Rwanda baby, Rwanda!!

Bonjour de Rwanda!!

I have finally made it to the country of my dreams… believe it or not!! The only thing is that now I don’t know what country should be my new country of most desired arrival, strange how that works.

In any event, I love Rwanda, oh so very much. The bus ride was excruciatingly long. About 10 hours from Kyazanga which is about 5-6 hours closer to Rwanda then Kampala. Yeah, it was long. I’ve actually now moved to Kyazanga (yay!) and so this was just a quick trip so that it wouldn’t have to be made so close to the end of my time here or all the way from Kampala. Actually it’s worked out perfect because I’ve arrived the memorial week of the geonocide.

Currently I am sitting next to a doctor from doctors without borders. I love Doctors Without Borders and think that they and the red cross do some very real good work for others. This man is very friendly, although he is most obviously smelling of gin. Oh working for an NGO. Also, I was just pushily accosted by a man trying to sell me a sweater reading “Vancouver” across the front. I politely told him that I was from Vancouver and so was not interested in buying it. I thought it was pretty ironic.

Today I have visited the Kigali Memorial Center. Now, today has been a bum out day and so will be tomorrow and the next day. You will be described in full detail every distress I have felt today so I figured I’d start nicely….

Arrival into Kigali!
We arrived at night. Now Rwanda is quite safe so we weren’t too worried. We were told that “La Bellevie” is a good hostel to stay at at about 5000Frcs a night (about 10USD). It doesn’t get much cheaper. It isn’t a good hostel by any means, but it’s cheap. Upon second look at our East Africa travel guide my travel buddy Emma and I decided to opt for “Auberge de la Caverne.” Possibly a bit more expensive (5000-15000Frcs) but near by and nice sounding. We got there and found it was full. However the nice people told us to go to Castel Hotel. Now, this was in the Midrange area of the travel guide, something we couldn’t completely afford… But after a promise of a room for the next three nights at the Auberge, and a free lift to the Hotel we opted to go. We got a large room, with TV, Shower, Toilet and two beds… with a view and breakfast for only 11,000Frcs each. Okay, some of you might never have traveled in Africa, or traveled cheaply. Let me explain:
The Large Room:
I am currently sharing one room about half the size of my room at home with another woman. You need to slide sideways to get outside and there isn’t even room to sit or eat inside.
The TV:
I have not seen TV in one month. I don’t even have TV at home. I watched TV5 a very popular new chanel from France for about 2 hours… couldn’t believe it. Could NOT believe it. It was seriously a spoilage.
The Shower:
I have not experienced running water in a month and a half. This is much much. You never really get clean. This morning I had water come from a tap above my head. Miracles I say.
The Toilet:
Squatting may be a fun activity here and there when you are camping. However, we had a flushing toilet in our room. Actually in a separated bathroom; which in itself is amazing. It was actually almost nerve racking to have something to sit on… oh and which didn’t smell or have steam rising.
Breakfast and other food:
The short of the long is that Ugandan food is the most bland thing I have ever tasted; ever. I’m guessing the food in village Rwanda is the same. But I’ll be honest… the dinner and breakfast I have had so far were the most satisfying meals of my life.

Last night was a much needed night. I didn’t feel it was needed but I think it was. It was really nice to just be able to relax, have some good food, a nice shower and be in a city. A clean city, with very welcoming people… who surprisingly enough don’t try to rip you off…

Today I have moved to the cheaper hostel which includes all of this. It is very exciting. My friend has gone to do some hiking in Butare and I’m doing a blitz on all the memorials, which are, by the way… amazing.

Okay, so to begin the day I went to go buy bus tickets for me and my friends to get home on Thursday. As I was walking, alone, being a brave traveler with no idea really of what she was doing (I adore spontaneity) I began thinking to myself about how wonderful this is and how really in the scheme of things; I can do anything. Just as I’m thinking this, of course, in my clumsy nature; I trip. Hello embarrassing much?

I eventually make it to the Memorial museum. It is absolutely gorgeous. No pictures allowed but if you wanted to see, it has a website. I was so happy to be alone because I spent literally about 5 hours just reading and absorbing everything. The downstairs is all memorial stuff about the genocide. Life before, during, after. Survivor tales. It is a very professional appearing museum. So, after hours of just historical data (a lot shocking, sad, incomprehensible) you then enter a large room with a memorial sculpture. There are three other rooms to see. Not suspecting, I entered the first room. Then bombarded with hundreds and hundreds of pictures put up by family members of people who had died in the genocide, followed by a movie done by genocide survivors about their parents. Next room… Skulls, bones and a faint voice reading off names of those who had died. Many skulls are only half there or have large holes; showing where they victims were macheted. Already I had been very close to the verge of tears. In Africa however, you just don’t cry. Last room, clothing. I come to a T-Shirt… battered, blue, fading. It reads “Ottawa…. (heart) Canada” and then I just can’t hold it any longer. I cry and feel week wondering what child was wearing this when he or she was brutally murdered.

This is only the downstairs. Upstairs next, after a clean up trip to the bathroom. Upstairs you walk into a room now with many pictures of children who have died. The following rooms depict a large picture of a child, his or her name, and then short facts about them (favorite food, best friend, favorite toy, characteristic) but always ending with how he or she died. Machete, burned alive, shot, knife through eyes and then head, killed while in mothers arms. I completely fall apart and just bawl my eyes out. It was a very powerful and overwhelming display. Finally I went to the last section upstairs which is a memorial to all 5 genocides in the 20th century, and then the one in Namibia in the late 1800’s. Each one describe the horrid events and gives the reader a feel for the horror of genocide. All in all, this museum was a fantastic museum. I’m so glad I went. It was totally fantastic and really informative.

Then I had fries and tried to recover from the 5 hours of agonizingly terrifying facts. They were good and the people next to me were the five people featured in the film from survivors (probably visiting for the memorial week). I didn’t speak with them because they were laughing and didn’t really feel like bumming them out, but it was cool. To me these people are like celebrities. It’s sort of like getting to eat next to Angelina Jolie or something (although I’d be just as excited for that because she’s such an awesome humanitarian).

Tomorrow I’m going to two churches which have not been touched since the genocide. Then I will head into Gikongoro and Butare on Wednesday to see the national museum and the church where the bodies have been limed. It has been such an interesting day and I know the others will be just as good.

Also went to the Mille Collines hotel. I don’t know why but going next to the pool made me really emotional. Something dropped in my stomach. I took some pictures; it was beautiful but really touristy (and no plaques that I could see, which was disappointing).

All in all, I love Rwanda as much as I thought I would if not more. All the other volunteers had said really negative things about it and so I’m glad to be having fun. Now with the recovering from the day stage being almost done I’m debating going out to the bar for a night. Speak some French! Which, by the way, has been sincerely useful here as everyone in the city is educated and therefore speaks French!

Oh, also… can you say guilt trip by the western countries after the genocide? It is so developed here!! Really truly. The moment you get into Rwanda it’s a paved road. Paved road? How strange. It makes me glad to be in Uganda where they are so close to development yet still need a push. I wish so much that the genocide could have been stopped, and that western countries hadn’t felt so guilty as to donate so much. There’s even organized agriculture for goodness sakes!

So please take a moment this week and remember Rwanda. It’s tragic history, the failure of the west. Tell yourself it should never happen again and then learn about Darfur. We have to stop genocide.

Next week I’m off to live in Kyazanga. Very exciting. Now to be with some of Uganda’s most wonderful and needy kids. Adventures coming soon.