- Dian Fossey
"In their greatest hour of need, the world failed the people of Rwanda".
- Kofi Annan
* To support the Gorillas check out: http://www.gorillafund.org/support/donate.php
* To learn more about the 1994 Genocide check out: http://www.kigalimemorialcentre.org/old/index-2.html
Arriving at the packed border we waved goodbye to the 9 Ugandans we had shared the tiny car with (including 2 wily men that jumped on bikes to ride around a police check and re-enter the car) and walked into Rwanda.
Growing up in Canada the Rwandan crises was a news story that filled our teenage years. Since then we've read several books and had a keen interest in the country. The excitement of walking into a country that had been so "far off" and "exotic" as a youngster was humbling. We are very fortunate to have these opportunities.
As we packed into the nearest minibus we weaved through the towering, terraced hills that characterise this immensly populated country. Not an inch seemed spared as the fields were being worked with hoes and machetes the entire 3 hour journey from the border to Kigali.
We must mention the inevitable unease that accompanies being in a country so soon after a tragedy as occured here 14 years ago. Although we both knew it was foolish, you could not help but look around at anyone over the age of 25 and think they either did something terrible, saw something terrible or were forced to live through something terrible. Of course, these thoughts soon passed but the reality of those events still filled everyday. From the accused genocidaires in the pink prison uniforms working the streets to the horrific injuries people were walking around with, you couldn't help but be affected.
That being said, the county's current slogan is "WE are Rwanda" and they seem to be living by it. Presently citizens are picking up ID cards that do not distinguish between "Hutu" and "Tutsi" but merely "Rwandan". The aid dollars are pouring in and from the outside looking in the progress is stunning. Above all there seems hope despite the tragedy.
Arriving in Kigali we walked the streets reliving the stories we have heard. The city is remarkably French, extremely organized and almost European in its atmosphere. A world away from its neighbours it is an entirely different "Africa". A long afternoon of struggling up the hills of the city we ended with a beer at the pool of the Hotel Mille-Collines (Hotel Rwanda). Being little more than a decent hotel, with a garden and tall hedge its hard to picture this as a scene of such heroism.
The following day was spent at the Genocide Museum in Kigali. It is very well done and presents the tragedy as respectfully as posisble. During our visit a group of visiting Rwandans around our age walked with us. As we all walked on many became overwhelmed with the awful images and stories on display. The screams and tears of these young people was heart wrenching. Living through the death of their nation and now reliving it through this museum is a feeling very few can ever empathize with.
A few days spent in the surrounding towns later we had both a better perspective on daily Rwandan life and a bad haricut (at least I did). While waiting for a bus that was coming "soon" I thought it a good idea to get my haircut in the street. Sure enough there was a willing participant and he assured me through hand signals that he knew what he was doing. I walked out with a shaved head and only the bottom half of my beard intact. The crowd approved but I wasn't setting Tina's heart ablaze with my new look. Fairly ugly fella.
Eventually we made our way to the North East of Rwanda and the hills made famous by Dian Fossey's "Gorillas in the Mist". After getting to the staging post we set out with 8 others, our guide, two soldiers and a "trail blazer" (dude with a machete). We tracked the gorillas for 3 hours through the thisk mist until we came to a clearing and saw the magnificent animals. We were surrounded by the 39 members of the Suza family. We spent the most speechless, unreal hour of our lives watching the movements of our hairy cousins. They are truly without peer.
This family is the largest in the region and includes four 400lb silverbacks, two twin babies and "Poppy" from Dian Fossey's research. No words I can write can approach describing them so instead we will fill these pages with their images. It was an honor to visit them.
This family is the largest in the region and includes four 400lb silverbacks, two twin babies and "Poppy" from Dian Fossey's research. No words I can write can approach describing them so instead we will fill these pages with their images. It was an honor to visit them.
Having spent several days in Rwanda we met many interesting aid workers, researchers, an old friend and people trying to "make a difference". These people are doing wonderful things but it is the Rwandans themselves that have made the biggest difference. They are Rwanda.
From here we made a mad dash towards our final destination of the summer - the white sands of Zanzibar.
