First impressions count they say, well my first impression of travelling to Kigali International Airport impressed. So many countries could learn a thing or two from their arrivals. Exiting the plane, you are straight to passport control, which is staffed sufficiently for the number of arrivals. Once through, bags arrived quickly, and you are straight through customs to exit with hotel pick-up drivers waiting and a taxi rank nearby.
I appreciate the numbers through an airport matter for this. But not having to walk miles through an airport or to a taxi rank positioned as far as possible from arriving passengers is quite the pleasant surprise. It’s almost as if making people feel welcome is, welcoming. One thing to add, Rwanda has a closed currency with the Rwandan Franc not readily available to purchase overseas. So, at the exit of the airport they have a bureau de change, handily positioned to remind those of us about to walkout with no local currency.
“On the journey into the city, we quickly bonded over the international language of football”
Hotel pick-up was smooth and as my first trip to Rwanda the driver and greeter were keen to speak with me. On the journey into the city, we quickly bonded over the international language of football. The driver was a Liverpool fan, and the greeter was a Manchester City one. Both were suitably impressed I had a Crystal Palace season ticket. They were keen to talk about Arsenal, one of the majorly supported clubs in the country. Also, one who advertise ‘Visit Rwanda’ on their shirt. We spoke about who might contend for the league title this year, and all laughed at Manchester United, the other majorly supported club in Rwanda.
The extent to which European but especially Premier League football is followed here is astonishing. English football (along with the odd Barcelona and Bayer Munich) shirts are commonplace to see in the streets. All my guides on tours spoke to me about football after finding out I was from England. The hotel restaurant I was staying at had constant reruns of Premier League matches. The laughing at Man U became a theme. Including with the guide who as a Man U fan felt deeply embarrassed by their lack of success in recent years.
“I also wanted to be somewhere where the economy was on the up and people looked forward to a brighter future, so getting out of Labour’s Britain was a must!”
You might wonder what took me to Rwanda. Well, I fancied a city break. No gorillas in the mist or safari for me. I wanted to see a rapidly developing city in an economically growing state. With the capital being voted a top 3 city for travellers in Africa, and a country with the continents 6th fastest growth rate at ~8%, Kigali fitted the bill. I also wanted to be somewhere where the economy was on the up and people looked forward to a brighter future, so getting out of Labour’s Britain was a must!
Whenever I visit a country, I like to find out a little about the local politics. Given the tragic events of the early 90s, here one must tread carefully. On the journey to the hotel, I was already being regaled about what a great man the President, Paul Kagame is. On arrival at the hotel the Presidents picture was centred above the check-in desk. On two subsequent tours the guides were keen to tell me what a good government they had and how it was focused on Security, Education and Health.
It’s worth noting Wikipedia states “Rwanda has low corruption levels relative to most other African countries; in 2014, Transparency International ranked Rwanda as the fifth-cleanest out of 47 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and 55th-cleanest out of 175 in the world.”
My general impression was that there is much love and respect for the President. Still, it’s important to say, Rwanda is an authoritarian, de facto one-party state. I could read about this and criticism of the government on the internet from my hotel room. This is something, post the Online Safety Act, I’m less sure about in the UK. However, given the events of the genocide in April 1994, one can understand why many of the people of Rwanda are keen to have strong, stable government.
“Rush hours see busy roads full of taxi motorcycles. These dart around seemingly driving at anyone and anything until it moves!”
One of the immediate impressions was the youth and vibrancy of Rwanda. The median age at 20 years old is a full 20 years younger than the average age in the UK. Rush hours see busy roads full of taxi motorcycles. These dart around seemingly driving at anyone and anything until it moves! Another immediate impression is how green the city is. Houses rather than blocks of flats are the main accommodation, and the main streets are tree lined.
“Women would walk down the street carrying heavy loads on their heads with a mobile phone in hand. Mobile phones were everywhere, and the country seems to run off ‘WhatsApp’”
Kigali is named after the largest hill in the area. It is all hills, and the views are amazing from almost any point. The outdoor feel and developing nature of the city, made it to me seem somewhat of a cross section between Goa and a Spanish island. Murals are commonplace often reflecting on the rebuilding post genocide. The mix of old and new was all around. Driving down the modern roads you often see a street cleaner brushing away the sands and earth with a very traditional brush akin to a witch’s broom. Women would walk down the street carrying heavy loads on their heads with a mobile phone in hand. Mobile phones were everywhere, and the country seems to run off ‘WhatsApp’. This was how all my tour guides contacted me, and whose logo was used on many a shop and even for the hotels lift maintenance. Although I had mobile data, Wi-Fi was commonly available.
The streets were safe to walk, although I did attract some attention in the downtown and market areas. This was unsurprisingly less true in the areas frequented by ex-pats. Although the country has rapid growth, my impression was alongside unemployment, there is a fair amount of underemployment. On a brief visit outside the city, you could see a drop in wealth. Motorcycle taxis turned into bicycle taxis, and the streets were full of impressive shop fronts to not so impressive buildings. This compared to a city with a mix of very modern and older but still good conditioned buildings. All this said, I saw none of the slums I’ve seen in other developing nations but did see lots of new building work and rapid development.
“The music in them blended seamlessly between western and African tunes. The short walks between bars were along what felt like very safe streets with taxis if needed, readily available”
An organised tour of some of the nightlife took in a few spots. All were more like Mediterranean restaurants with entertainment, than like a pub in the UK. The music in them blended seamlessly between western and African tunes. The short walks between bars were along what felt like very safe streets with taxis if needed, readily available. The only challenge was the steep hills, made no easier by the cheap and strong drink available.
Sadly, no visit to Rwanda is complete without visiting some of the memorials of the genocide from the early 90s. It’s worth first noting some background on the country. Rwanda is populated by Bantu peoples who are believed to have arrived in the area about 1000 BC. Originally the people were organised into clans with countries beginning to emerge in the 1600s. The Kingdom of Rwanda emerged as the dominant state and reached its greatest extent during the 19th century.
The Berlin Conference of 1884 assigned the territory to the German Empire, although the first European to cross Rwanda didn’t do so until 10 years later. In World War 1 Belgian invaded Rwanda, and from 1922 ruled under League of Nations mandate. During the colonial period Rwanda was ruled though its monarchy which continued until a referendum voted for its abolition in 1961, a year before its independence from Belgium.
“I neither have the knowledge or desire to write extensively about the genocide in 94. I will however mention a few of the sad memories I will take away”
Rwanda’s relationship with Belgium is complex, many in the country speak French and the memorial to the Belgium UN Peacekeepers in Kigali is well respected. There are also some Belgium cultural references around. However diplomatic relations were severed in March this year over actions in the Congo.
I neither have the knowledge or desire to write extensively about the genocide in 94. I will however mention a few of the sad memories I will take away. The Ntarama Church Memorial has a stain still on the wall of the Sunday School from the blood of the children whose heads were smashed against it. I was told the militia had felt it was a waste of bullets to shoot the children. Many of the sites had piles of victims clothing still covered in blood, this included clothing of children and babies. One site had 5000 bodies buried in it, with 300 recently added after being discovered earlier this year in a pit, next to the site of a roadblock used in April 94. Another site had 45,000 bodies in it, with 10,000 having been killed on site.
Some of the identifiable remains were in rows of family coffins you were invited to walk down. Many were not identified as the whole families had died. One site had a display cabinet with about 140 skulls on display where you could see the club, arrow, and machete marks that had killed them. The Kigali Genocide Memorial had pictures of those mutilated, the worst being those of the children on a looping video which no one I saw, me included, could stomach to watch all of.
“The MDR, one of the major political factions in Rwanda at the time had a motto of “Death or life. We will triumph”. As I said, the warning signs were there”
The stories of the events leading up to the genocide gave me many thoughts to ponder a few of which are below:
- I was previously unaware of the extent of atrocities committed before 94 (notably in 92 but at other times as well). The warning signs were there.
- We should take extremists seriously. The MDR, one of the major political factions in Rwanda at the time had a motto of “Death or life. We will triumph”. As I said, the warning signs were there.
- Sometimes it takes force to deal with evil. Instead at the time the UN was drawing down it’s force of Peacekeepers in a country with no peace.
- The use of roadblocks and identity papers to single out Tutsis from the population highlighted to me the systemic risk of national identity cards.
“my break wasn’t about the past. It was about seeing a burgeoning city of today with a bright future”
However, my break wasn’t about the past. It was about seeing a burgeoning city of today with a bright future. The untold story of the 21st Century has been the massive economic boom seen in Africa. Rwanda is very much part of that. Kigali International is a major hub airport for the region, and various conversations suggested there is a lot of trade and personal connections with nearby countries.
My one concern was how much change was government led. My impression was there was more room for private enterprise to keep growing the economy. If current growth rates are sustained in 10 years, the economy will have double in size. Rwandans are proud of the rebuilding their country has undergone and the high level of safety in the country. It would be great to make a future trip to see that progress. For now, however, next stop Kampala.
