I feel like I should make a few disclaimers:
First, I hope I don't give the impression that we are at all roughing it or lacking in any way whatsoever (except lack of sleep, but that's my own system's fault and has nothing to do with the country.) This trip is cush. We are staying in a nice hotel in Kigali. The food is delicious and plentiful (more on that later), and we've got bottled water and electricity and internet and guides and drivers to take us everywhere. It feels safer and fancier than my normal life in DC. I'm so grateful for the opportunity, but it's a little embarrassing for a gypsy like me (especially when you consider we were staying in tents when we made the film in Sudan.)
Second, we are here for such a short time, so please know that everything I say is completely written from the perspective of someone who knows next to nothing about the country except what I've seen in films and read in books and have seen for the past 4 days. Take it more as a first impression than anything else. We're being hosted by the US Embassy, interacting with elite students, staying in nice places. I'm sure it's quite different when you spend longer periods of time here (which I would love to do) and go out on your own into the poorer parts of the city and the countryside. Regardless, I think it's a pretty amazing place.
Today we had breakfast in Butare at the hotel (my favorite was the delicious home-raised honey) and then went to a couple of museums in the area - the National Museum of Rwanda which was filled with really interesting and well-displayed historical and ethnographic artifacts - (old photos of the royal family, musical instruments, weapons, huts, gourds for butter-churning, lessons on how to make banana beer) and is well worth a visit if you ever happen to find yourself in the area. And then we went to the former King's Palace (a magnificent hut the king used before the country was colonized by the Belgians). Both were excellent places to visit to get a better impression of the ancient and pre-colonial history, which I knew virtually nothing about. Then we drove back to Kigali.
Through much of the drive, we followed a van covered with photos and banners supporting an opposition candidate for the upcoming presidential election. The election is August 9, and today was the official start of the campaign. (Wouldn't that be wonderful - a three-week campaign?) Wherever the van passed, many people along the sides of the road clapped and cheered. We asked Edwina if perhaps the people in the countryside were not supporters of President Kigame, but she said that her impression was that people there were just excited to see signs of the election and that they were just happy to be a part of it. I'll write a bit more about Kigame later, but I will say quickly that in the two months before we arrived here, there had been several stories in the news about opposition journalists being killed or thrown out of the country, so I was a bit concerned. Not for my own safety, but really just because we were being asked to encourage young people to make films and practice free speech, and I didn't want to naively be teaching them things that were going to get them into trouble. But while I'm sure there are issues here with repression and human rights, you certainly don't feel it at all, nor has it ever come up (except when I bring it up). There's a vibrancy and sense of optimism with all the young people (and Rwandans in general) that I've met. No one seems scared, they seem hopeful. (And I've definitely been in places that feel fearful and nervous).
At night, we had a screening of my film at the U.S. Embassy. The Embassy is only two years old and is surprisingly big. It sits on a hill and is like a fortress. They sponsor a lot of cultural and educational programs of all types, and have a really nice library where Rwandans (and Americans and other ex-pats) can come and use the internet and check out books and magazines and language programs... if you can get through the security, which takes some time (apparently, things have gotten a lot tighter since the recent bombing in Uganda). The film screening was packed - with both Rwandans and ex-pats, and we got a lot of questions at the end. We also showed a documentary called "Soundtrack of the Revolution" which is another film in the American Documentary Showcase program, and is about the use of gospel music during the civil rights movement. It's a great film, and I think it was an excellent choice of programming. It wasn't that long ago that America had to grapple with our own ugly events and it's good to show Rwandans that sustainable reinvention is possible. The film ends on a shot of the crowd at Obama's inauguration and a portrait of Obama.
A happy reminder of just how far we've all come, in an Embassy thousands of miles from home.
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