Rwanda: Musanze and Gisenyi, Congo: Goma

Dumptrucks carrying people to Kagame's rally

Streets in Goma, where the lava had run through

Beach in Gisenyi, weather was not very good.

We crossed into the border at Cyanika, and took a car to Musanze, previously known as Ruhengeri. In Musanze, we went to the cheapest hotel, recommended by Lonely Planet. However, when we arrived, it was getting dark. The hotel is over a bar, and as soon as our car pulled up, creepy looking men surrounded it. Needless to say, I did not feel comfortable staying in that place so we asked the driver to take us to another hotel, just outside of town.

In the morning, we took a bus to Gisenyi. Gisenyi is by Lake Kivu, and it is now a "safe haven of peace", according to Lonely Planet. I wanted to see Gisenyi, since the man we are prosecuting at the ICTR is from Gisenyi--indeed, most of the Akazu, the masterminds of the genocide, resided in Gisenyi. The Accused was a very famous man there, and gave speeches there (allegedly) about Hutus getting together to fight against the Tutsis. While we were they, we avoided telling people that we worked for the ICTR, since one of our witnesses had been poisoned, and other witnesses claimed that his family was still very influential in that area. So, we told people that we were anthropology students, studying indigenous people from around the world.

We wanted to visit Goma, really just to say we went to the Congo. At the tourism office, we found a man who was willing to take us. His name is Innocent, his family was Tutsi and had fled to the Congo during the genocide. People told us Congo is not very safe, and that we had to go with someone who was familiar with the area. Right now, Congo has the largest contingent of UN peacekeepers. At the border, I forgot to bring my yellow fever card, so they refused to let me in, unless I paid for a vaccine (and let them administer it). Our guide suggested that I give them some money for a "soda", and they might change their mind, so I did, and they let me in. I guess Rwanda is not corrupt, but Congo definitely is. Goma was destroyed by a volcanic eruption in 2002. The town is currently being built (LP describes it as a modern day Pompei), and there are areas where you can see where the lava flowed through the streets and into Lake Kivu. I got out to take photos, and random people would stop and shake my hand. They seemed very friendly. Supposedly there is always ash in the air, but we went on a rainy day (the first rain they had in months), so that was not a problem.

I am still working out the kinks to blogger's picture insert, so it is a bit disorganized. Back in Gisenyi, there was a rally for Paul Kagame, the current president of Rwanda. Election are on August 9th. We were actually told to avoid Rwanda during election time, in case there was violence, but we thought we'd be okay. It was however, very chaotic. There are people running against Kagame, but they do not have the money to campaign. After talking with people, it seems some people definitely want a new leader. However, there were tons of people showing up for his rallies. People got free RPF (Rwandan Patriotic Front) flags, T-Shirts, and hats, and they would clamber into these huge dump trucks to be transported to the rally. People were singing, yelling, and banging on the side of the trucks.

A bit about Kagame, for those who do not know: Kagame was the leader of the RPF, who came into Rwanda from Uganda to fight against the Interahamwe; their victory was what ended the genocide of 1994.