Blogging from people in Africa and the Diaspora about life in the continent and beyond!
 
  London 17 April 2008 - its freezing cold, it feels like the middle of winter complete with chilling winds and all, we are in mid April, the height of springtime. I've gotten used to rushing around in the morning, walking at what seems to me a pace of 20 miles per hour on my two not so long legs. Central london train stations remind me of the Serengeti's wildebeest migration - if you dare walk in the wrong direction you could find yourself being trampled on. I can easily see how people get caught in the routine of daily life - every morning the same set of people board the same train at the same time, from the same position on the platform. Its extremely scientific, if however the train is delayed or cancelled then your whole routine gets kicked out of place but the most, diplomatic londoners would do is to express their dissatisfaction the only way they know how...i.e. by shaking their heads or tutting but never protesting in any meaningful way and never actually complaining to those responsible for the delays.
After a hard day's work, its time to meet up with friends at a trendy restaurant populated by non-English waiters - we order our food with the french waiter as a japanese one serves us jasmine flower tea, we wonder if one of the conditions for getting a job here is having a foreign passport and an exotic accent to boot. Our conversation is light touching on personal issues and also popular culture, did you catch the Apprentice on tv?....imagine so and so getting fired and what about that documentary about the guy who had arms and legs growing like a tree....incredible...and we think we have problems. We talk about Naomi Campbell's recent run in with the police and subsequent arrest after spitting in an officer's face. We ask ourselves if she doesn't she know that her actions reflect on the rest of us? Black people...black women....that having this skin colour often means representing your people whether you like it or not. We touch on issues of race and debate whether it is still as much of an issue as it used to be, a few of us think not - although we recognise that we are probably more segregated today than we were years ago....atleast socially, many of us work with people from diverse cultures but rarely do we spend time with them outside of work. After 2 hours of light to heavy banter, our bill comes with the new 'seemingly' compulsory 12% service charge, we all pay with plastic (no one it seems carries cash anymore) and all head our separate ways by public transport. Heading off to surburbia, to our partners and familes and to bed, ready for another day of 'train-work-sleep' and another day fueling the capitalist machinery.
Kigali April 2008
Ah, Rwanda, the country of a thousand hills! I visited it for the first time at the beginning of April this year which is the middle of the rainy season. Now, I’ve visited countless other African countries, each with its own charms, but Rwanda will always have a special place in my heart. Although, that’s not to say I don’t absolutely love Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda as well!
From the moment I set foot on Rwandan soil, I felt at home. The Rwandese are warm and welcoming, with a graceful beauty and serenity which belie the horrors they have gone through in the recent past. I now live in Freetown, Sierra Leone so I was constantly making comparisons between my home country and this, stunningly beautiful country with its rolling green hills. Truly Kigali is the greenest city I have seen anywhere and that includes both the developed and developing world. The city centre is bustling but not congested, and traffic moves swiftly through wide, often tree lined streets, with bus stops for the local mini-vans and taxis set well back from the roads.
There is a sense of order and calm everywhere, and the city is organised in lovely tasteful neighbourhoods with pretty hedgerows. It seems the Rwandese have a collective ‘green thumb’: I was truly envious of the works of gardening art I saw in the roundabouts and private gardens alike. A sense of aesthetic pervades the country, from the colour schemes and shapes in the city’s architecture to the art and crafts on display in the boutiques. I was impressed to see that all the major information signs and billboard advertisements are in the local language (sometimes with a translation in English).
I was privileged to visit the Akagera National Park (90 km from Kigali) on my first day in Rwanda. Both the main highway and the dirt road to the Park were immaculate. The Park was organised and well-maintained, with broad views of the breathtaking landscapes – it was even possible to see across to Tanzania on some sides of the Park. As a foreigner, I paid a higher entry price, but that was fine by me, in fact, I think that’s as it should be, and I gladly paid my contribution to the up-keep of the Park. Although I had seen many of the same animals in the Serengeti, I still had the same emotional response to seeing them again, in their natural habitat, particularly the giraffes, zebras and hippos. I felt the same affinity towards all the animals that I did that first time, as if they were family (well actually we are all from the same mammal family, of course!). I feel so strongly that we humans need to make sure that none of these animals become extinct. They are important to us and our way of life, even if we only see them occasionally in Parks like the Akagera or Serengeti or Masai Mara. I was thankful for the opportunity to see these animals again.
I left Rwanda, knowing that I will definitely return to this country. I left also realising that it is important for us Africans to visit each other’s countries so we can experience each other’s cultures, and view each other’s progress. Its so critical for us to learn from each other. Rwanda has such parallels with Sierra Leone, although the social traditions are so different. Recent war, small least developed African country, small population. Even within West Africa there are so many experiences we can share, including the role of the Diaspora in economic development. Apparently most of the development in Rwanda and Ethiopia is fuelled by the Diaspora, retuning with their money and their expertise. This same model has been used to good effect in Singapore, Malaysia, and even in Vietnam and Cambodia. Maybe some lessons for Sierra Leone? |
