The church
There were staff in the hotel by the time we woke up, but the city hadn't quite returned to normal. Once a month Kigali has a community cleaning morning, and it is illegal to open any businesses or drive any taxis until noon. Having woken up at 7 am to get breakfast and head out to the church at Lake Kiyu for another memorial, we discovered the city still dead, and were stuck until 12pm when the taxis started running again.
I think it was everyone's first illegal breakfast. We walked into a hotel and persuaded the staff to make us some food, and we were put into a small room tucked away, well hidden from the breakfast police.
The memorial we went to was a gruelling, 3 hour packed-matatu ride from downtown Kigali. But we finally got there at around 4pm.
The church is on top of a hill with a fantastic view of the lake. It was a beautiful building, made from old stone and stained glass. Ten years ago, more than 1400 people were massacred here, when their pastor betrayed them to the Interhamwe.
Walking around the grounds of the church, we found several pieces of human bone, including half a jaw bone with all it's teeth, plus shreds of clothing and a large metal rod which may or may not have been a weapon. There were bullet holes in the stained glass windows, and in a little gazebo at the front of the church there were 3 or 4 shelves filled with skulls. There was only one local inside the church, and she sat looking at the alter the whole time we were there.
We had dinner on the banks of Lake Kiyu then got back in the matatu for the long journey back to Kigali. When we got back the electricity had cut out but we found a restaurant with a generator and had dinner. By the time we walked home, around 9:30pm, the streets were again deserted and unlit. I have no idea why, we were there on a Friday and Saturday night!
The next day was uneventful - a 9 hour bus ride through pouring rain to Kampala, then dinner and bed. Jim, ACF's president, has returned from a trip to Canada and I met him for the first time. Like the other Ugandan men I've met he is very soft spoken and seems very nice. And lo and behold, the internet equipment has arrived! Perhaps this place isn't so unreliable after all.
I think it was everyone's first illegal breakfast. We walked into a hotel and persuaded the staff to make us some food, and we were put into a small room tucked away, well hidden from the breakfast police.
The memorial we went to was a gruelling, 3 hour packed-matatu ride from downtown Kigali. But we finally got there at around 4pm.
The church is on top of a hill with a fantastic view of the lake. It was a beautiful building, made from old stone and stained glass. Ten years ago, more than 1400 people were massacred here, when their pastor betrayed them to the Interhamwe.
Walking around the grounds of the church, we found several pieces of human bone, including half a jaw bone with all it's teeth, plus shreds of clothing and a large metal rod which may or may not have been a weapon. There were bullet holes in the stained glass windows, and in a little gazebo at the front of the church there were 3 or 4 shelves filled with skulls. There was only one local inside the church, and she sat looking at the alter the whole time we were there.
We had dinner on the banks of Lake Kiyu then got back in the matatu for the long journey back to Kigali. When we got back the electricity had cut out but we found a restaurant with a generator and had dinner. By the time we walked home, around 9:30pm, the streets were again deserted and unlit. I have no idea why, we were there on a Friday and Saturday night!
The next day was uneventful - a 9 hour bus ride through pouring rain to Kampala, then dinner and bed. Jim, ACF's president, has returned from a trip to Canada and I met him for the first time. Like the other Ugandan men I've met he is very soft spoken and seems very nice. And lo and behold, the internet equipment has arrived! Perhaps this place isn't so unreliable after all.
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