Kigali

5 – 6 December 2011

A couple of days in Kigali left us deep in thought, harassed, well-fed and ready to find some peace and quiet! In the midst of an extremely neat and well-run country is a capital that is in many ways very similar to most other capital cities we have visited in Africa so far. Rwanda is known as “the land of a thousand hills”, which is an incredibly apt description as in every direction there are mountains and hills as far as the eye can see – Kigali being no different. The hilly city is home to thousands of crazy motorbike taxi’s who seem to be trying to get themselves killed at every turn and have no regard for the rules of the road. This, coupled with traffic circles and minibus taxi’s and no road signs, (while driving on the left-hand side of the road and with the awareness that our insurance doesn’t cover our car in Rwanda!), made for an exciting couple of days in the city…

On our way to the city on the first day, we took a detour past two genocide memorial sites – churches which had been shelters for victims during the genocide, and the same place where they met their violent and tragic deaths. The churches have been preserved as they were found in 1994, complete with bullet holes in the roofs, victims clothing and personal items and skeletal remains telling the stories of how the victims died. At the first church we were met by a guide who told us (in graphic detail) about that particular site, which was utterly barbaric and completely disturbing. At the end of the afternoon we found out that he was a genocide survivor, who hid in the nearby swamps during the attacks and lost his entire family and homestead during that time. He was incredibly inspiring in the way he believes that the best revenge for the past is to make a success of his life, which he is doing through rebuilding his family home and studying towards a degree. It was a sobering afternoon.

The following morning we did what we needed to in town and then went to Bourbon café for a couple of hours of strong coffee and free wifi and again felt connected to the world. For the second time during this trip we regretted only having a MasterCard and not Visa as we had to go into the Bank of Kigali head office to withdraw cash which came through as a Rands to Belgian Euros to Rwandan Francs transaction, no doubt incurring plenty of transaction fees and terrible exchange rates at all stages! A Visa card would have allowed us to withdraw straight from an ATM so we sent many curses Standard Bank’s way that morning!

The afternoon was spent at the Kigali Genocide Museum which once again was gruelling but very well put together and educational. We came away astounded by the progress we have seen in this country and the way that a society of which 99% witnessed violence during the genocide and the vast majority lost family members, continues to function and develop. We also felt a real burden from being part of the international community who had the capacity and means to put the horror to a swift end yet did nothing to help. Sobering and tragic.

Real pizza!