Time Flies: It's Already Been a Year! →

Amanda Good has been working for one year with street children in Rwanda, for an organisation called Hope for Life Ministries. In order to continue this project and achieve results 12,000 US dollars need to be raised. Read her story and decide. You can make a tax deductible contribution by mailing a check to “Breakthrough Partners”, Breakthrough Partners, 110 Third Avenue N., Ste. 101 
 Edmonds, WA 98020 *Make sure to note “HFLM: Amanda Good”. Or you can use a credit card online at: http://www.hopeforlifeministry.org/donate.html.

History of Rwanda and of Stromae Genocide Memorial Murabi 

I am back in Kigali with Nausicaa’s parents, Anne Marie and Joseph from Chez Lando. I had a long conversation with Anne Marie about the situation of current Rwanda and the history of Rwanda. We discussed her family’s life story and later Joseph joined us. I told them about my journey for Exchangevzw and Benevolab BNP Paribas Fortis. They had to laugh with the chicken car ride from Rutsiro. It was a lovely evening with wine, I have become part of the family. As Anne Marie and Joseph, have become my Rwandan parents. Nausicaa is blessed with parents like that and off course they are blessed with Nausicaa. I am going to be sad to leave them. Anne Marie also had visitors, the aunt of Stromae. Nausicaa and Anne Marie are related to him. The aunt, the sister of Stromae late father looks exactly like him. I was surprised. No introduction was needed, I immediately recognised his face in her.  I am not going to write out  family details as the situation is very similar to what I went through with my mother 11 years ago and 4 years ago with my Nigerian siblings. Meeting close relatives for the first time in your life is very tough, emotional and painful. Especially when they look like you and remember you while you have no memory of such. On top of that distant family members of Stromae are abusing his name for personal gain which makes his situation even more difficult as he is a celebrity. I am excited for the concert but I hope that he gets to spend time with the family. He is on a very tight schedule and closed off by his entourage. Everyone is very careful and very sensitive. As this is his private story that should not be exploited by any journalist. 

 All this writing brought me back to my visit in i Murabi was a school under construction before genocide. Genociders, priests and the French Army told Tutsi’s that they would be safe if they all came down the mountains to the school. The area is surrounded by hills. The school can be seen from any angle. When the hutsis were all brought to the school wether by free will or force, they were all slaughtered. 50,000 children and parents were killed in this school! Many of the bodies remained preserved due to the fertile soil. I saw rooms and rooms full of bodies. Some type of chalk was poured over the bodies to reduce the smell. Ten thousands of dead bodies all stacked into rooms. Babies laying on mother’s chest. You could see how they were killed. Skulls were bashed in. Small kids, mothers with the baby still on back slaughtered and still laying in the same position. Complete families murdered. It is horrible to see. Some bodies still had hair on their heads, that’s how good they were preserved by nature. A sign from God to never forget. Rooms full of clothing of victims. New clothes were stolen from the body. Only old rags were kept. Genociders looted everything. After genocider people went into their neighbour’s house and found their furniture and clothes. Imagine ? Outside on the school fields, there are signs were the French military were playing volleyball while the genociders were killing 50,000 people. Those army soldiers enjoyed soccer and volleyball on the school ground. It is almost proven now that the plane of the President before genocide whom had agreed with the Arusha Accords was taken down by the French. 38 years of research to come up with a yes the French Army/ secret service was probably implicated. The museum (past school under construction) starts with saying before colonization, we were all Rwandans. After colonization…. You know what happens. In the genocide memorials, one clearly sees how the international community was the cause of Africa’s poverty and instability. Unfortunately today, the African continent including Rwanda, hasn’t been released from the continuous meddling of European countries. An unstable Africa keeps the balance of power in the world. I always wonder why the West can accuse Developing countries of denying human rights, running dictatorships while no African President is allowed to comment on the West. If they are not operating in favour of the West, instability will be created, aid will stop and let’s call it dark foreign forces will penetrate into the country causing wars. At the end is the people that suffer. The West has drawn a character for African to which they should fit. The image of the poor African has to be remained. Today, the media continues to play a role in this. #whatthemediadoesntshowyouofafrica was a great hashtag campaign of the youth to show what Africa really is. A beautiful continent in development full of competences, talent and resources. However, there is a saying in Africa, the African owns the land but the diamonds inside belong to the foreigners. Sad, sad and times are changing to slowly due too much international involvement and restrictions within the continent. Rich countries like Congo for example are a total mess. It’s the international community playing field. Rwanda has decided that they no longer want to be forced to depend. They created a country fund named Agashiro, here all citizens can deposit money for the country. In case of instantly caused by external forces, Rwanda can depend on its own aid. They have had enough and had a tough lesson in history. I can only cheer for this country and hope other African leaders can follow this example. At the moment, the international community is trying to portray Rwanda as a dictatorship. Trust me, come and see you will learn its far off. Yesterday in the Splendid Hotel in Muhanga, Gitarama, I ran into the Prime Minister, Anastese Murakeze. His security officers had pushed me aside. I first didn’t know, what was going on. I said, who is coming as I saw big tinted cars. The rude over confident guy said: go back you will see. You will immediately recognise him. I thought the car was entering the hotel or something because why would a person need so much space ? Then a tall man in a suit walked in at fast pace. No greetings at all. For a PM, I think you should take time to greet people, your electorate. It was the Prime Minister of Rwanda. His car was closed and the engine was running. I am not sure what this is supposed to me. They got back in their convey and started driving fast. I was in front with the driver. Due to their high speed, they missed the exit. This was silly! Apparently President Kamage doesn’t even behave this way but people below him do ? I am used to seeing this behaviour in West Africa but in Rwanda? Nooo… People agreed with me, that this attitude is not tolerated and I should let the PM know.

A new mission in Gitarama is awaiting me! This time I will be working for CPS Ineza, a microfinance agency in need of a business plan. Organised by BNP Paribas Benevolab & Exchange. My holiday has come to an end. Our last stop was in Gisenyi, where I went to Pfunda to see Numerien and Jean de Dieu of the tea farmers Union in Rwanda. Numerien was excited to meet my mom. We discussed his work, last week and prepared for my next meeting in Kigali with the Rwandan Board of Development. This meeting went excellent I was able to present BNP and Exhange plus inform them about the field issues of the poor tea pluckers. I really wanted my mom to see Gisenyi, as I loved the place. I was told to stay at the sisters of Gisenyi. I had already stayed in Serena. So why not try the sisters. People supposedly go on honeymoon there. We got to the sisters and saw that it was another basic room. Oh No, I thought to myself, I have had enough of that during mission time. My mom said she could only stay in such a place if it was for God. In the name of the spirit she didn’t dare to cancel so we took the room. My mom was complaining about the smell and insects. All of a sudden I got bitten everywhere. This is not a honeymoon place! We requested another room. As soon as we got in, we took the blankets off and threw them in a closet. My mom poured Holy water everywhere. I told her we should leave. She said for God, I can stay. The sisters prepared us a lovely dinner and Frederique came over for dinner. All of a sudden a cat appeared underneath the table. My mom went crazy. She doesn’t believe of having pets in the house. She is also convinced cats can carry negative spirits. She ran into the room to pray. While  Frederique was leaving the sisters had locked us in. Finally straw for my mom! She had decided that this place was haunted and we needed to go. We woke up the sisters, insisted we had to leave for an early flight and paid. They didn’t believe us. They had overheard my mom complaining about having pets in the house. God had revealed a secret to her. At 10:30 pm, we arrive in Serena Hotel. 5star hotel, she will be able to sleep now. The sisters wasn’t a Holy Place so mom couldn’t stay in basic accommodation. I am starting to wonder who the African is. Definitely not her because like she says: this is rubbish. In Gisenyi, we shopped at a lady cooperative and I bought lots of African fabric bags and gifts to take to Belgian. I had told to my mom to break the price as I hadn’t haggled in Rwanda. She fought for the price but then we converted in dollars, we realised we were fighting over 2 dollars. My God when mom realised that we both felt bad. She was thinking in Nairas and I was thinking in Rwandan Francs. 

Later that day, we found a worm in my new pants in my suitcase and you don’t want to know what she thought of that. First page in the Bible, subdue the Animal and be aware of evil spirits. Mother always has a crazy story to tell. People can’t be trusted, you have to lock all doors and always sleep with underwear because intruders are everywhere. She tells me all the time: You don’t know Africa my daughter. Well having spend a lot of time in West Africa, I agree with her statement. However, we are in East Africa, where the culture is totally different. Safety and security is the number one priority of Rwanda. Second is eradicating poverty and advancement. There is no corruption here and crooks and thieves are as good as none. She will have to learn the new Africa. This time when I brought her to the airport, I didn’t cry. As I am sure, we will see each other soon again. We won’t let four years pass. Through circumstances we have been apart for a long time. On this trip, she had a chance to Skype with my son (seeing his face for the first time) and with my brother after ten years. Through Skype we were all in 1 room for the very first time. Initially, I had planned to travel alone throughout Rwanda but I was very glad, she came along on this journey. It was a lot of laughter this time and less tears.

Genocide Memorial I wanted to visit the Genocide Memorial. The 1994 Rwandan genocide was imprinted in my head during my childhood. I remember the blood flowing rivers from TV and the hundred thousands of people on the run fleeing into other countries. On the contrary, my mom didn’t know this tragedy. The night before Nausicaa’s mom had told her, her own genocide story.  She couldn’t believe that this country was once a place of genocide. We enter the Genocide Memorial museum which has free entrance but counts on free donations. The money goes to survivors and the museum. We learn about the German and then Belgian colonalisation. The evils created by the anthropologist missionaries from the Catholic Church. In detail we learn how many years before the genocide, the basis for extreme hatred was spread. All Tutsis should be killed. The ten commandants for Hutus said that if they had a Tutsi wife or child. He should kill them and vice versa. Your Tutsi neighbors are not your neighbors, they are cockroaches to be killed. During Belgian colonization, Hutus and Tutsis were defined. The issue of race was created. According to their definition, the Hutus were Indigenous and the Tutsis were from Ethiopia. The intruder should be killed and their dead bodies thrown into the major river so they could flow back to where they came from. You have to know that before the Belgian colonization Hutus and Tutsis lived in peace and married among each other. It was more of a social status nothing to do with race. In Rwanda, you have clans and Hutus & Tutsis can be found in 1 clan but now they had to kill each other. I saw the pictures of church, slaughtering and stadium slaughtering. I saw the skulls and bones from the victims. The skulls were broken. You could see some were smashed. No Tutsi was safe. Some tried to flee to the islands in Lake Kivu but yet Hutu killers came to find them. They were motivated to complete the ethnic cleansing of their own kind I must add. I was told that no one really talks about genocide or their personal story. This is not true. Most Rwandan people I have met in the hotel, have all openly told me their genocide story. Some even showed me the scars, awful souvenirs on their body. Every genocide survivor had a traumatic experience and yet no psychological counseling. Although, through talking and the many peace and reconciliation programs, Rwanda healed. The gacacha courts, local village courts who are supposed to punish those involved in the killings. The federal courts punished those who were part of the genocide masterplan. Believe me, they were many. Killers and survivors now live together as Rwandans. Those who took revenge on the killers after genocide were imprisoned and severely punished. The revengers were no different. This vicious cycle had to stop. If not, Rwanda would become like Sudan or Somolia. Inside the museum, my mom started having horrible flashbacks to her childhood. The Biafra War from the seventies in Nigeria mainly Port Harcourt, where she is from. During Biafra war all Igbo’s should be killed. My mom is an Igbo and so is my late grandmother. They were all supposed to be killed. My mom was forced to change her name to her grandfathers and hide throughout the war. Her family was wanted, just as those Rwandan families. I never knew this story. Genocides are real. In the museum, you can see pictures of Armenian Genocide, Cambodia Genocide, Nazism, Balkan crises and other genocides I wasn’t aware of. Sickening. What a sick world people have created. All on the basis of race. This reminds me how in Belgium, they have created a definition for someone of foreign origin - one of the parents of foreign origin or someone born in a different country. The word is allochtoon and taken up in a dictionary and databases were created. I remember when I received the letter, I objected to be included in the database. My Belgian grandfather was born in the Netherlands, Amersfoort as his parents were military refugees from Belgium during the First World War. At 90 he had also received the same letter. All of sudden this Belgian'man was allochtoon. I had explained him the definition and he also realised that this was not good. Society dividing people, labelling people, creating racial divides can not be good. It is a basis for hatred, possible genocide and civil war. The hatred for foreigners within Europe is growing and I hope it will never come to this point. Nigeria is another place where another genocide could take place. The current government is Muslim and the oil is in Igbo hands. Boko Haram is already doing a good job of de-stabilising the country. The genocide in Rwanda, makes my mom realise that another Biafra could come her way. All my thoughts are with the families of Rwanda and Nausicaa whom lost a lot of family members during the genocide but also all other genocide survivors out there. Rwanda will succeed as they have security and peace first. Someone in my hotel now visits the killer of his parents in an effort to reconcile. He didn’t want revenge, he wanted peace. Through gachacha he came to understand the killer’s motivation and how he got to that point. The man I am speaking of was a mix of Belgium, Congolese and Rwandan. His mother was a Tutsi and therefore he should be killed. They killed his mom but let him and his dad live because his dad claimed to be half French half Congolese instead of Belgium. The French government supported the Hutu government and so they could live. If the father had said he was Half Belgian, he would have been killed and also thrown in the latrine pit. Now they all live in peace as Rwandans. They now aim for a united Africa. Rwanda is a beautiful country with an amazing story of peace, development and reconciliation.