Story and photos - Jim Paterson
Rwanda - the land of 1000 hills
Mary
Millan was the guest speaker at the Guild meeting in St. Mungo's on
Monday 4 February, where she spoke of her connection and involvement
with the African country of Rwanda.
 Mention
Rwanda and Genocide, Tutsi and Huti spring to mind. Mary would touch on
this but opened her talk by positioning Rwanda as slightly larger than
the size of Wales. Where Wales has a population of 3.1 million people,
Rwanda has over 12.2 million. Situated just south of the equator the
country is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic
Republic of Congo.
Dominated by mountains in the west and
savannah in the east with two rainy seasons each year, the country is
called 'the land of 1000 hills', surrounded by hills as seen from the
capital city of Kigali.
 The
population are drawn from one cultural and linguistic group the
Banyarwanda, with three sub-groups, mainly Hutus, minority Tutsis, whom
we have heard of, and a smaller Batwa group who are a pigmy forest
dwellers. Hutus and Tutsi have a different social 'cast' system, which
was seen as a contributor to the ill feeling that led to the 1994
genocide.
Christianity is the principal religion of Rwanda,
Kinyarwanda being the main language, along with French and English.
Football is very popular with much support for Arsenal, who now promote
Visit Rwanda, as part of a plan to double tourism - its largest source
of foreign exchange. It has already created 90,000 jobs. A  spokesman said
its goal would only be met by marketing the country "in innovative
ways". Arsenal said the deal "will help Rwanda meet tourism goals and
develop football in the country".
Historically Rwanda was ruled
by Tutsi kings, leading to anti Hutu policies. Germany and Belgium have
both invaded the country, ruling through the Tutsi kings. The Hutus
retaliated and massacred thousands of Tutsi's, to form a Hutu state in
the early 1960's.
In the 1990's the presidents of both Rwanda and Burundi, both Hutu's died together  when the aircraft they were both travelling in was shot down near Kigali in 1994.
The
rising tension between Hutu and Tutsi erupted, not helped by the lack
of action from the catholic church. In about a 100 days almost a
million Tutsi were massacred. Family members, neighbours, friends were
slaughtered. Local officials as well as the church helped round up
people, in the guise of taking them to the safety of a church, they
were in fact rounding them up for massacre. The country of a 1000 hills
had become a war zone, largely ignored by countries in the west, who
turned a blind eye.
 After
the genocide the country economy crashed, but is now recovering with
coffee, tea and tourism being the main source of income. Music and
dance are a large part of the culture.
Mary has been involved,
through her church in Loanhead, with Rwanda for many years. Initially
by setting up a support group, working through the Rwanda churches, and
Scripture Union. Providing goats help families provide for themselves.
A hand up not a handout was how Mary put it.
We saw pictures
of families Mary had met on her visits, where children arrive to be fed
a fortified 'porridge' drink that provides vitamins and proteins that
are lacking in their diet. Each child is checked for improvement in
their growth.
 We
saw examples of life now in Rwanda and the help Mary and her church are
providing now, including rabbits that families look after, breed, sell
to gain income, and a source of food.
Mary had taken us
on a trip from colonialism, distrust leading to genocide, and rebirth
of a country that is looking to the future together. With the help of
people like Mary and the church we are all members of I am sure the
future for Rwandans is assured.
We
can all reflect on Sunday 7 April 2019, the International Day of
Reflection on the 1994 Rwanda
Genocide.
The
Guild meets again on Monday 18 February when Sarah Murphy presents 'Equal Futures'.
Meets in the Church Hall starting at 7.30pm
Published 6 January 2019 |
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