Bienvenue au Rwanda!

Tonight, we got to Kigali, Rwanda.

The past few days have been crazy. Yesterday we visited a refugee camp in southern Uganda where we spoke to some Rwandese (Rwandan?) refugees. They were eager to tell us their stories. It was particularly interesting because they are the people whose stories are not told, who have been labeled as perpetrators even though many of them have suffered and continue to suffer. The visit were incredible in that they challenged so many of my previously held assumptions - it not only challenged my notion of what a refugee settlement is like (it was pretty much like a small town, with markets and stores - even though half the things around us either had the USA or UNHCR logos on it). The visit also challenged my whole perception of Rwandan society and the genocide. It sort of goes to show that the little we understand of any conflict around the world is so insignificant. All that really matters are the personal stories of those on the ground. Whether or not their facts are right is irrelevant. Whether or not the international community interacts is irrelevant. All that matters is that these people have real scars, real stories, and real family members that they have lost. The fact that the world has labeled "them" as perpetrators borders on the absurd. Even something like a genocide, that we outsiders see as so black and white, is far from being so.

After members of the community shared their stories with us, we had the opportunity to walk around the camp a little with one member of the community and just talk to them. It was pretty interesting. The guy we were with had been in the camp since 2006 and had fled because he was a member of the opposition. He kept saying "this is war." He implied that the regime here would not change peacefully, and that "war" was the only way to change anything. "I'm not going to stay here for ever. It's only a matter of time before things change." It's a scary thought, but what else could he do? I'm not condoning war or violence or anything, but what are his options?
I guess what this visit made me realize is that the broader picture doesn't matter. All that really matters, and all that will really have an impact on world events are stories like this man's - he doesn't want to spend the rest of his life in a refugee settlement in Uganda - it's as simple as that. Broader implications don't matter to him. His story matters to him.
We also briefly met a man who told us that he had gone back to Rwanda, and along with 12 members of his family was arrested by the gacaca courts because his parents had been accused of genocide. He was the only one to have survived.

Today we start our Rwandan (Rwandese?) adventure. We drove past the Hotel des Milles Collines (Hotel Rwanda) on our way back from dinner. This is real. I think this place is so scary because I know I've seen every one of these streets on TV, in documentaries, in movies. And I know in what context I've seen these streets.
Tomorrow we start our lectures. I'm excited to delve into this whole thing more, although it remains a very sensitive topic here so it will be interesting to see to what extent we have to tiptoe around the subject with our homestay families. We go to our new homes in a couples of days, where we will stay for two weeks.

I'm excited and nervous. But I can't wait. I've wanted to come to Rwanda for so long and I'm finally here. It's crazy. I fell in love with Uganda so much, I just hope I do the same with Rwanda.

The drive down here was incredible. They call it the Switzerland of Africa, and it really is. It basically looks like Switzerland, but more lush and with banana trees. It's amazing. As we drove through south Uganda, the scenery just got more and more incredible. We had to walk across the border, which was really fricken fun, and our hour and a half drive to Kigali was breathtaking. Google image this place. It's so beautiful.