Crossing borders

An advanced apology for the lack of photos in this post, but we have not had time to upload them.

Our journey to Rwanda was less straightforward than expected. I had organized for our driver to take us from Kampala to Fort Portal, into the mountains, and down to Kigali. This had been arranged nearly 3 weeks before departure from Kampala. We left our Kisoro hotel Friday morning for Kigali with every intention of traveling with our driver into Rwanda. Unfortunately, our driver did not travel with the registration of his vehicle and so the car could not continue into Rwanda.

In the end, our driver spoke to his boss and they decided they would negotiate for someone else to take us the rest of the way in Rwanda. After much debate over price, as the money for this new driver would come out of the original driver's pay, someone agreed to take us. During the negotiations, Nathan and I tried to clear immigration. Despite my compulsive planning, it seems I planned too early for this side trip to Rwanda. Since I have left Canada, they changed the rules and now Canadian citizens need visas to enter Rwanda. Ideally, these visas are to be applied for ahead of time. Luckily, the customs officer believed us when we said we didn't know we needed the 60$ visas, and allowed us to buy them on the spot. A little black market currency exchange of shillings to dollars later, we had visas and were ready to go. Of course, the new vehicle wouldn't arrive for another 45 minutes.

The nice thing about the drive though, was that Rwanda has amazing roads compared to Uganda. There are no potholes, roads are mostly paved, and the views were gorgeous as we navigated the mountains en route for Kigali. We were also introduced to Congolese music and Rwandans' love for an African version of reggae.

Once in Kigali, we checked into our hotel and went to the King Faisal Hospital to meet a surgery resident for an interview. King Faisal was a fairly modern, private hospital despite the age and history of the building. In 1994, the entrance to this hospital was littered with genocide victims seeking help.

While waiting for the resident, we experienced their private pharmacy system. I needed a tensor bandage for my ankle. After visiting two different counters, the pharmacy staff found what I was looking for. We were then directed back upstairs to the cashier to pay. The cashier was closed. Go to reception, we were told. We waited in line here for 10 minutes, paid, then back down to the pharmacy to pick up the bandage. We had spent only a dollar, but it was a lot of work!

Jean-Paul, a 3rd year surgery resident found me in the entrance of the hospital. After the interview and a brief explanation of the health care system in Rwanda, he walked with us part of the way home. Rwandans have so much pride about their city: Its safety, its cleanliness, its calm as opposed to the hustle in the rest of East Africa, its president, and its progress since the genocide. These sentiments resonated throughout many other people we met in our few days here.

That night we sampled the local food specialty of "brochettes" and many local beers. It was quite yummy, though we had to get used to the inflated prices compared to Uganda. Saturday we took it easy, for once. After breakfast, we visited the tourist office to see about a walking tour of the city. We couldn't join one the same day, but they scheduled us one for Sunday morning. We then went to the Hotel des Milles Collines. This is the hotel the movie "Hotel Rwanda" is based on, however this is not the original building or site. The posh hotel has a pool with bar we lounged in for a few hours. It was hard to imagine the genocide happening in this very spot, while we sat, beers in hand, enjoying the view of Kigali's many lush, green hills.

That evening we tried walking to our restaurant for dinner. Kigali streets are not marked and we got extremely lost. Luckily, a stranger took pity on us and showed us the way. The city, even at night, is quite safe we are told. As of sunset, the army lines the streets. Residents feel security in this even though they technically aren't needed anymore. Though I think for some, walking by men in camouflage with AK47s at every intersection might be unsettling. An hour later, we were seated for a pricey but delicious meal and more local beers, with a view of Kigali below us at night.

Today was sobering to say the least. Our tour guide, a Tutsi of 26 years old, took us around the sites of Kigali with stops at each genocide museum and memorial. It is no longer acceptable to differentiate between the tribes in Rwanda, so Amani never actually told us he was Tutsi, but it was clear he and his family had been persecuted less than 20 years ago from his stories and telling of the recent history.

Nathan and I shed many tears walking through memorial sites, listening to personal stories, and to the horrors of so little time ago. We also felt guilty about the international community's involvement in the creation of, and at times, participation in the genocide, as well as their inaction in trying to arrest the atrocities once they started. Since colonial times, the Belgians and Germans had been playing the Hutus and Tutsis against each other for no valid reason at all, except to "occupy" them while they advanced their own colonial agendas. Since before their independence in 1962, Rwandans had been fighting each other. Many massacres and even one genocide occurred, reduced the number of Tutsis bit by bit. No one outside of Rwanda took notice. Not until it was too late and over 1 million Tutsis had  been brutally murdered in 3 months of 1994. Today, under the reign of President Kagame, Hutus and Tutsis are learning to live alongside each other and try to forgive each others' offenses. The children here, now adults, are some of those who suffered the most but they push on to make their country a safe place to live once again.

In less than 16 years, the country has grown considerably. Kigali is the cleanest city in East Africa. Its infrastructure has developed rapidly and surpassed that of its neighbours. Its safety and security are miles above some of its neighbours, particularly the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Burundi. And most importantly, its people seem to be recovering and growing. It is very moving, motivating, and heart-wrenching all at once. Nathan and I are left wondering how can we prevent this from happening again? We can't even come close to an answer. This is how we leave Kigali, and Africa. Oddly, we head to Belgium now, perhaps the instigator of this whole nightmare.

Nonetheless, I am leaving Africa with a feeling of hope. The people here do want change, even if their governments are not always supportive. And there is so much room for change in Africa. I hope my findings from this trip and my research will enable Africans to gain some ground in their attempt to better their health care and well being, even if only in a small way. I hope my links with people here will last, and will lead to more opportunities for me to collaborate with them.

Finally, I hope you all enjoyed this blog and did not tire of the rambling. Thank you for all your support and I look forward to seeing you at home.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year if I do not see you before then!

Love, Maryse