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Rwanda is a special place with some seriously traumatic history. Before heading to Tanzania, I was able to spend a few days in this incredible place to see mountain gorillas in their natural habitat. Rwanda is known as land of a thousand hills.

Before discussing the beauty of the country though, it is important to understand the history of Rwanda and the genocide that followed.

TRIGGER WARNING: SO OF WHAT YOU READ MAY BE UPSETTING. IF YOU ONLY WANT TO KNOW ABOUT GORILLAS, SCROLL TO THE GORILLA HEADING.

Quick History

Tutsis in Power

There are two main ethnic groups in Rwanda: The Tutsis and the Hutu. In the 15th century, the Tutsis were the majority of the rulers, and tended to be wealthier, even though they were the minority population. Also, Tutsis were mostly herders, while Hutu were mostly croppers. Rwanda was colonized by the Germans in about 1895 but taken by the Belgians during WW1. Under Belgian colonial rule, these class distinctions became racial, especially with the introduction of the identity card in 1932. Belgium determined that anyone with 10 cows in 1932 were Tutsi and anyone with less were Hutu. This would also apply to descendants. In essence, the Tutsis were the more powerful. These identities and how they affected politics laid the foundation for the genocide in 1994.

Why Did Power Change?

When the Tutsis called for independence around 1959, the Belgians looked to the Hutu for support.

Hutu in Power

Belgium created civil unrest by replacing Tutsi chiefs with Hutu and by allowing the Hutu to commit violent acts against them. The Hutu were also encouraged by the Catholic Church and by Belgian Christians. Many Tutsis were exiled and joined the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). Regardless, on July 1, 1962, Rwanda was granted independence from Belgium and became a republic governed by the majority party of Hutus. The president was Grégoire Kayibanda. Rwanda became a repressive state characterized by persecution and ethnic cleansing of the Tutsis. In 1973, he was overthrown by his defense minister, Juvénal Habyarimana. Under his dictator regime, all opposing parties were outlawed. He formed a relationship with France around 1975 who provided the Hutus with arms and military training.

The RPF invaded Rwanda in October 1990, setting off a civil war. After multiple protests, Habyarimana was forced to begin peace negotiations with the RPF under the watch of the UN. This resulted in the Arusha Accords. On October 5, 1993, the UN established the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) to supervise and implement the Arusha Accords, which would involve power sharing among opposing groups. Approximately 2500 military personnel were sent, primarily French. However, President Habyarimana had no intention of implementing the accords.

The Final Straw

On April 6, 1994, an airplane carrying Habyarimana (and Ntaryamira, the Hutu president of Burundi) was shot down as it was landing in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, killing both presidents. (Responsibility is disputed, blaming both the RPF and Hutu extremists. However, more recent inspection of the evidence relating to ballistics and acoustics has reaffirmed the theory that it was Hutu extremists that assassinated Habyarimana.) A crisis committee was formed by the military, headed by Colonel Théoneste Bagosora who had been Chief of Staff for the Ministry of defense. Bagosora to recognize Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana as acting president, even though she was next in line of political succession. The UNAMIR Commander, Lieutenant General Dallaire called it a coup and assigned ten Belgian soldiers to protect her. Uwilingiyimana, her husband and all ten soldiers were killed overnight by the Presidential Guard. Much of the UN personnel were evacuated. The crisis committee appointed an interim government and began the systematic killing of Tutsis and moderate Hutu using those original identity cards to identify their victims with accuracy.

Genocide

For approximately 100 days from April 6 until mid July, 1994, around 1,000,000 Tutsis were killed in a genocide. Between the genocide and resurgence of the civil war, the UN thought the conflict was too difficult and volatile to handle. The Tutsi rebels successfully overthrew the Hutu government and hundreds of thousands of Hutus fled to nearby Congo, causing the First and Second Congo Wars. Dallaire asked the UN for the means to help, but the only soldiers to arrive were French military. The French troops reassured the Tutsis that it was safe to come out of hiding and they left them to be slaughtered by the interahahmwe. They also provided safe travels for genocidairs fleeing the advancing RPF. The Ghanaian, Tunisian and Bangladeshi UNAMIR soldiers who stayed saved the lives of tens of thousands of refugees at various sites, including Amahoro stadium and Hotel Mille-Collines. The rest of the world did NOTHING. It was ultimately the RPF, led by Paul Kagame, who were victorious.

I stayed at the Kigali Serena, although I did see the hotel Mille-Collines made famous by the movie, Hotel Rwanda. If you have not seen the movie, please do. You can find it here. It gives a very real portrayal of the genocide and a general sense of what happened at the hotel. It is important to note that the hero in the movie was not quite as heroic as portrayed. At the beginning of the genocide, he only gave refuge to those who paid. Only later, when nobody had anything left to give did he do it for free.

Spending a few days in Kigali allows for time to explore the small city. At one point I saw a prison with inmates wearing pink. We were told they were genocide related prisoners. I now understand pink is for prisoners awaiting a sentence. I supposed when I was there in 2008, there were still a lot of them awaiting sentencing. I can’t imagine how long it takes to convict one million+ perpetrators.

It is very worthwhile to spend time at the Genocide Memorial of Kigali. This museum is incredibly informative, not just about the Rwandan Genocide, but about genocide around the world. One thing I learned is that more people died in the 3 month Rwandan genocide than in 3 months of any other genocide around the world. The museum has film interviews and images that are heart wrenching. They have created beautiful gardens surrounding the museum.

Reconciliation has become the law in Rwanda under President Kagame. The idea is to reconstruct the Rwandan identity, balancing justice, truth, peace and security in the country. The Constitution gives all Rwandans equal rights and laws have been passed to fight discriminating and divisive ideology. The goal is that perpetrators and victims living side by side in peace.

I found it to be a tough pill to swallow. During the genocide Tutsis ran into schools and into churches for safe haven. But when the Interhamwe (the Hutu military organization) asked nuns in the churches to help, some obliged. They provided gas to burn down buildings where the Tutsis were hiding or pulled some out and handed them over directly. These are people of God, so why did they do it? The overwhelming consensus is that they felt they were doing God’s work. Apparently cleaning the earth of Tutsis was like cleaning the earth of sin. So killing was equivalent to praying. On a side note, we did not see many churches. I’m not sure if it was because they had burned down during the genocide or if it was because people had lost faith in organized religion.

And why did Hutus participate? I’m sure some really were just evil, but many were just your average person. Neighbors, colleagues, and friends killed each other. During some confessions, some said if they didn’t kill, they too would have been killed. And some were promised a better future if they participated. It’s tough to look away from that when your own survival depends on it.

After talking to many Rwandans, I heard one common thought regarding reconcilliation: There is no choice. You can’t forget, but in order to live, and to survive, you have to make peace within yourself. Or you lose yourself.

GORILLAS

Driving from Kigali to Virunga takes 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Assuming the roads are the same as they were in 2008, it is narrow, sometimes bumpy, and often with foot traffic.

The children would ask us for our empty water bottles. They would fill them with porridge and carry it to school. If you are looking for gift ideas, perhaps some thermoses would be a nice item to distribute.

Upon arriving into the Ruhengeri region we saw the Sabyinyo Volcano, which means teeth of an old man.

We stayed at the Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge. There were not a lot of hotel options back then, but there appear to be more choices now in every budget. This hotel was amazing with each guest assigned their own cottage. After each trek they took our shoes to be cleaned and gave us slippers. At night they warmed the beds with hot water bottles that lasted most of the night. If you have mobility issues, this hotel may not be the best choice for you, but you probably shouldn’t try to see the gorillas either.

I had a hard time finding out what to wear during my gorilla trek. Since I was there at the end of the rainy season, I knew I needed to prepare for all sorts of conditions. On both days, I wore hiking boots, hiking pants, a thin sweatshirt or long sleeve shirt and a light raincoat. Regardless of the weather, we discovered it is good to be covered since there are a lot of stinging nettles. It rained every afternoon and night while I was there.

It is important to note that there are only 10 gorilla families that tourists can visit. Only 8 people are allowed to visit each family every day, which means 80 people per day. That is not a lot, which explains why the tickets are so expensive and why you must plan far in advance.

Kwitonda

My first trek in the Volcanoes National Park was to see the Kwitonda family who had recently crossed the mountain from the Congo. We had a gentle walk through some Idaho potato fields to get to the park’s border.

At the time of my visit, there were 16 family members, including two silverbacks. They were not as well habituated to humans in 2008, but over time that has changed. The silverback in charge was Kwitonda. It is my understanding that he died in 2012 of fairly natural causes. Prior to his death, he did something unusual for a powerful silverback. He allowed the other males in the family to mate, likely because his strength was weakening and he needed his family to grow. The Kwitonda Family is now a family of about 28 and is led by Akarevuro, who was a young male during Kwitonda’s reign. There are two or threee other silverbacks in the group as well. They are currently one of the most popular families for tourists to visit because they are relaxed among themselves and with humans.

Fun Facts And Rules About Mountain Gorillas

Gorillas are extremely intelligent.

A gorilla’s noseprint is lake a human’s fingerprint.

Beer is to people as bamboo is to gorillas.

Males aged 8-12 are called blackbacks.

Gorillas are vegetarians.

Baby gorillas are smaller than human babies when born but reach maturity around 12 years old.

Their arms are longer than their legs.

Direct eye contact may scare them and make them aggressive.

Humans share about 98% of our DNA with gorillas, which is why you can only visit if you are not sick.

You are required to stay about 20 feet away from the gorillas since they are very susceptible to even a human cold.

Gorillas don’t follow the 20 foot rule. The babies are especially rebellious and quick, often running over human visitors feet.

Sabinyo

My second trek was to see the Sabinyo family which had 9 family members and two silverbacks. The head silverback, Guhonda, was about 35 years old (they live to 40 or 45 years old) when I met him and was the oldest in Rwanda. Dian Fossey knew him and she had been dead over 20 years. Fun fact: He is still alive! Some say his son is in charge now though. Guhonda is also the largest of all the mountain gorillas in Rwanda. It was a treat to see him.

The Sabinyo family now has 13 members and two silverbacks. They are also quite easy to track, taking less than two hours to find them, and are very friendly. When we found them, we were surrounded quickly. They were very active on this particular morning and getting clear pictures was tough.

While the price has gone up to see the gorillas, it is worth it. Make sure to take time to visit the locals and purchase some of their wares. They need to feel that tourism is worth it for them personally so that they too will want to protect the land and prevent gorillas habitat loss. That is the only way to keep these extremely endangered animals safe.

With my heart full, we drove to Lake Kivu and the border to the Congo. I had hoped to cross the border into Goma and explore for a few hours. Unfortunately the drive took longer and the crossing wasn’t safe that day. While it was an enjoyable stop, I wouldn’t have made the drive just for afternoon cocktails.

The last stop we made in Rwanda was at the Imbabazi Orphanage. The orphanage was founded by Rosamond Carr, a New Jersey woman who lived most of her adult life in Rwanda where she ran a pyretheum and coffee plantation. After the genocide, she ran the orphanage with her partner, Sembagare, who was originally her houseboy and a trusted employee for about 50 years. The Orphanage closed in 2020 because all of the children that were taken in have aged out.

TRIGGER WARNING

When I visited, my friend brought paper, pens and other supplies to donate. We thought there would be some young children there, but the orphanage wasn’t taking new children since they were still full with survivors from the genocide that had occurred 16 years prior. Most of the kids looked like older teenagers, which would mean they were babies when they were orphaned. Many of the children had missing limbs and I didn’t find it appropriate to take pictures of them. The happy news is that many have reintegrated into their neighborhoods and families.

Aftermath of the genocide

During the genocide, women were raped by men known to have HIV. Anti-retroviral meds were not made available in a timely matter to save lives so women continue to die as a result of the genocide. There were so many offenders that the Rwandan national legal system could not handle all of the cases. They resorted to the traditional Gacaca system, which means justice on the grass. The lower level offenders were required to wear pink as a form of humiliation and were tried in their communities where they mediate a solution involving reparations. The Gacaca trials provided victims the chance to learn truth about the death of their family members and relatives and the perpetrators were given an opportunity to confess their crimes, show remorse and ask for forgiveness.

A new constitution was written by the Kagame government in 2003. The government promotes reconciliation and unity among all Rwandans and forbids any political activity or discrimination based on race, ethnicity or religion. Right of return to Rwandans displaced between 1959-1994, primarily Tutsis, is enshrined in the constitution, but there is no mention of the return of Hutus. Never less, the constitution guarantees ALL persons originating from Rwanda and their descendants shall, upon their request, be entitled to Rwandan nationality and no Rwandan shall be banished from the country. From what I saw when I was there, they really are trying hard.