BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

It is now two weeks since we left Ndola on “Our Great Migration” and already we have seen some impressive sights. We have managed to successfully cross four borders, albeit with lots of frustration in the lack of speed, directions and general “no one knows what they are doing” that comes with crossing borders in this part of Africa. Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya are supposed to offer a 3 way visa system where you can obtain the visa for all three countries at the first border you enter. What we found at both Rwanda, our first crossing into these three, and then into Uganda is “they do it but not at this border post” Oh well, we just bought a new visa at each border. Anyway I digress as this blog is supposed to be about Rwanda as we have just spent almost a week there.

THE BEAUTY

Rwanda is a beautiful Central African country, very small and very mountainous. It is called “La Pays des Milles Collines” or the country of 1000 hills and they are not joking. From the time we crossed from the dusty tracks of Tanzania to the extremely good tarmac roads of Rwanda, the road twisted and turned, up over and through the lush green hills towards the capital Kigali.

Very soon after we are up to around 2500 metres on a ridge, before dropping back down into the valleys. The towns and villages we pass look quite modern with a lot of new buildings such as schools and hospitals. The other thing that is striking is how clean the country is. Plastic carrier bags are completely banned here and in fact at the border the police search each car looking for hidden ones. Rubbish is not thrown everywhere as it seems to be in Zambia but collected and disposed of. It is the same for the cities, but here lots of building and regeneration is going on. Kigali is having a lot of money spent. new roads are built, old areas cleared and a lot of new modern buildings are being built.

Rice fields in one of the valleys

Looking at Downtown Kigali through the trees

Kigali from the Amphitheatre

Lunch at Hotel Mille Colline

This hotel was the inspiration for the film Hotel Rwanda

High on a ridge

After a few days in Kigali where we stayed in a small but very good Step Town Motel just off the city centre, we headed north to the Parc des Volcans and the high mountains and volcanos to do some walking in the hills. Again it was so clean and clear with banana plantations on the lower slopes with potatoes and fields of Pymethreum growing as an insecticidal crop. At one time Jan and I were contemplating trekking to the Gorillas in Rwanda as we had trekked to them in Uganda back in 2006. We were undecided as the cost in Rwanda was $750 each and $600 in Uganda. Just as we were about to book our mind was certainly made up when Rwanda doubled the price for a permit overnight to $1500 each so Ugandan Gorillas it is then. What we did see though were rare and beautiful Golden Monkeys that are endemic to these mountains.

Volcanoes in Parc des Volcans

Walking in the Bamboo Forest

From the hills

Golden Monkeys

Fields of Pyrethrum

Cultural dancing

THE BEAST

Some of you may remember reading about the terrible events of 1994, when the majority Hutus embarked on a pre planned “Final Solution” to eliminate the Tutsi tribe. After 100 horrendous days, when previously peaceful people embarked on a killing spree that could not be imagined, The atrocities happened over the whole country where neighbours killed neighbours, friends killed friends and even children as young as 10 have been prosecuted for acts of violence. People took refuge in churches and schools only for some priests and nuns to inform the out of control killing mobs of locations. Peace only came to the country when the Tutsi rebel RPF led by Paul Kagame, the current Prime Minister, methodically took control of the country. Over 1 million Tutsis and moderate Hutus had been killed and the corpses left where they were. Today bodies are still being found and buried in the mass graves with many to each coffin.

Jan and I spent some of our time in Rwanda visiting the National Genoside Museum in Kigali as well as locations where some of the worst atrocities took place. It was a very sobering time trying to understand how “mankind” can act in this manner.

A tiny few of the names on a memorial wall

A church where atrocities took place

Looking into one of the mass burial chambers, Each coffin contains the remains of many people

The original church doors blown apart by grenades

Many hundreds were killed in here

weapons used for killings

This church has much damage and many were killed

This Sunday School room was used in the killing of many children. The staining on the walls is blood 

Whilst in Rwanda there was a very peaceful election, and Paul Kagame was re elected, for the third time, as Prime Minister after polling over 98% of the vote.

Today the country seems to be stable and peaceful and talking to survivors of both sides it looks as if many have forgiven others for what happened and are concentrating on making Rwanda a modern successful country. Rwanda now has a really fantastic low corruption rating, much better than that of some European Nations and investment is pouring in especially from the International Community, who stood by and allowed the genocide to happen.

Hopefully for such a beautiful country, Rwanda can put the “Beast” behind it. It (and the World as they can take some of the blame for standing by and doing nothing) can never forget and move forward.