Tales of Rwanda -- final random thoughts
Traffic signals: When a car is coming from the opposite direction, the driver of the
car in front puts on his left turn signal to tell the cars behind him not to pass and to get back on the
correct side of the road.
Animals: Pets are usually not allowed in Rwandan homes. Matt and Laura have trained Jojo to
only come to the entrance to their dining room, but not to public space. Guests would be insulted if
they came in the living room to sit, and found a dog there.
Taxis: 18 person vans which usually will not leave until loaded with a minimum of 18
people. The normal capacity of such a van is "room for one more." That is how we fit
20, one of them standing, on the 2 hour ride to the genocide churches.
Bicycles: old, some with 3 speed gears, most with none. Philip rented a bike from one of
Laura's friends to explore the neighborhood. Second funniest sight in Kigali: a mazunga on a
bike. The funniest: 2 mazungas on a bike. He rode down the mountain with Jonathan on the
back, not quite fully explaining that there were sort of no brakes, to the delight of the entire
neighborhood. It's amazing how few people have even this rudimentary form of transportation.
Marathons: Matt ran in the first marathon to be held in Rwanda, in may. It was a 10 k course; ran it
4 plus times. High altitude, land of 10,000 hills, temperature was in the eighties by 8:30
a.m., ultimately reached 93 degrees. Toughest course he ever ran. 15,000 people ran the 5 K, 400 the
half marathon, 150 the full marathon.
Most of the country is unemployed. People don't even worry about what impact the prisoner release
will have on unemployment and the economy. Since so few are employed, a few more unemployed won't
make that much of a difference.....
And, in closing, I'll quote Laura:
"Rwanda is a very complicated country. People killed and saved people at the same
time. Soulange told me: "Twelve people broke in through the roof of my home, started
killing. They hacked my parents with machetes before my eyes. When someone attacked me, the person
killing my parents stopped, said "No children", protected the children, and got everyone to
leave."
How the Rwandans are learning to live together as a community, absorbing the genocidaires back into their
lives and communities, is a lesson in humility for us all. We did not find despair in this
country. We found hope, love, openness, and a desire to put things behind them and go
forward. We felt safe walking the streets. We felt dignity and warmth in the air. While
they may not have material goods, they are making a life with what they have, and trying hard to educate
the coming generation and climb out of illiteracy.