It's that time of year again. 7th April: Genocide Memorial Week, public holiday.
Was woken up, auspiciously, at 7am by the neighbours playing extremely loud music - the TV coverage. Lots of hymns and songs. But extremely loud. Any other day I'd go and ask them to turn it down so I can get some kip (it's a regular occurrence - they're extremely noisy neighbours) but today I'm 'keeping a low profile' as recommended by the British Embassy:
To the British Community in Rwanda
Hope you are well.
As most of you are aware, from 7th to 13th April 09, Rwanda will mark "Genocide Memorial Week". There will be many activities organised during the week (official ceremonies, vigils, testimonials, prayer meetings).
There is a national holiday on Tuesday and Government Offices and many other organisations will be working on a half day basis for the rest of the week.
The level of security will be enhanced throughout the coutry especially around memorial sites. You see more patrolling officers.
The Rwandan Government has advise bars and restaurants to close earlier.
We do not expect any problems but do advise the British Community to show respect by abiding with the norms during the mourning week.
If you have any concerns please contact the Embassy.
The music is pretty haunting, though. A lot of methodical, slow beats and rhythms with the voices rising and falling. I have a view of all of Kigali from my house and, last night, watching the lights twinkling down in the valley, there was a profound sense of history. This time fifteen years ago: there will be a lot of people alive tonight who won't be tomorrow. Hindsight is a disturbing thing. Unlike last year, I'm staying indoors today.
I got back to sleep after the music but I was woken again at 9:00 by the weirdest screaming. Took me a moment to orient myself. At first I thought it was a person, maybe the sister next door who still has mental health issues, but then I realised it was an animal. It sounded like a dog or something, terrified. I leapt out of bed and ran to open the back door. I always put my cats out at night. Dogs and cats don't have a good association with the genocide because they ate the bodies. The UN and locals killed many of them afterwards to try and cull the spread of the wild dogs.
Ruairí was explaining to me that the elephant that is sometimes in Akagera Park is shell shocked. Apparently it got caught up in the violence and is still prone to extremely volatile mood swings. Sometimes it'll pose happily for pictures and other times, as with a car full of DFID staff, it'll trample a vehicle to pieces.
But, anyway.
There is a dog dying next door. It's only a little puppy but I don't think it will live long. I thought it was dead already when I first saw it leaning against the gap under the gate. It is completely emaciated and I wondered if the cries came from it. It was there again when I checked and seemed to have soiled itself down its back legs. When I try to push food under, it just hobbles away. At first I was cautious in case it was rabid but it shows no signs of aggression at all - just very, very sad.
Tomorrow I will try to find out who lives next door. If the dog is tame enough to approach I will offer them money and try to look after it, see if it belongs to anyone. It is very, very ill and malnourished. I think it may be too ill. It does not accept the food I give it and has trouble standing. I am not sure how you help something back from that, but Lies may know as she has a couple of rescue dogs and it's usually easy to re-home them with ex-pats here.
But it is not all sad news. Had a very interesting day on Sunday. Went to meet up with a guy who was a volunteer here in 2000 (the year after VSO returned to Rwanda) and founded Kivu Writers. He was also in the same intake as the current British Consulate, who stayed, and my programme manager, Amanda. He introduced Charlotte Wilson to her fiancé Richard and is mentioned in Titanic Express. So quite a VSO legend really. We were just meeting up for coffee at MTN Bourbon and then ended up walking down to the Tennis Club in Nyarutarama for beer, and then into town to meet up with Ruairí (who was just as excited to meet him as I was). We headed to a bar by the roundabout to continue drinking. It was a really nice night, very interesting guy, and we bumped into Paula, Sonya and their friend Christine towards the end.
He's out here trying to set up a school partnership through the British Counsel for his school back home, only, true to Rwandan style, when he got here the contact he'd been cultivating for the past year had been replaced and nobody had told him. It made the partnership untenable and he wasn't in the best of moods but, between myself and Ruairí (who is a District Education Manager here), we've managed to find him a few suggested leads for other schools.
Monday, I had to do a few last-minute things before today: bank, food shopping etc. I was supposed to go and pick up my green card but I'd finished by half-eleven and Immigration said 'after two' so I brought the shopping home and got on with some work, although the MTN internet connection is absolutely impossible at the moment. It disconnects every few minutes if it connects at all - real pain.
I was told to go back to the doctor for a foot check-up today, but I don't think he realised when he said that what day it was today. I will see'f they're open tomorrow.
I got a lift back with a really sweet moto guy. He took a strange route back to Gikondo from town which involved going over some speed bumps. As we did so, he turned to ask if I was alright! Extremely sweet of him, I've never experienced such care in public transport thus far. Then we got back and my landlady's sister caught me at the gate and was talking away in Kinyarwanda. The guy stayed and translated for me and gave me a massive grin when he left - fair stole my heart away. He was an absolute sweetie. So, sometimes nice things do happen.
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Started this at about 8am this morning and MTN has been down the entire day. Literally just come back on and very slow.
Been a very uneventful day, heard one person crying earlier and the neighbours have had the TV hymns up deafeningly loud all day - we're on Amazing Grace now. Going to go for a drink with Ben tomorrow night to escape. Hopefully we can find a bar that's open.
Nightypoos.
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