Rwanda

After Christmas we went on a trip to Rwanda because we needed to renew our visas. It also gave us an excuse to have a short holiday and explore the country. Rwanda is a small country which borders Uganda, Tanzania, Congo and Burundi. The main thing we were told before we went was that it is very hilly... which is true! But we also discovered that it is very clean, quite western, and the people are very friendly although speak mainly Rwandese and French. In terms of it being western, the roads were actual roads (no dirt tracks or potholes), there were pavements, street lights, buses rather than crazy taxis, western shops and western food, like burgers, pizza, sandwiches, chips... the list goes on. Unsurprisingly then, we really enjoyed our time in Rwanda! We stayed in a 'youth hostel' but it was more like a hotel, and it was very international with travellers from many different countries staying there. We had a relaxing time, chilling and also exploring a bit of Kigali. We ate out at some delicious restaurants, and it felt like a proper holiday which really helped us to unwind after a busy term.

Chilling in the hostel

Mexican burrito bar!

Eating out at Simba's

On a more serious note, one of the most interesting and important (though very sad) things we saw in Rwanda was a genocide memorial site. As I'm sure most of you know in 1994 there was a genocide in Rwanda which is estimated to have caused the deaths of about 1 million people. The memorial site was very well done and provided a lot of information about the history of the country, before and after the genocide. It described how the colonial takeover, first by the Germans and then the Belgians, caused serious ethnic divisions between the two tribes - the Tutsis and the Hutus. The colonial masters introduced identity cards and thought that Tutsis were superior to Hutus. These tribal divisions intensified as the century progressed for various other reasons, until the death of the Rwandan President in a plane crash sparked the horrific genocide in April 1994. The genocide was mostly carried out by the majority Hutus against the minority Tutsis. It is estimated that about 70% of the entire Tutsi population of Rwanda were killed. This event is so shocking that I couldn't believe I had barely any idea about it until now. Even at the time of the genocide there was no intervention by the western powers. The only force fighting for peace was the Tutsi RPF. In July 1994 the RPF captured Kigali and the government which had implemented the genocide, fell. This brave resistance ended the slaughter of innocent people and amazingly advocated for peace and reconciliation rather than revenge.

Our visit to the memorial site was very worthwhile and thought-provoking. I was really impressed with the whole site and how they promoted peace as well as awareness to stop such an atrocity from happening again.