23 SEPTEMBER 2010 - Rwanda, the Land of a Thousand Hills
Rwanda must surely make any list of the world’s most beautiful countries. It is also a clear winner for the number of people waving at the ‘mzungu’ (white man) passing by in their flashy white Landcruiser. The people were welcoming and some of the most peaceful we’ve met. The roads are in great condition - the appreciation for which is heightened when you’re driving on the right hand side of the road.
Mobile coverage is omnipresent - a small fact I learnt as a Pommie’s phone started ringing whilst gorilla trekking in the remote north west region. An unforgettable experience, partly due to the gorillas and partly due to the US$500 payment for the right of visit ($350 last year and expected to increase to a cool $800 in 2011)! After a total of 4 hours of driving and 4 hours of trekking through a stunning bamboo forest complete with stinging nettles (not helpful when your visa expires that day resulting in a mad dash to the Ugandan border!), I was fortunate enough to reach Rwanda’s largest gorilla group, comprising 29 of the big guys. A massive Silverback, wishing to assert his dominance, strolled within arm’s length of our group. I’m convinced he perceived me as a threat to his extreme masculinity. I would too.
Rwanda must surely make any list of the world’s most beautiful countries. It is also a clear winner for the number of people waving at the ‘mzungu’ (white man) passing by in their flashy white Landcruiser. The people were welcoming and some of the most peaceful we’ve met. The roads are in great condition - the appreciation for which is heightened when you’re driving on the right hand side of the road.
Mobile coverage is omnipresent - a small fact I learnt as a Pommie’s phone started ringing whilst gorilla trekking in the remote north west region. An unforgettable experience, partly due to the gorillas and partly due to the US$500 payment for the right of visit ($350 last year and expected to increase to a cool $800 in 2011)! After a total of 4 hours of driving and 4 hours of trekking through a stunning bamboo forest complete with stinging nettles (not helpful when your visa expires that day resulting in a mad dash to the Ugandan border!), I was fortunate enough to reach Rwanda’s largest gorilla group, comprising 29 of the big guys. A massive Silverback, wishing to assert his dominance, strolled within arm’s length of our group. I’m convinced he perceived me as a threat to his extreme masculinity. I would too.
RWANDA DIARIES
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Rwanda has come a long way. Just 16 years ago, it endured one of the worst genocides in recent history. Of the 8 million people, approximately 1 million were slaughtered for ‘Hutu Power’ in 100 days of insanity. The Rwandan capital of Kigali was littered with rotting corpses as ‘ethnic cleansing’ was enacted upon the minority Tutsi. Murder took place in the most horrific manner: bludgeoned with clubs, hacked with machetes, shot with bullets, beaten to death, drowned in septic tanks, achilles tendons severed to prevent escape. Mass graves are spread right across the country. A trip to Gikongoro in Rwanda’s south led us to a Memorial where bodies had been preserved with the use of lime. The reality of the massacre hits you head on when confronted with the corpses of so many victims - some still wearing the clothes they died in, some with wedding rings on their fingers, some still with their hair, and thousands of bodies of children with extreme fear preserved on their faces in death. 50,000 alone died at Gikongoro, one of the many centres of atrocity throughout an otherwise stunning country.
Now, they say, the country is simply populated by Rwandans, not Hutu and Tutsi (and Tua). Hopefully the unifying psyche translates to a unified Rwanda. So far, so good.
MR
Now, they say, the country is simply populated by Rwandans, not Hutu and Tutsi (and Tua). Hopefully the unifying psyche translates to a unified Rwanda. So far, so good.
MR