Wiriwe (good afternoon in Kinyarwnda) Family and Friends!
We are coming to the end of our final week here in Kigali. My colleagues, and I have viewed numerous sites of Kigali, and Butare. I am surrounded by beautiful nature, a astounding culture, and numerous delightful people. Prior to coming on this trip I didn’t know much about the history of the genocide. I started to do some research about the economy, and the culture of Rwanda while I was still in school to educate myself a bit more. I read many articles, books, and viewed multiple photos. However, in my opinion everyone should travel here to Rwanda to get a clear understanding of what the genocide was. Reading about what happened in 1994 is different from viewing actual artifacts up close in person which portrays the genocide did occur. I’m thankful to receive this opportunity. Not many people receive the chance to travel to Rwanda, and observe their past, present, and future. Our days consist of being in lectures, traveling to many organizations that were created because of the genocide, and visiting many corporations whose number one action is to strive for reconciliation. We have also had the opportunity to meet with people who have a relationship with the genocide, such as victims, perpetrators, political figures, and much more. We’ve each received a host family we have to live with for our last week here. I must say living with someone you don’t know does seem as if it would be hard to do, but this experience has helped me look into a deeper context of Rwandan culture, and everyday life experiences they have. My blog is briefly going to summarize our discussion with political figure Edourad Bamporiki, and my personal experience/ thoughts about my host family.
Yesterday, we received the opportunity to meet Edourad Bamporiki. He is known for being an actor, poet, and an award winning filmmaker. Here’s a fun fact, he is the youngest member of the Chamber of Deputies for the Rwanda Parliament! He is around his 30’s. Edourad took the time out of his day to share with us his story of the genocide. He explained he was in the hospital seeking treatment during the genocide. Edourad wondered why random people were being killed. His mom didn’t explain the ethnic differences among the Rwandans, and who was being targeted. Edourad asked her numerous times why were people dying, but she refused to tell him. This was not the first time I have heard of a parent holding in information about the genocide. Many parents didn’t want their children to know what was going on, because they were young. Every parent had to tell their children eventually about the violence that was surrounding them. For example, in Edourad’s position his mother didn’t have a choice to explain the violence. Edourad’s mother took in a tutsi man, and his daughter, and hid them in Edourad’s room under his bed. He didn’t understand why his mother was hiding somebody else in their home. For whatever reason, his mother decided to explain to him what was taking place in their country. As time went on Hutus found out they were hiding a tutsi, and came and killed them. Edourad was 10 when the killing happened in front of his face. He expressed how traumatizing it was to witness a killing. To let out his feelings, and come to terms of what happened he expressed his thoughts, and messages through poetry. After years passed he began to publish poems, and novels that displayed peaceful messages. Many people begun to like his writings, and him as a person. Edourad mentioned that after hearing the explanation “why” these killings were happening, he still didn't understand why a person is being killed because of their ethnicity. Even I still don’t understand why some people felt as if that was a good enough reason to kill somebody. I have heard many stories, and been to many memorials, and I am so confused on how so many people made their mind up on killing an innocent person. I appreciate Edourad coming and telling his story. His story was very interesting to hear, because looking at the person he is today you would've never thought he experienced something so harsh. The message I took home with me from this discussion is that many things happen unexpectedly, and can sometimes bring out negative outcomes, but those outcomes don’t have to be negative forever. There are many people in Rwanda who are living well, happy, and successfully even after being survivors or perpetrators of the genocide. In my opinion the people are the most important factor in helping this Country develop throughout the years! I could only imagine what Rwanda was portrayed as 20 years ago. From what I seen it is a natural beautiful Country!
The Country is beautiful, and as well as the people who live here. This leads on to my brief summary of my experience, and thoughts of staying with an Rwandan family. I will first like to mention how nervous I was to stay in another family’s house. Now I am sad to be leaving them tomorrow. To give you some background about my family, they are newly weds who are expecting their first born baby boy in three months. My host parents are extraordinary! They are both so generous, intelligent, funny, and loving. They made me feel safe in their home. While living with them for a week I had to adapt to many things, such as showering, meals, etc. It was more easier to adapt than what I expected. By day three I felt everything I was doing was normal, as if it is my normal routine, and that I’ve been doing it for years. I have created a bond with each of them, and their friends. A bond that know wont ever be broken. I have exchanged Facebook names, and phone numbers with these people I view now as my family after only one week. I am grateful for them to take on this experience with me, and I hope they have learned about my values and culture, as much as I learned about theirs. My host parents treated me as if I was their own. They expressed to their friends that I was their first born daughter. It was nice to gain that type of connection with the family. My host mother doesn’t want me to leave, and wishes I could stay for a month. She spent her whole afternoon with me after having a long day at work. I enjoyed my day with her today. At night time, she invited her family members to dinner because it is my last night staying with them. We are all currently dancing, and singing in the living room together. It feels like a family. It feels like home. It is hard to express how amazing my host family has been to me in words. I wish you all could meet them in person, and see for yourself how awesome they are! I wish you all could experience this beautiful Country in general. I know many of us here on this trip were home sick at times, but this trip was definitely worth the money, the time, and the experience. There is my summary of my personal thoughts, and feelings about the things that are the highlights of my week! We miss you all, and can’t wait to see and share this experience with you!
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