East Africa Day 3 - Quarantine in Rwanda

Today we were required to quarantine in our hotel room. We were under quarantine until we got the results of the Covid test we took last night when we arrived in Rwanda. The government of Rwanda has worked out a deal with select hotels to host the quarantine of international travelers. There is a special rate that includes meals and everything so we don't leave our room until our quarantine is over. We were told we would be emailed there results of our tests within 24 hours.

We didn’t have to wait long because as soon as we woke up and checked the website our results were posted. Both of our tests came back negative. We breathed a sigh of relief. Our quarantine was over. We ate breakfast in our room before heading out to explore Kigali. 

When we originally planned this trip (for September 2020). We would have started in Tanzania where we would have gone on safari. Then we would have flown to Rwanda where we would spend a day in Kigali. Then the plan was to drive across the border into Uganda to go trekking to see gorillas. Because of Covid this plan changed dramatically. We decided to visit Rwanda first because of the Covid entry requirements,  flight availability, and the permit dates of our gorilla trekking. Partially because of Covid (and partially because of politics) the land border is closed between Rwanda and Uganda. Crossing the border was no longer an option. Because of these changes it was natural to question whether visiting Rwanda even made sense. As Alison and I discussed potential itineraries we decided visiting Rwanda was important to both of us. 

The seed of our desire to visit Rwanda was planted by our high school english teacher, Stan Banks. Mr. Banks was an incredible teacher who cared deeply about his students and really sought to inspire his students. In his english class we read the book Night by Elie Wiesel and learned about the Holocaust  In addition to teaching us about the Holocaust, Mr. Banks also taught us about the Rwandan genocide, which at that point had occurred less than 15 years earlier. Learning about the Rwandan genocide was impactful. When I learned about the Rwandan genocide and realized that it happened during my lifetime it really hit home that genocide is not a problem of a bygone era, it is something citizens of the world need to be vigilant in preventing today. 

Today is the day after 9/11, there are many posts on social media that talk about individual experiences people had 20 years ago. One popular Instagramer Alison and I follow is Sharonsayso. She was asked the following question: "Suggestions for bridging gap between those who remember/experienced the collective trauma and those who weren't born and kinda don't really care?" Sharon's response to this question resonated with me, "We all share responsibility here. It's unreasonable to ask someone that wasn't born to try and feel trauma for something they weren't alive for. I wasn't alive when JFK and MLK were shot. I don't feel the visceral gut punch that someone who was an adult at that time does." This sentiment captures the way I experienced learning about the Rwandan genocide. Knowing this event happened in my lifetime brings out this visceral feelings of anger and sadness for this terrible tragedy. Part of the reason Alison and I chose to visit Rwanda to learn more about the genocide.

While it is important to learn about and remember the genocide, Rwanda is also a success story. When the genocide occured, Rwanda was one of the poorest nations in the world. Since the genocide much has been done to change the trajectory of the country. They are now one of the top 5 economies in Africa. They achieved this without the exotic animal populations of their neighbors, no port, or significant natural resources. Their success is been quite remarkable. Alison and I chose to visit Rwanda to see this success firsthand. Our taxi driver, Emmanuel, summed it up succinctly. He told us Rwanda is safe, clean and green. He was right on all three. 

Today was a bonus day. We were prepared to quarantine for the whole day, if necessary. Now that we didn’t have to quarantine any more we could explore. We started at the Nyamirambo Women’s Center. This is a Rwandan NGO, it was launched at the end of 2007 by 18 women living in Nyamirambo, Kigali. Together they created a project which aimed to address gender-based violence, gender inequality and discrimination. They run a small shop with goods for sale created by local women. We bought a couple small items, a little stuffed rabbit and a hand made pouch, to take home to Skylee and Holly. 

Then we walked to the Belgian Peacekeepers Memorial. It was a little over a kilometer away. It was a pleasant walk. The streets are clean and we felt very safe moving around Kigali. We expected fairly warm temperatures (we are near the equator), but it is quite a pleasant, temperate day. 

The Belgian Peacekeeper Memorial has 10 stone columns to mark the location where 10 Belgian UN peacekeepers were murdered on the first day of the genocide. Originally deployed to protect the home of moderate Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana, the soldiers were captured, disarmed and brought to Camp Kigali by the Presidential Guard before being killed. Each stone column represents one of the soldiers and the horizontal cuts in the stone represent the soldier’s age. The bullet-sprayed building in which the soldiers died now houses a small exhibition on the genocide. This is a somber location. The bullet riddled building is a stark reminder of the strife this country experienced. 

From here we walked to the Hotel Des Mille Collines. This hotel became famous after 1,268 people took refuge inside the building during the genocide. It is the real life location of the story told in the movie Hotel Rwanda. I find it a little surreal to visit the real life locations of stories that I have read or watched.

We ate lunch in a restaurant located on the fourth floor - Le Panorama. We were the only people lunching at the restaurant. We got a table with a fabulous view of the hills of Kigali. The service was fantastic we quickly became friends with our waiter. The people in Rwanda we have met have been so kind of friendly. The food was also great, but the views made this meal especially worthwhile. 

After lunch we used WhatsApp to ask our taxi driver, Emmanuel, if he could pick us up. He came immediately. Taxis in Rwanda are a little different. There are some taxis that are painted and you can tell they are taxis, but taxis here don't have meters. Rather you negotiate your fare before you get started. Since we met Emmanuel and he gave us his contact information we decided it would be easiest to reach out and have him drive us around all day, rather than trying to hail a taxi (somewhat difficult) and having to negotiate with someone new all the time. 

Emmanuel took us to the Kimironko Market. This is a local market that sells everything under the sun - vegetables, fruits, shoes, clothing, meat, etc. It is quite the market. Most of the market caters to locals - selling food and other supplies. In the center of the market is an area where the vendors sell fabric and clothing. While this area also serves locals there seems to be a lot geared toward tourists. Here the vendors were quite excited when they saw Alison and me. They would approach and try to get us to come to their stall. If we came then they laid on the pressure. They were quite pushy, but respected it when we gave a firm no and walked away. Alison bought a beautiful apron that she plans to use when she does her holiday baking this year. The fabric here is so colorful and bright. 

Alison thought its was funny that I made a new Instagram friend at the Kimironko Market. This individual asked me to take his picture. I took his picture and showed it to him and he asked me how he could get a copy. I asked if he had an email and he told me he was on instagram. I looked him up and added him and later I sent him the photo. 

When we finished at the market we messaged Emmanuel and he picked us up again. This time he took us to the Inema Arts Center. The mission of the Inema Arts Center is to fuel creative expression in Rwanda. The center provides space for local artists to showcase their work. The art here was beautiful and inspiring. It was primarily African Contemporary art. I have never seen something quite like this. It was a special space. 

We made a friend. This puppy followed us around and tried to eat Alison's sandals.

Everywhere you go in Kigali there are hillsides in the distance. I loved that everyone has great views of the city. 

We messaged Emanuel and he was driving someone else so he sent a friend to pick us up. His friend gave us a ride to the Rwanda Art Museum. This museum is unique because it is the site of the former Presidential Palace. The art here was also quite interesting. Much of it this art is contemporary and done by local artists. Alison loved it. She particularly enjoyed the movement and color in so many of the paintings. 

*Alison Edit* I love art - I always have. Art museums are typically some of my favorite places to visit on vacation. That being said, the more we have traveled to not European/American locations, the more I realize that my Art History education was severely lacking (by being 90% Euro-Centric). I never learned about African art. In American art museums, the African art is typically masks and Egypt-centric art. While impressive, I realized today that it's missing so much of the spirit of modern African art. Their art is so vibrant and so colorful. They use colors to allow images to move in ways that American and European art don't. I was struck that even paintings of vases seemed to somehow move in the way they applied the paint to the canvas. They also used mixed mediums on their canvases to bring texture to their art. I was truly blown away at the art we experienced today at the Inema Gallery and the Rwanda Art Museum. I hope to see more of this type of art in American and European Art Museums in the future. It's definitely earned a place there. 

The tour of the museum doubled as a tour of the presidential mansion. We saw the rooms where the president lived, his balcony, a swimming pool, his bar, and even a secret doorway he could use to escape if the palace was attacked. We also toured the grounds. In the middle of the grounds was a giant ancient tree. Back further just beyond the presidential palace are the remains of the plane that was shot down on April 6, 1994. The plane was carrying President Juvénal Habyarimana (the Rwandan President) and Cyprien Ntaryamira (the Burundian president) as well as other government officials and a French crew. This plane crash was the pretense used to start the genocide that killed an estimated 1 million people in 100 days. It is still not definitively known who shot down the plane. It was depressing to walk among this wreckage knowing the great human suffering this wreckage portended. 

One of the rooms contained art supporting Women's empowerment. Alison particularly liked this piece.

Alison Edit - I hear you, sister. And also, I'm looking at you, Texas.

After we finished at the Rwanda Art Museum we headed back to our hotel. At our hotel we had them print out our Covid test results so that we would have a physical copy (we have so much paperwork we carry around on this trip). Then we took a walk through the city to find an ATM to get some local currency. Back at the hotel we had dinner in room and we watched Hotel Rwanda. It is a sad movie, but was apropos given our current location.