New National Geographic Blog Up

National Geographic blog post.

My latest blog post for National Geographic Traveler’s Intelligent Travel blog is up. This time I write about a tourism initiative by Rwandan Edwin Sabuhoro, who started a cultural center which employs former poachers as cultural interpreters and performers.

Four Goats, Two Sheep, Six Bunnies, and Four Chickens

Molly and the AIDP orphanage caretaker with their new ram.

It all started with a rabbit. I had just come back from a muddy hike in the hills surrounding Ruhengeri and was peeling off my muddy boots on the front steps of the Amahoro Tours office when an old woman came by with a ratty plastic bag. She stopped in front of me, reached inside, and yanked out three bunnies by their ears. She put them down and they fled into the office, hiding among the computer cables. There were two fat white ones and a small grey and white rabbit. The woman asked for 3,000 RWF (about $5) each. I had no intention of eating a rabbit, and keeping a rabbit as a pet in Rwanda is a bit ridiculous when people here regularly have no food to eat, but I bought the grey and white bunny anyhow. I felt sad for it.

When Greg, who runs Amahoro, saw what I had done, he laughed—buying an animal for no reason other than it was cute and sad is something a muzungu (white person) would do. He suggested I bring it to the orphanage AIDP runs, as the local caretaker, Berita , a tough, feisty grandmother, was trying to get some farm animals to make some extra money and to use to teach the children about farming. I dropped off “Bugs” later and when I saw the orphanage only had a couple chickens, I suggested to Greg that the next day I might go buy them a pair of goats, animals which are considered quite valuable in Rwanda. They would only cost me about $30, but that’s a lot of money for a Rwandan, where the average per capita income is $370. I agreed to come back the next morning and go with Berita to the local market to get the goats.

Haggling over the price of chickens.

The next morning, Greg, Hussein, the orphanage director, and I walked two miles from the orphanage to the market. We walked to the “goat section” and Greg and Hussein began haggling. Hooves were examined, wooly rumps were groped, and tails casually were yanked up to determine the sex. It was evident people in this market were not used to seeing muzungus purchasing goats because a great crowd gathered to watch the spectacle. Once we had our two goats in order, Berita arrived on the scene, and informed us of her plans, which were much more ambitious than we had thought. She wanted a flock of goats and sheep, and a few more chickens and rabbits so she could breed them. Heading first to the bunny section, half a dozen boys and men held unhappy rabbits up by their ears while Berita made her selection. As she made her way through the rabbit, chicken, sheep, and goat sections, she passed her purchases on me and Greg and gradually we acquired a menagerie of four goats, two sheep, six rabbits, and four chickens.

Buying the animals was easy—getting them back to the orphanage was another story. We hired some boys to carry the chickens and bunnies and help tow the goats and sheep to their new home. I was assigned to take a fast-walking female goat and a lazy ram who wasn’t much interested in moving except when he was within striking distance of the ewe, which was in heat. Somehow, with much cajoling and careful maneuvering, our band of six humans and 16 animals made it to the orphanage without any casualties or conceptions.

I was happy to help the orphanage purchase the animals, and even happier that I didn’t have to take care of them. I used to dream of owning a farm but years of living in the city made me acquire a distaste for so much smell, poop, and noise. Berita will have her hands full, but she enjoys that kind of responsibility. Hopefully the orphans will like helping out as well.

One of the orphans meets the ram.

Snapshot: Ruhengeri Countryside

A view of countryside surrounding Ruhengeri.

I live in a very hilly part of Rwanda which is great for hiking. It’s the rainy season now which can make the trails pretty muddy, but also makes for atmospheric photos right before big storms hit.

National Geographic Posts My First Rwanda Blog

National Geographic Traveler’s Intelligent Travel blog posted the first of what will hopefully be many blogs written about authentic and sustainable travel in East Africa. For my first post I wrote about gorilla trekking in Rwanda and how the government uses money brought in by gorilla tourism to help the poor communities that surround the gorilla habitat.

10 Amazing Adventures Under $1,000

My new USAToday article

I just wanted to share an adventure travel article I wrote which featured a mountain gorilla and community tourism trip from Amahoro Tours in Rwanda. The article came out yesterday in USAToday. There are 10 adventure tours featured in the article and the Rwanda trip is the second one. Hopefully while I’m here in Rwanda I can get some more articles about Rwanda in big publications.

Genocide Week in Rwanda Marked by Trauma and Tension

Genocide survivors gather at the genocide memorial in Ruhengeri, Rwanda

Tuesday was the official start of the genocide commemoration and that’s when a real change seemed to come over the country. While the rest of year it’s considered improper to identify yourself as Tutsi (the group targeted in the genocide) or Hutu (the group responsible for the genocide), this week it has become very apparent who is who and that there is still a great divide between the two groups. The Tutsi survivors wear purple armbands or scarves and attend many of the events, which are very emotional, in groups. The Hutus overall seem to avoid attending the events and stay at home. Sadly there have been many reports of older Hutus taunting or harassing Tutsi survivors, and in few cases, killing them. Hence, there is a very strong police presence at all genocide commemoration events.

I attended the morning and evening opening day ceremonies in Ruhengeri on Tuesday with a Tutsi friend who served as translator. There were speeches and candle lightings and marching but things really got interesting during the testimonies where survivors retold in gruesome detail what they saw during the genocide. The crowd’s reaction to the details was immediate and visceral. Women and men screamed and wailed, some thrashing and clawing at other audience members as if they were being attacked all over again. The speakers continued without interruption while traumatized attendees were carried out by medics. Others were sobbing in seats but stayed and listened for hours anyhow. The misery was infectious and by the end of the day I was thoroughly depressed. As the lone westerner in a crowd of thousands of Rwandese I felt especially awful when people recounted being abandoned by the UN, Europe, the U.S., and the rest of the world during the genocide.

Walking home at night was a strange experience. It’s always a bit eerie walking around Ruhengeri at night because most houses have no electricity and there are no street lights so it’s pitch black by 7pm. This night the darkness was accompanied by a chorus of wailing and the occasional blood-curdling scream coming from inside dark houses and also from small groups of people wandering down the side of the road. It’s been explained to me by many Rwandans that during this mourning week some people’s minds regress back to 1994 and they relive the events of that time, and even start seeing dead bodies or machete-wielding figures coming after them. I still can barely comprehend what sort of things people saw and felt and did during the genocide but it’s evident to me now that the Rwandans’ post traumatic stress is very deep and won’t likely be healed for generations.

Thousands of genocide survivors march into Ruhengeri stadium to listen to testimonies of other survivors.

100 Days of Mourning for the Rwanda Genocide Begins

Frederick, a Hutu, testifies about his role as a killer during the genocide. After serving nine years in prison for his crimes, he now lives alongside Tutsi genocide survivors in a village near Kigali.

I’ve been busy this month filming interviews for a researcher from John Hopkins’ who is looking at the relationship between mountain gorilla conservation and public health in Rwanda and Congo. There’s actually a big connection because humans and gorillas swap diseases all the time.

But anyhow, in my spare time I’m trying to cover events surrounding the 15th anniversary of the Rwanda genocide, which started this month and lasts for 100 days. Fifteen years after 1994 the effects of the genocide are still apparent in everyday life in Rwanda, but since the last week in March the effects have been heightened because of all the events taking place to commemorate the anniversary. And we’re not talking about a day of prayer vigils, but day after day and night after night of public trials, grave unearthings, killer confessions, survivor testimonies, films, speeches, vigils, masses, lectures, and these crazy stadium-filling sort of group therapy sessions. The president of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, takes the whole recovery and reconciliation process very seriously and so has mandated the closure of most businesses during these events and has even tried to make attendance at some mandatory.

In order to be able to cover events related to the commemoration I went to Kigali to get a press permit from the National Commission for the Fight Against Genocide. After three days of fooling around with the red tape I finally got one. While in Kigali I went to visit a nearby village called Igiticyimuvumu which was established after the genocide by two pastors who wanted to try an experiment: Build a town where genocide survivors and convicted killers could learn tolerance and forgiveness and live side by side in peace. It’s unique in Rwanda and from what I saw it seemed to be working, although not without great support from the church. As part of the public testimonies encouraged by the government, one Hutu man spoke before the village about being a killer, his rehabilitation in prison, and his work to reintegrate into mixed society and live among his victims’ families.

A Tutsi genocide survivor talks about the death of her family at the hands of Hutu killers and the challenge of forgiveness.

Then a Tutsi woman spoke about the death of her parents and husband during the genocide, her subsequent hatred for Hutus, and finally her coming to forgiveness through her interactions with the church and the people in this village. It was amazing to hear of these people’s conversions, but when the killer and survivor sat down together after giving their talks their body language showed a great discomfort. I guess tolerance is the best that can be hoped for such a situation.

Children of genocide survivors and perpetrators, who no longer classify themselves as Hutu and Tutsi, perform a traditional dance together for visitors.

15 Years after the Rwanda Genocide, Mass Graves Still Being Uncovered

As part of their punishment, these confessed killers must unearth the bodies of their victims.

Just days away from the 15th anniversary of the start of Rwanda genocide, mass graves are still being uncovered in Rwanda. Most new graves are found when jailed genocide perpetrators confess to their crimes and reveal the locations of their victims’ bodies in exchange for reduced sentences. Immediately following the genocide in 1994, western observers estimated 800,000 people were killed but the ongoing discovery of bodies reveals a death count of more than 1 million Rwandan Tutsi and moderate Hutus.

I was doing work in the Amahoro office in Ruhengeri when my boss Greg told me that a new grave was being unearthed behind his neighbor’s yard. I climbed a steep hill across from the site to get a good view and saw more than a dozen genocide perpetrators in their trademark pink and orange prison uniforms digging a long, narrow trench. They hadn’t gotten very deep and no bones where visible. A mere 50 feet away, 100 or so villagers were gathered for “Gachacha.” Because the genocide involved more victims and perpetrators than the regular court system could ever hope to deal with, a more informal community justice system called Gachacha was put in place so that individual towns and villages could hear cases involving their own citizens. In this case, the Gachacha was deciding further punishment for the killers and collecting information from the victims’ surviving family members.

I only managed to get off a few shots before an armed prison guard sprinted up the hill and asked me to stop. Actually he said I had to pay for permission to take pictures of prisoners (most likely untrue). In exchange for a beer he let me keep the photos I had taken.

Peace Agreement Signed in Congo

These Mai Mai and Hutu FDLR rebels are not happy to have their picture taken but they can't do anything about it in this setting. Ha ha.

Sorry to have not posted in a while but it seems the whole country of Rwanda has had a bad connection the past few days. Just wanted to tell you all about my three days in eastern Congo.

For those of you who don’t know, eastern Congo has been in state of war for more than 10 years due to fighting between the government and multiple rebel groups. The rebel groups have been preying on the local population, raping and pillaging their way around the countryside whenever they need supplies. Countless refugees have gathered for safety in IDP camps bear the town of Goma, which is right on the Rwandan border. The fighting was particularly bad this past winter but then things quickly calmed down in January when Rwandan troops came over the border and apprehended the most troublesome rebel leader. Now a tentative peace has come to region and many of the refugees have gone home to try to put their lives back together.

This Mai Mai rebel couldn't even sign his own name without the mediator showing him how to hold a pen.

A long-negotiated peace treaty between the government and the rebel groups who have been fighting in the area was signed Monday. I was present at the signing and met all the government leaders, mediators, UN personal, foreign ambassadors, and rebel leaders involved. I just happened to be the staying at the hotel where the treaty was signed and because I was decked out like a journalist they let me in to photograph the whole thing. Now I know peace treaties don’t always work but this is being seen as a major achievement, something that has not happened in years. The rebel groups are being demobilized and there hasn’t been any fighting reported in a few months.

Anyhow, I didn’t come to Congo for rebels but for tourism. Many people in Congo are hoping to get tourism started up in the region as it’s home to numerous natural treasures like a large mountain gorilla population and several volcanoes which used to attract many hikers. Congo is hoping tourism will help generate a lot of income for the country as it has in neighboring Rwanda and Uganda.

A bullet-riddled sign greets visitors to Virunga National Park, formerly known as Albert National Park.

I went with my friend Greg who owns a tour company in Rwanda to investigate some of the Congo tour options he hopes to begin offering. We drove out to some of national parks which are really beautiful. There’s Albert National Park which has a big green volcano which is active and when tourism starts you can go on two day treks to see the lava in the crater. Right now the entrance to the park has a sign riddled with bullet holes and a ranger station that looks like a bunker, so there’s some major work to be done for sure. Then there is Virunga National Park, the mountain gorilla park which is within the same ecosystem as the gorilla park in Rwanda. Tour companies and the NGOs involved with tourism development and the national park want to start mountain gorilla treks, volcano treks, and other things soon but there are still a lot of issues that need to be sorted out before the government will give the official go ahead.

Open-toed shoes are not ideal in Goma.

The town of Goma, which will be the base for all these tourism activities, is still a mess as a result of all the fighting and a volcanic eruption that happened in 2003. There are still refugee camps outside the city and all the infrastructure like roads are in shambles. There are thousands of UN and all kinds of aid agencies running around but for the most part they are just dealing with getting the refugees food and health treatment and helping them move back to their home villages since the fighting is over.

You can buy blood diamonds poolside at this Congo resort.

Goma is set in a very lovely location on Lake Kivu and there are a number of fancy resorts surrounding it. Staying at one of these resorts you feel like you’re in the Mediterranean or something except there are all these foreigners conducting dirty mining deals with Congolese officials at the bar. Every five minutes huge private planes fly into town to pick up and transport out all the gold and cobalt and other minerals these people are extracting. Besides rebels, Congo has a major problem with government corruption and foreign exploitation of its mineral resources.

Just outside the resort is a whole other world–a bustling town, but extremely poo was covered by lava in 2003 when a volcano erupted and so the streets and houses are lined with black ripply lava. The people apparently just decided to keep on living there even though all their houses and stores got covered so they live in these wrecked slums among the lava flows and seem to make a living out of farming rocks. Greg walked me through the slums so I could see how the people live. The place is the dirtiest I have ever seen—garbage everywhere, open sewers, houses made of rusty sheet metal and sticks.

The flag out front means banana beer is on sale inside this refugee tent.

Later a Congolese guide took me to two refugee camps so I could experience that. There the people lived in small dwellings made of sticks and UN plastic tarps. As shabby as they were the camps were nicer than the slums because they weren’t built on lava fields and there seemed to be decent sanitation. Taking good pictures in the camp was hard because everywhere I went I was mobbed by curious kids.

Obama supporters are everywhere in Africa, even at this university election in Congo.

My photos from this trip are a bit all over the place as I was stopping in lots of places but only for a few minutes at a time. While walking through the town and areas where soldiers were present I had to resort to “shooting from the hip” because some of the locals and the former rebel soldiers were very wary of being photographed. Also, lots of people seemed quite suspicious of journalists. In one strange incident I was photographing outside a university when some officials whisked me inside and took me into a dark room to be questioned. When I convinced I was just a mere tourist wandering through they said I could go if I photographed their university presidential election rally and debate. So I did. Besides these you’ll see pictures of Goma, the resort I stayed at, the refugee camps, the volcanoes, and then the signing of the peace treaty. View them on Snapfish.

So anyhow, I’m back safe and sound in Rwanda and for the next week or so will be mostly be working on editing photos and writing stuff for the website I’m putting together for Greg. Then April 5-12 I’ll be going back to Congo with a researcher from John Hopkins School of Public Health who is investigating the benefits tourism could bring to the local communities around the national parks. He is bringing some video equipment and I’m supposed to film the whole thing. I’m not really that knowledgeable about video, but I’ll learn by doing I guess.

As for life in general, I’m keeping very busy, almost too busy, and probably need to find more time to just be alone and focus on writing well about all I have seen. Greg’s office (which I use to get online) is insane with so many people coming in and out and the Internet is super slow, so it’s been hard to accomplish much blogging and Internet research. I think I may need to find some hotel or other location with wireless where I can work sometimes.

I see you Muzungu!

My new name in Africa is Muzungu. That’s what I hear ringing down the streets and through the hills as I pass by locals every day. Muzungu basically means white person, and it’s not an insult, but an exclamation shouted in great glee whenever one of the strange pink members of the species is spotted. Here in Ruhungeri, Rwanda, children and even some adults cry it aloud when they see me coming, some pointing with mouths agape as if they have just seen a unicorn or some other fantastical creature. Most just stare, but occasionally a brave child will run forward to shake my hand and offer a greeting in whatever bit of western language they know: “Bonjour Monsieur!”, “Good Morning Jesus!”, and “I’m sorry, I love you, you’re welcome!” have all been shouted at me.

Thanks to Rwanda’s many hills, the locals have good vantage points from which to spot muzungus, and I am often noticed a good distance away. Yesterday while walking through a densely populated area on my way to an orphanage, the hills were alive with the echoes of “muzungu, muzungu!” From a quarter mile away I could see the entire population of an elementary spill outside to witness me and all my pale glory pass by. Later, walking by another school, I made the mistake of taking out my camera to take some pictures. To see a muzungu and to have their photo taken all at once was too much excitement for some. I just about caused a riot when I turned my camera body around to show the kids their picture. Before I knew it I was engulfed by more than 100 kids all vying to get their picture taken with me. The piled around me deeper and deeper until the headmaster came out shouting and swinging a large book.

I must admit my new celebrity status in Rwanda isn’t easy to handle. Most of the time on the street I just ignore the shouts although I do like to greet the people who attempt English or French with me. Taking photos here is a big challenge because I must be very patient and become almost invisible in order to get candid shots. But I have taken to telling people to ignore me outright or at least try and in return I’ll show them their photo. I’m getting a few good shots this way. It’s easier in structured environments, like when I’ve gone out to photograph some of Amahoro’s community tourism programs, because the people involved are used to muzungus and cameras. I may need to stick with the structured environments for shooting people going forward, and otherwise stick to landscapes and wildlife.