Rwanda!

"We cannot turn the clock back nor can we undo the harm caused, but we have the power to determine the future and to ensure that what happened never happens again" - Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda

I am the first to admit that I've never really cared much for current events. I don't follow (or even really understand) politics. I hated social studies class in school growing up. It just never really interested me. Now I find myself sincerely regretting that lack of interest. I seem to have tapped into this deep desire inside of me to understand EVERYTHING I possibly can about Africa and the issues and politics and events of this struggling nation. So much of it goes over my head because I just never built the basic framework of knowledge I need to understand what is going on around me.

In an attempt to play catch-up on the concepts I've never grasped, I've been spending hours every day reading and learning and trying to get a hold on some of these crazy concepts swirling around me: capitalism, micro-finance, government structure, communism, socialism, democracy, genocide...The list goes on and on. Don't get me wrong, while I have an idea of what each thing entails, it's certainly not engrained in my head.

I've been learning so much about Kenya on a daily basis, through newspapers and keeping my ears peeled at all times, and it's just made me want to learn about all of the countries I keep hearing about on a daily basis: Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland...the list goes on and on. I decided that as a way to broaden my horizons, I would research a different country for an hour or two each day. At that rate, I would have enough time to research at last the sub-Saharan countries before the end of the summer, and would hopefully go home with at least a base understanding of the current situation in this part of the world.

My first day, I spent a few hours learning about Swaziland. It wasn't too interesting, so I moved on to Rwanda, which absolutely captured my heart. I spent probably five straight hours reading about Rwanda's history, with an intense focus on the genocide which occured in 1994.

There are two main tribes in Rwanda: the Tutsis and the Hutus. Essentially, they've been conflicted for many many years. In 1994, over the course of 100 days, Hutu extremists (back by the Rwandan government, police force and military) killed a million Tutsis. Men, women, and children were slaughtered in a completely senseless bloodbath that eliminated a huge part of the Tutsi population. If you break it down, 10 000 people were killed a day, 400 an hour, SEVEN PEOPLE EVERY MINUTE. It is absolutely chilling and horrifying, and so very unjustified. The Hutus killed at a rate five times faster than the Nazis during the Halocaust. It's truly enough to make you sick. A tenth of the Rwandan people died in just 100 days.

I got the most phenominal book from the bookstore, its called "Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda". It's written by Lt.Gen. Romeo Dallaire, a Canadia solider who was the Force Commander of the UN mission in Rwanda during the genocide. The UN has been blamed for not doing enough to stop the carnage, and Dallaire is the first to admit that the UN failed the people of Rwanda. The book is hailled as the most accurate eye-witness account of the genocide, and while its a really heavy read, I would strongly recommend it. While Dallaire is quick to point out the UN's failings, he doesn't do so without also remarking times when he too could have chosen a smarter path of action.

After doing all of this reading, I was filled with an overwhelming urge to visit Rwanda, which has turned 180 degrees in the past 15 years. It is undergoing rapid development, and is trying to evolve from an agriculture-based economy to a knowledge-based economy. The current president, Paul Kagame, has been credited with turning Rwanda into "Africa's Success Story". It is now safe for tourists, and nicknamed "Land of 1000 Hills", is supposedly an aboslutely beautiful country.

Last night I was over for a visit with Hans, Amanda, Shelby and Heather. (I don't know if I mentioned before, Shelby and Heather came on the Trinity Western University Study Tour, and when the rest of the students went home, they stayed for a few more weeks. As a matter of fact, neither of them acutally go to TWU, they go to SFU and UBC, kind of beside the point I guess....). We got talking about books and what we were all reading, and I got talking about "Shake Hands with the Devil", and how I can't stand the fact that I'm so close to Rwanda, and I'm not going to make it there. Somehow, I made some joke about how if anyone had a few spare days, I would be happy to pop over to Rwanda with them to see the sights, and Shelby acutally said she would be able to.

We talked it over for a good hour or so, and realized this plan actually had some potential. The more we reasoned it out, it would be insane NOT to go. We can get flights for a reasonable price, and hotels and transport in Kigali (the capital city) are very inexpensive. We checked the International Travel Warnings to ensure that it was safe for us to go, and found that it's seemingly safer than Kenya. Admittedly, we'll have to exercise the same amount of caution as we do here, but overall, it seems like we can put this plan into action.

I came to work this morning knowing that getting time off from work is the only hurdle I'd be facing to make this little mini-vacation happen. Luckily, this is practically the greatest job in the world, and Jacques was totally fine with me taking a week off, and acutally spend some time telling me about things to do in Kigali. The awesomest part: he's going to put me in contact with the Rwanda Scouts Association, and that will help tie this in with what I'm doing at the ARO. I'll be able to go to the office and introduce myself and spend some time there in an official capacity as well!

So the long and short of it is, IM GOING TO RWANDA! We will be there from August 3rd-7th. The top priority is definitely the Kigali Genocide Memorial Center, which is an incredibly inspirational museum/memorial dedicated to the 1 174 000 Rwandans who lost their lives during the 100 day slaughter. As well, we will be able to visit "Hotel Mille Collines", which was the location featured in the movie "Hotel Rwanda" (which I still have never seen!!!!). You can also go to a church about half an hour out of town where a huge mass slaughter of 10 000 occured, and where there is still piles of bloody clothes and shelves of skeletons, serving to remind people of just how real this crisis really was.

This trip certainly won't be about fun and sunshine and laughter, and I'm totally ok with that. The things we'll see will certainly make us think, and cry, and feel ashamed for how the citizens of the world failed the people of Rwanda just 15 short years ago. However, it feels amazing to find this passion, and to care so much about learning and understanding what really happened in Rwanda. If people don't try to understand why such atrocities take place, we can be assured that they will happen again. In the Darfur region of Sudan, the same thing is happening right now. When will the global community finally take a stand and care enough for one another to ensure that these acts of evil end?