"Muzungu!" The local Rwandan kids giggle as my friends and I walk passed and smile. Muzungu or white person in the local language is a common word I hear when walking the streets of Kigali.
It's been a full five weeks since I've touched down here in the capitol city of Rwanda and to be honest with you, I feel more like a local than a Muzungu by now.
Kigali is a city full of life. Motor bikes speed by in and out of traffic, kids play soccer on the street, friendly locals dance the nights away. Its so similar, yet so different to any city in the USA.
When I was a freshman in high school, I dreamed of the day I’d travel to Africa. It's funny how dreams have a way of becoming reality. Little did I know back then though, Rwanda is nothing like people think it is. Its not a jungle, with poverty enveloping every citizen, there are no vicious animals roaming the streets, and tribal clothing is definitely not the style.
Kigali, from what I’ve seen so far, is the cleanest city I’ve ever been to. Every citizen here is so proud of what they have built. The first thing they ask you when you meet them is “What do you think of our city?” They boast about their economic progress and how they are much more peaceful than surrounding nations. They truly have come so far from the 1994 Genocide.
When walking the streets of Kigali, it's difficult to conceptualize that one million people perished in a brutal genocide just 23 years earlier. In the time I have been here, I have had the opportunity to visit four of the eight national genocide memorials, and talk with survivors and perpetrators alike. I’ve learned that reading about genocide in a book, is much easier than seeing its aftermath in person.
It's shocking to walk away from a genocide memorial, where you have seen cracked and bludgeoned skulls, blood stains, and mummified bodies of men, women and children, to find yourself in Africa's fastest growing economy. I've learned that the Rwandan people are more resilient than we can even begin to understand.
Before coming to Rwanda, I was wary of President Kagame who has been criticized by the West as a dictator who violently suppresses free speech and opposition. But upon coming here and truly understanding the post-genocidal environment in which these people live their lives, I understand why the Rwandan people have put so much faith in their president.
After talking with locals and lecturers, I have decided to focus my research for my study abroad program on the freedom of the press in Rwanda. I have found that much of the western criticism of suppression of free speech does not take into account this post-genocidal environment. Although some criticism is valid, my aim over the next ten weeks will be to fairly assess the state of free speech in Rwanda.
I am loving every minute of my time in Rwanda and I can't wait to see what the next ten weeks hold.