Anokwa.com » Archive for rwanda
November 22, 2007 at 23:24
tags: rwanda
Genocide can only be described as the evolution of misunderstanding to murder. It is not unique to the country whose people I’ve come to love and whose name is now synonymous with the word. Rather, it seems a constant across space and time — our darkest common ground.
We have become too familiar with the images. Gas chambers scratched with desperate fingernails. Parishioners slaughtered in a church under the watchful eye of their pastor. An armless orphan’s lonely cry. We solemnly shake our heads, sad at the loss of life, but never sad enough to stop the next slaughter.
The Genocide Memorial is Rwanda’s attempt at forever ending genocide. The memorial tells the story of how the genocide began, how it proceeded and how it finally ended. There is detailed information about the impact of the colonialism, the role radio propaganda played, the inaction of the international community, the stories of survival and finally glimpses into the court system that is slowly bringing reconciliation. The memorial also tells the story of other genocides and argues that it is only through education that the lives of future victims can be spared. It is a thoroughly moving and educational experience.
There are no pictures allowed inside, but outside, nestled between the beautiful gardens of the memorial are mass graves containing the 14,000 sons and daughters of Rwanda. The graves, which are still being filled with bodies, are a stark reminder of the evil that men do.
Let us never forget.
November 22, 2007 at 21:27
tags: rwanda
Ally, Meera, Henry, Katie and I skipped work for a few days, piled into the Isuzu and sang our way through the southeastern Rwanda to Nyungwe National Forest. Nothing like a road trip to take your mind of the high stress life we live out here.
Driving into the forest is a breathtaking experience. You start high up in the mountains and slowly wind your way into a valley. Jutting out of both sides of the road are sharp shards of rock dotted with all forms of plant life. Drive slowly enough and you can spot the many varieties of primates and birds the forest holds. The stark contrast between the blue mountains, the white lake and the green tea which grows just outside the forest burns the most astonishing image in your mind. We stayed in a little guest house and after being warmed by a few glasses of wine and a healthy fire, we feel asleep to the sounds of monkeys scampering on our roof.
The next morning, we drove back through the forest, stopping occasionally to take some photos. It was one of these photo stops when we ran into the heavily armed Rwandan army. Although most of them were friendly, but the commander did take the time out of his busy schedule to yell at us and threaten our arrest for taking pictures of mountains. Good times.
We spent the rest of the morning hiking through the forest for an exorbitant $50/person. Now I don’t mind paying extra to support African tourism, but the hike we took featured trees and a small waterfall — no monkeys, no birds. Also, our guide, who was gasping like a pack-a-day smoker was definitely making up facts about the plants we saw.
Guide: This one is good for stopping excessive bleeding or diarrhea.
Yaw: Looks a lot like the one we just saw for killing worms.
Guide: Yeah, it’s kind of similar.
Yaw: Right. Similar.
Anyway, check out the gallery for a few pictures of the forest and a stealth shot of the Rwandan army.
November 18, 2007 at 1:19
tags: rwanda
Last night I woke up to a loud explosion. I shrugged it off. Whatever it was, I figured I’d deal with it in the morning.
Turns out one of the big trees near my room had snapped in half and came crashing on the house. It fell right into Didi and Catherine’s window and fortunately they were not hurt. The noise got everyone (minus the IT Team) out of bed to check out the damage. I’ve put a few pictures of the tree in the gallery.
If a tree falls in a forest and I am around to hear it, does it make a sound? Yes.
Will it get me out of bed? No.
November 13, 2007 at 9:47
tags: blog, rwanda
No big blog post today — just adding pictures to gallery. The first couple are from Juliet’s birthday, a low key affair with beer and brochettes. Then Chris, a Cameroonian surgeon and the hardest working man I know, left for his homeland and we threw a large but bittersweet farewell party. His ridiculous stories about water buffalo attacks and delivering babies here will be sorely missed. Finally, the EMR team had a small retreat at Akagera.
October 30, 2007 at 2:32
tags: rwanda
Kirehe Hospital held a talent show last Friday, a team from Rwinkwavu drove out to participate. We left late, of course, and arrived at the hospital with only ten minutes left in the show. We did the Rwink electric slide to demonstrate our talent and headed to the after party to demonstrate our other talent — drinking Mutzig and Amstel.
It was late, so after an hour of drinking and dancing, I rounded up the team and we started the drive back. About five minutes from the hospital, we saw a raging fire on the side of the road. Patrick (EMR), Francis (IT) and I got out the car to take a closer look, and soon realized the flames were rising from a mud house. The house looked lived in and given that no one was outside fighting it, we knew there had to be people inside. We had no choice but to act.
We ran towards the house screaming fire and when no one came out, Patrick found a large branch and started knocking down the door from one side of the house. Francis and I ran around to the other side and were greeted by the house owner and his wife who were very naked and quickly realizing what was going on. Patrick came around to the other side and insisted the family go get clothes because the other PIH folks were now running towards us and who wants to be naked when fighting a fire.
At this point, the blaze had engulfed the kitchen, and we were looking at ten foot high flames which were starting to spread to the attached house. We began furiously looking for water around the house and found a few gerry cans which where heaved on the fire. The flames calmed, but the fire was still not out so we split into two teams to better tackle the fire. Those who had cameras also started documenting the newly minted Rwinkwavu Fire Fighters.
One team (mostly the girls) started digging up dirt with plates and putting that on the fire while the other team (mostly the guys) started pushing the kitchen from the rest of the house with some large branches. We knew if the kitchen didn’t come down, the house would eventually catch fire again and this time, we would not be around to help. It was all happening very quickly, but the things that stick out in my mind is Meera comforting the wife who was crying and the neighbors who had also gathered around, but strangely were not helping.
In a few minutes, the kitchen had been pulled down and all the embers covered with dirt. The fire was officially out and everyone was smiling.
I know I’ve said it before, but life in Rwinkwavu is hard. I’ve seen patients at the verge of death come back to life, and patients who look healthy die in minutes. It all seems arbitrary and yet frighteningly specific. Had we left Kirehe five minutes early, we would not have noticed the fire. Had we left five minutes later and the flames would have engulfed the house. The only way the man and his wife would have escaped a brutal death was for us to arrive exactly when we did.
As always, http://yanokwa.smugmug.com has more pictures.
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