Day 108: Kigali – Nyangwe Nziza Lodge
Cath and Ian will continue on to Tanzania today to get to Mombasa as quickly as possible. The car will be stored there until it is shipped to Oman early next year. Hopefully, the political situation in the Middle East will have calmed down a bit by then.
We, on the other hand, have decided to explore a bit more of Rwanda than originally planned and are driving today via Nyanza (former royal city) and Butare (Huye/former capital) to Nyungwe National Park.
Before we head southwest, we pick up our laundry and explore the rather meager supermarket selection. Traffic is slow, the old trucks' emissions are high, motorcycles buzz around us, and somehow the Rwandans aren't the best drivers either :-)
The landscape we're driving through today is beautiful. Hilly and mountainous, very green, with lots of agriculture, it sometimes reminds us a little of Tuscany or Taiwan. However, the settlement is extremely dense, and we read that Rwanda's population density is more than twice that of Germany. And no, we don't believe in a future for European refugees in this country – Rwandans have enough to do on their own.
On the way, we pass the Murambi Genocide Memorial, and after some reading, we decide to visit it as well. Peter accompanies us as a guide through the site, which is very helpful. 25,000 Tutsi were killed here within a very short period of time. Here, too, with every "tool" available, preferably machetes. Exhumed bodies, which are practically mummified, show agony, fear, and pain. And again, we wonder how such a bloodbath could have come about. Especially since some of the people had known each other for many years. It also becomes clear once again what a pernicious role the Europeans played – turning other people against each other and thereby strengthening their own power. And ultimately, French military personnel were also involved, at least here.
What concerns us greatly is the question of how a country can cope with such trauma. How people in a village can continue to live together, knowing who did what to whom.
By the way: The University of Hamburg is involved in the preservation of the few bodies that can be exhumed. Most of the dead have almost completely decomposed within a year. Even 30 years later, the registration of the dead is still far from complete.
With a heavy heart, we enjoy mundane things in the evening.
Today we are at the Nyangwe Nziza Lodge and are given a room key for use of the bathroom. Wonderful, a hot shower in a clean bathroom. A delicious noodle dish, a beer. So peaceful...
David, the resort's caretaker, confirms that there are fewer guests this year. We noticed the same thing in Uganda. And we often wonder how all the resorts are supposed to survive. The global political situation appears to be having a significantly negative impact on tourism in "long-distance" destinations. Let's keep our fingers crossed for these countries – tourism is so urgently needed.