Was the woman next to me
the wife of a husband who had been beaten down to his demise with a
club? Was the man next to her a perpetrator from the Hutu clan who
was visiting the museum to educate himself and console his conscious?
There are a lot of tensions, unanswered questions and guilty parties
still wandering around Rwanda and the surrounding areas, and you
could certainly feel it at this time.
Apart
from the history and culture learned about during our visit, I also
learned a lot about myself. I had a perma smile on my face as I
sipped on my white chocolate mocha at the Burbon Cafe, as I attended
a fully catered holiday staff party (for Hilary's friend) in a 5-star
hotel and as I zipped around the city at night on the back of a
motorcycle. I had missed my Western pleasures and ways, and simply
being in a bustling, happening city was rejuvenating. Our 24
hour stop-over in Kigali revived my spirit and connected me with some
familiarity from the states....and Hilary & I are now determined
to move out and away from Murgwanza a bit more often. See more, do
more.
On
that note, I have been asked to represent WomenCraft at a holiday
craft fair (the Christmas Bazaar) in Arusha, Tanzania. Arusha is in
the Northern part of Tanzania, and is right near Kilamanjaro. I
didn't feel ready to make the trek by myself (it will be two days of
travel each way and a hefty bus ride with products), so I asked my
boss (Heidi) if Hilary could go with me. She obliged. We head that
way in about 5 days from now. If all goes as planned, we should have
internet that is reliable enough to Skype at our hostel...so I hope
to connect with some of you at that time! We'll be there starting
Nov. 29th and will return to Murgwanza on Dec. 3rd....when
Maxime, my good friend and our old exchange student from Newport,
will come to visit me (he is currently working in the DRC/Congo). I
can't wait!
This
weekend we have a professional in exports and design coming to visit
us here at WomenCraft – Mark with CBI – and I will be giving a
presentation on product design & development on behalf of our
organization. Wish me luck! I am hoping some great ideas and new
product lines come out of this meeting. I also hope Mark isn't messy
or smelly...because he will be staying with us at the retreat house.
Oh!
And one last thing. Thanksgiving. Shannon, Hilary & I, being
the three Americans here, decided it only right and proper that we
have a big Thanksgiving celebration and introduce the tradition to
all of our new local Ngara and other Westerner friends. Thursday
night we had approx. 30 people over at Heidi's house, and feasted
like I haven't eaten in months (I made sweet potato casserole, in
case you were wondering). We also made everyone – elders included
– make hand turkeys (you know, where you trace your hand on a piece
of paper and then decorate it/turn it into a turkey?) We lined the
wall with them, and it was pretty awesome how into it people got.
The most memorable and emotional part of the night however was
without a doubt after the meal when we each went around a said what
we were thankful for, and it was translated either from Swahili to
English or vice versa. As always during this time of the year, a
great reminder that we all, no matter where we come from, really do
have so much to be thankful for.
Thanks
for being in my life. Love you all. And will write more soon!
Happy
Holidays :) (and somebody send me a Christmas CD...stat!)
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