It was the summer of 2007 when I went on a journey that would shape a big part of who I am today. Rwanda. I lived in a big house in Kigali with five roommates for two months as a part of cultural and educational exchange. The idea was for us journalism students to bring over what we learned in school to impart that knowledge on the working journalists in Rwanda. Like many of Rwanda’s institutions, the media was devastated during the 1994 genocide. Journalists were among the 800,000-1,000,000 victims of the killings. But how the media was used prior to the genocide also formed how it operated after it was over.
Before the genocide, racist propaganda against the minority Tutsi population was broadcast over the radio. In Rwanda, most people got their news and information from the radio. And in the time ahead of the genocide, that information incited hatred against Tutsis, including instructions to “kill the cockroaches.” So perhaps it’s not very surprising that after the genocide, the media was tightly controlled by the new government. When we were there, the largest English daily newspaper was basically a mouthpiece for President Paul Kagame, as were the state-owned radio and television stations. These outlets mostly provided sunny news about all the great things happening in Rwanda. I can understand the point of it. They rightly wanted to avoid another situation in which hateful words were being spread en masse and flare up old racial tensions.
But we know a free press is crucial to a functional democracy, which is what Rwanda wanted to be. There were independent newspapers but their journalists were constantly threatened and some were later found murdered. The Rwanda Initiative’s group of students and trainers arrived to help encourage journalists to be critical, ask questions and challenge the government.
Whether I actually made an impact on anyone is debatable as I was just a 21-year-old scrub at the time. I don’t think that matters though because the country sure made an impact on me. Rwanda taught me patience and compassion when dealing with hardships. I learned that I always need to be ready to adapt to anything… a bumpy ride in the back of a truck through the out-country without a seatbelt, dealing without common Western conveniences like potable water, hot showers, electricity or laundry machines. I got up close and personal with nature, learning to find beauty and amazement in everything the earth has to offer.
I have stories. Many stories. And they are all scattered around the Internet. Some might be lost forever so I’m creating this section as a place where it can all be together. The entries will be edited slightly for clarity. Hope you enjoy going through the memories with me.
Murakoze cyane. Thank you very much.
andrewng.media 