Rwanda

I’m learning about the genocide here for the course I’m doing at the moment and it’s encouraged me to read up. I’ve read this country is rich with history, culture, breathtaking scenery. I’d love to see mountain gorillas – I know that’s what everyone goes to see, so I’d try to explore a bit and see the rest of the country.

I want to find out more about how the genocide happened as well – why it was allowed to happen and why the international community isn’t more willing to intervene in situations like Rwanda in 1994 and Darfur now. If this had happened a bit nearer to home there would have been more done. I’d like to go there and try to never forget.

Unlikely to ever happen.

So much of this continent is beginning to take a new fascination, something that I had not felt since childhood, when I read the missionary literature my mother got in the mail.

The role of the white man and womyn today is not so much to missionize, in Africa or elsewhere. It is our turn to listen and learn, and hopefully both atone for past injuries by helping to preserve what has remained of indigenous language and culture. But we are not to lead except as partners in this quest to learn and nurture.

I’m wondering if any of you reading this, who have any knowledge of African culture, history, languages, can help with the project now of building the Wikipedia pages.

Researchers, personal testimonies, writers are needed to help develop the pages of history, geography, language of Rwanda and other countries, which Wikipedia is for all of us a chance to share in the recovery, archiving, and passing on of knowledge our countries, history, cultures. Here’s a link to a page on Rwanda:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rwanda/History#Catholic_influence

Then I’ll go home.

Tragic history, natural beauty and an endangered species, who wouldn’t want to go here? I like the tropics, I like tropical people and I don’t mind leaving western amenities behind for a while.

Nice place and wonderful people.

I have a very well-developed background on the history of the country and it’s current (as well as past) political/socioeconomic status. I’ve wanted to go for quite some time, but I don’t know what I would do there. Something to help improve the lives there, even if in a small way.

Healing for me.