First, we have to give a shout out to Mick Hawkins, English teacher extrodinaire, Melissa Abrams, parent extrodinaire, Rachel Rennicke, who couldn't be silent for more than 30 seconds, and to Sly for sending us e-mails. Dan, we've finally got the tech issues resolved. Management of the equipment has changed hands. It's always nice to hear what's going on back in Minnesota. Thanks for reading the blog and keeping us updated
Clothing update-We've both logged eight days in the same pair of pants (we each are wearing our own of course). Are Dave's tan, or brown, or gray, or just an earth tone tye-dye? Are James' green, or brown? Why does he have to walk like he's wearing two full leg braces?
Anyway, on to our day:
We woke up early this morning at the Iris Guesthouse (/hotel/place for loud football fans to watch the Turkey vs. Germany match until late at night). After eating a traditional Rwandan breakfast of tea or coffee, bread and jam, and pineapple, we checked out and made our way to central bus station. Needless to say, we had a much easier time navigating the bus station this year compared to the intimidation we experienced early in our travels last year.
We were told by several people including Debbie and Bjorn that the trip from Kigali to Butare would take two hours. It took two and a half. Muzungus who have been in Rwanda too long adopt the elasticity of time.
The drive to Butare was of course beautiful. The hills are less steep then they are in the north but the scenary is just as breathtaking. We both secured window seats with plenty of ventilation and foot room. We decided to pack lightly, leaving most of our clothing at the Iris GH. James is carrying a small backpack with the video camera equipment and some persnal effects. Dave is carrying the bathroom supplies, sport shorts for each of us, and an extra pair of grunders. We change these way more often then we do our pants.
After arriving in Butare we quickly found the Hotel Faucon and decided to sit down and have some lunch. The goat brochette rivaled the skewers we had the other night with Justin and Justin in Ruhengeri. As we were sitting at our table, relaxing and watching the traffic go by on the main street of Butare, we saw a familiar face pass by in a luxury bus. Steve-O passed with an ear to ear grin and waving like a six year old in a school bus. We waited for about ten minutes for him to show up and then decided to leave.
After paying our bill, we checked into our room. The Faucon is just as the Bradt Guide describes-sparsely furnished but clean and a lot of wasted space in the room. Our room is about the size of Room 129 at BSM with a bed, a chair, and a small table. We think it may be a great place to stay for Rwanda '09.
We decided to leave and Stevie-O was waiting for us out on the street in front of the hotel. He had been no the bus one stop too long and it took him a while to backtrack to the Faucon. He decided to accompany us to the Genocide Memorial at Murambi.
The three of us hopped on a moto-taxi to the main bus station at Butare and secured a mini-bus to the town of Ginkongoro. The ride (more on these later) took about 45 minutes and our destination was 25km from Butare. Mini-buses are the size of mini-vans in the U.S.. On our way back from Murambi, there were 24 people inside the bus. The capacity is 20 people. Fun. When we got dropped, off, we again took moto-taxis to the Genocide site.
When the Genocide started in early April of 1994, many of the inhabitants of Gikongoro sought shelter in the technical school that was still being built on the hill of Murambi (about 2km north of town). By the time the Interhamwe arrived on April 21, 1994, There were over 50,000 people hiding in the many buildings on the school's campus. They had been there for over two weeks without food and water. Over the next couple of days, the Interhamwe used grenades, guns, machetes, hoes, and other weapons to kill all of the Tutsis hiding at the school.
Shortly after we arrived at the site, a docent named Francois also arrived on a bike-taxi. He agreed to be filmed and to wear a wireless microphone to tell us the story of Murambi. Alternating between English and French, Francois guided us around the site.
After the massacre was over, the Interhamwe and FAR soldiers who were responsible dug four mass graves just adjacent to the building of the campus and dumped thousands of corpses in them. After the Genocide had ended, the site was guarded by the French military, just months after the massacre. According to Francois, the French played volleyball 20 feet from the graves with full knowledge of what lay beside them.
Francois also shared with us his personal story. He survived the Genocide because he happened to be in Burundi when the President's plane was shot down. He left behind brothers, sisters, and his parents. When he returned to Gikongoro which had been destroyed by the Genocidaires, he discovered that his entire family had been massacred at Murambi. After going through years of unexplainable anger and sorrow, he has come to the point where he can lead visitors around the site to honor the lives of those killed at Murambi, including his family.
Murambi, is a unique site. The corpses that were buried in the mass graves were exhumed and are now on display on low tables in 24 of the rooms. There are six rooms in each building. There are over 800 bodies on display that have been covered in lye to help with preservation. This is very hard. Many of the victims were still wearing their clothes and/or jewelry, young children died being clutched by their mothers, and it was very clear how many of the victims met their fate.
Outside the buildings the mass graves, volleyball court, and the site of the French flag are all marked by signs.
We spent an hour and half walking through the site as Francois described to us what we were seeing.
We made our way back to Butare where we ate a quiet dinner at a Chinese restaurant. Both of us talked to our wives at the internet cafe. We love you. We'll be going to sleep early tonight.
Clothing update-We've both logged eight days in the same pair of pants (we each are wearing our own of course). Are Dave's tan, or brown, or gray, or just an earth tone tye-dye? Are James' green, or brown? Why does he have to walk like he's wearing two full leg braces?
Anyway, on to our day:
We woke up early this morning at the Iris Guesthouse (/hotel/place for loud football fans to watch the Turkey vs. Germany match until late at night). After eating a traditional Rwandan breakfast of tea or coffee, bread and jam, and pineapple, we checked out and made our way to central bus station. Needless to say, we had a much easier time navigating the bus station this year compared to the intimidation we experienced early in our travels last year.
We were told by several people including Debbie and Bjorn that the trip from Kigali to Butare would take two hours. It took two and a half. Muzungus who have been in Rwanda too long adopt the elasticity of time.
The drive to Butare was of course beautiful. The hills are less steep then they are in the north but the scenary is just as breathtaking. We both secured window seats with plenty of ventilation and foot room. We decided to pack lightly, leaving most of our clothing at the Iris GH. James is carrying a small backpack with the video camera equipment and some persnal effects. Dave is carrying the bathroom supplies, sport shorts for each of us, and an extra pair of grunders. We change these way more often then we do our pants.
After arriving in Butare we quickly found the Hotel Faucon and decided to sit down and have some lunch. The goat brochette rivaled the skewers we had the other night with Justin and Justin in Ruhengeri. As we were sitting at our table, relaxing and watching the traffic go by on the main street of Butare, we saw a familiar face pass by in a luxury bus. Steve-O passed with an ear to ear grin and waving like a six year old in a school bus. We waited for about ten minutes for him to show up and then decided to leave.
After paying our bill, we checked into our room. The Faucon is just as the Bradt Guide describes-sparsely furnished but clean and a lot of wasted space in the room. Our room is about the size of Room 129 at BSM with a bed, a chair, and a small table. We think it may be a great place to stay for Rwanda '09.
We decided to leave and Stevie-O was waiting for us out on the street in front of the hotel. He had been no the bus one stop too long and it took him a while to backtrack to the Faucon. He decided to accompany us to the Genocide Memorial at Murambi.
The three of us hopped on a moto-taxi to the main bus station at Butare and secured a mini-bus to the town of Ginkongoro. The ride (more on these later) took about 45 minutes and our destination was 25km from Butare. Mini-buses are the size of mini-vans in the U.S.. On our way back from Murambi, there were 24 people inside the bus. The capacity is 20 people. Fun. When we got dropped, off, we again took moto-taxis to the Genocide site.
When the Genocide started in early April of 1994, many of the inhabitants of Gikongoro sought shelter in the technical school that was still being built on the hill of Murambi (about 2km north of town). By the time the Interhamwe arrived on April 21, 1994, There were over 50,000 people hiding in the many buildings on the school's campus. They had been there for over two weeks without food and water. Over the next couple of days, the Interhamwe used grenades, guns, machetes, hoes, and other weapons to kill all of the Tutsis hiding at the school.
Shortly after we arrived at the site, a docent named Francois also arrived on a bike-taxi. He agreed to be filmed and to wear a wireless microphone to tell us the story of Murambi. Alternating between English and French, Francois guided us around the site.
After the massacre was over, the Interhamwe and FAR soldiers who were responsible dug four mass graves just adjacent to the building of the campus and dumped thousands of corpses in them. After the Genocide had ended, the site was guarded by the French military, just months after the massacre. According to Francois, the French played volleyball 20 feet from the graves with full knowledge of what lay beside them.
Francois also shared with us his personal story. He survived the Genocide because he happened to be in Burundi when the President's plane was shot down. He left behind brothers, sisters, and his parents. When he returned to Gikongoro which had been destroyed by the Genocidaires, he discovered that his entire family had been massacred at Murambi. After going through years of unexplainable anger and sorrow, he has come to the point where he can lead visitors around the site to honor the lives of those killed at Murambi, including his family.
Murambi, is a unique site. The corpses that were buried in the mass graves were exhumed and are now on display on low tables in 24 of the rooms. There are six rooms in each building. There are over 800 bodies on display that have been covered in lye to help with preservation. This is very hard. Many of the victims were still wearing their clothes and/or jewelry, young children died being clutched by their mothers, and it was very clear how many of the victims met their fate.
Outside the buildings the mass graves, volleyball court, and the site of the French flag are all marked by signs.
We spent an hour and half walking through the site as Francois described to us what we were seeing.
We made our way back to Butare where we ate a quiet dinner at a Chinese restaurant. Both of us talked to our wives at the internet cafe. We love you. We'll be going to sleep early tonight.
No comments:
Post a Comment