and the most improved award goes to...

“Are you crazy? You are just asking to get kidnapped by going to Rwanda. They kill people in Rwanda.” I won’t attribute this quote to a particular person, mostly because there wasn’t just one. SEVERAL people upon hearing about the adventures in Africa I had planned chose to pass on this peril of wisdom. It actually got to the point where I was a little nervous…those fears were quickly dissipated upon arriving in this tiny, landlocked country, and all preconceived notions were shattered within a few hours.

Today I am not writing about a misadventure or blunder, although I had my share of those in this country, I am writing today to tell you about this unique locale. Rwanda has had more than its share of problems in the past 20 years or so, and that is saying it mildly. It’s easy now to sit back and look at the chronology of events that lead to the 1994 and predict that a violent end was imminent. Hindsight critique is always easy. One man, General Romeo Dallaire, the Canadian United Nations Force Commander in Rwanda at the time actually predicted it before it occurred. His attempts to stop the genocide both before it started and during its 100 day course are well documented, but were sadly discarded at the time.

We had the opportunity to wander through the genocide museum in Kigali; it was here that I learnt probably the most disturbing aspect of this genocide. It was not the number of dead (over 800,000) or the horrible torture methods used…it was that the genocide was planned. When I say this, I mean planned in the same way you would organize a wedding, right down to rehearsals. Who plans genocide? How does the world stand by and let this happen?

The issues before, during and after are too complex for a simple girl like me. To their credit; France, Belgium, the United States and the United Nations have all stepped up and publically announced how their actions at the time contributed to an increasing number of dead Tutsis and pro-peace Hutus. Bill Clinton stated in an interview given years later that he believes 5,000 US troops could have saved 500,000 Rwandans. Over 2,000 women and children were slaughtered in a school when the Belgium peacekeepers guarding it walked away after a change in orders – the Hutu were standing by, drinking and cheering their departure. The examples go on and on. Anyway, it seems like any country could have done something, and no country did.

The truly sad part is that the effects of the genocide are not over. Thousands of women raped during those 100 days were infected with HIV. The first Congo war started a few months after the influx thousands of Tutsis…the country remains war torn to this day.

I had actually intended this to be a positive piece, but I think that knowing a small snippet of their history will give you a greater appreciation of what I am about to share.

I grew up with a wall full of ‘Participation’ and ‘Most Improved’ ribbons. As a kid, I viewed these as failures, always wishing for that first place ribbon that went to kids that made it look so effortless. ‘Most Improved’ in my mind was a polite way of saying, “nice try loser”. As I so often type, I was wrong. ‘Most improved’ is commemorating the vast strides that one makes, and it is a ribbon that I feel should be pinned on Rwanda.

Less than 15 years ago their world was undergoing one of the worst genocides in modern history, today Rwanda sits poised to be an African leader on both the environmental and technological fronts.

It’s a lofty goal, especially since the country still suffers from lower levels of literacy, poverty and education, but the aim is that all children attending school will be issued a laptop by 2020. This computer will be able to access the internet through the wifi system that they are working to implement through all the cities (I saw them laying cable with my own two eyes!). The One Laptop Per Child program is just one to the initiatives that President Paul Kagame’s government has implemented.

My personal favourite is the country wide ban on plastic bags. No plastic bags anywhere – I met one guide who once was caught with a plastic bag…he was sentenced on the spot to pick up trash for 4 hours…and place it in his bag. There really isn’t that much garbage to pick up though because of Nationwide Clean Up days – they are on Fridays. A nation where everyone tidies up once a week makes for a very attractive, and environmentally sound, countryside. Their commitment to ‘green’ is also seen in their strides to develop alternative energy sources in the areas of solar power, hydropower, biogas and methane gas.

Rwanda is striving to catch up to their more popular East African neighbours in the tourism arena. Although there are only 3 countries in the world where trekking the mountain gorillas is possible, and one of these is the war torn Congo, Rwanda lacks significantly behind Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Botswana in tourism numbers and dollars. I was impressed that these strides to improve tourism were not at the expense of the animals involved; the gorillas are definitely recognized as a commodity but were treated by all with the utmost reverence. My guide for both the Gorilla and Golden Monkey trek was a Rwandan native named Patience. Patience was fantastic and spent much time answering my questions about Rwanda, he was a proud man who wanted me to go out and encourage others to come and visit his country.

I cannot seem to come up with the right words to end this…so I will turn to the quotes of others…

“Rwanda has the best of Africa for your family and friends. We have the Gorillas here in Parc National des Volcans, the chimpanzees can be trekked in Nyungwe national park and you can find the Big 5 in Akagera National Park. Please tell them…come to Rwanda.” – Patience

“It didn’t happen under my administration. It happened under me.” - Former US President, Bill Clinton

“Please, come to my house for tea.” – a stranger I met in the streets of Ruhengeri

“The dead of Rwanda accumulated at nearly three times the rate of Jewish dead during the Holocaust. It was the most efficient mass killing since the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.” – US journalist Philip Gourevitch

“We are friends now, for you have come to Rwanda.” - Shop proprietor of the Nice Shop in Ruhengeri.