My Arrival in Kigali

31^st May – 1st June

 

I was tired. It had been a whirlwind past few days. I had flown to Amsterdam from my hometown Montreal in Canada and a few days later I rode in to Brussels by train. In comparison to the vibrant and bright city of Amsterdam, Brussels was drab and filled with tourists in fancy restaurants next to even fancier old buildings. It made me even more tired and disoriented. The flight took 7 hours and it was not until the warm air of Kigali hit my face that I truly realized I was here: I was in Africa. Rwanda will be my home for the next two months as I intern for Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International. It is my duty to record what I find and let the outside world know how the program works.

 

When I arrived at the office, I was greeted by Dr. Alecia Lilly who is the V. P. of Africa Programs.  With a warm greeting and an even warmer smile, she immediately made me feel at home. I’ve never been so at ease in a foreign country before and I slept easily that night.

 

Normally I am an early riser but the travelling had taken its toll and I woke up only an hour before my tour. After a nice breakfast, my tour guide, William showed up to escort me around town.  He pointed out all that may be of interest to me. Every now and then I would see a construction site, which was evidence of a country still in the process of rebuilding itself. A million people live in Kigali and I couldn’t imagine how the city must have looked before the genocide.  Everywhere you looked there would be a motorbike taxi ready to transport you where you needed to go past the billboards that were reproductions of traditional art made from chalk, charcoal and cow dung. It’s a Sunday today and since the majority of the populace is Catholic or born-again Christians, most people are off to church.

 

William pointed out a building on a nearby hill with a black roof: That was the genocide memorial. Not only is understanding the genocide essential to my stay here but it is also essential to understand the people. The Rwandans people had been unified under one culture and language. It was not until the colonial powers came that a socio-economic divide was defined.  The classification by Belgians of who was a Hutu and who was a Tutsi would forever change the way Rwandan society functioned.  I was introduced to Serge who showed me around the memorial. The place was calm and peaceful which was in stark contrast to the reality of its symbolism. Beautiful gardens surrounded the mass graves where victims were given a proper burial. After the tour, I thanked Serge for his time and continued on my journey.

 

William drove me to meet Mika and her daughter Rachel for lunch. Mika is someone I am going to be working with a lot and I’m glad that is so. She and Rachel were great fun to meet and talk to. Rachel is an intelligent and well behaved girl who I became fast friends with. I work a lot with kids and have, as a result, quite a few opinions on what constitutes a good parent… which is arrogant, I know. At any rate, the way Mika behaves with her daughter is the ideal mother-daughter relationship. She encourages curiosity and guides her in a way that allows Rachel to retain her independence. I look forward to spending many a day with these two.