Back to Kigali

I returned to Kigala from Gisengi today on the bus. We went to the boarder of the Republic of Congo yesterday. There are many people trying to cross the boarder into Rwanda. The corruption at the boarder is severe. Susan our guide from New Dawn Associates told us about a trip they took across the boarder. She did not happen to have documentation of have a yellow fever vaccine. They let her in with the rest of the people on the tour bus. They charge for everything they can think of at the boarder. They insisted they buy insurance for the bus, an entry fee for each person on the bus, hire a guide to assist them even though the group was only driving to a view and not getting out of the bus. The guy who wanted to be hired by the group said you would not enter a house without the host so how could you enter his country without a guide. The come up with all kind of taxes you need to pay at the border include taxing someone wearing glasses. They have article 15 in their constitution which says get money through any means that you need to. The president gave the soldiers guns and said. I am not giving you a salary, I have given you a gun so get money any way you can. There is a large refugee camp in Gisengi. It is pack with people.

The northern part of Rwanda is very rich farm land. It have vey high hills with farms from the valley floor to the peaks. The people are very poor however are able to feed themselves. We visited a Batwa Village. It was very moving. The Batwa are a marginalized group of people that used to be known as pygmies. They were considered to be the original people in Rwanda. Overtime they have become taller because of having children by the other groups in Rwanda. It was thought that if a man had back pain he could cure this by having sex with a Batwa. This group was thought to be less intelligent by people in Rwanda and the people here have considered them a people to be avoided. If a kid does something out of order the parents will say, “Don’t be a Batwa”. The village we visited has 39 adults. They have started a project as a collective called “Dancing Pots”. They have been making pots for generations. The former tribal kings considered the Batwa as the entertainers of the country as singers and dancers. They have a continuing tradition of dancing and singing. When we arrived at the village they greeted us with dance and song. They are a joyous people and we felt very welcomed. They invited us into their community building that is a covered open air space. They showed us how they make pots and we were able to buy their wares. The shared a meal with us including roasted ears of corn, bananas, Fantas and Cokes. I ate a little and shared the rest with the children in the village. I danced with a beautiful man who picked me to teach. The villagers enjoyed my attempts to dance. I have a picture of me with the dancer and another with a man whose son is a dancer. The man and I are the same age.

The child mortality rate in this village is very high. Last year 27 of the 32 babies died. Inviting tourist to their village to buy their pots are helping them improve their lives.