Life in postmodern Europe

Rwanda - a country of vast beauty II

Closer to the end of our time in Rwanda we again made a trip into one of the three national parks of the country. This time we did not go to the mountain rainforrest area, but drove through the Akagera National Park, a patchwork of grassy, wooden and bushy savannah, marshlands and lakes. This divers nature is home for more then 525 species. We saw "only" 24 different species but where already blown away by the beauty of nature. Here are some pics:

Rwanda - a country of vast beauty I

Rwanda is a rather small country but of vast beauty. Kigali, the capital, is basically the only big city. It is located exactly in the middle of Rwanda, according to Richard Kandt's measures, a German, who founded the "city on a thousand hills" in the center of the country in 1907.

Thousand hills is a good description not only for the landscape in and around Kigali, but for all of Rwanda. There are the beautiful rainforest mountains in the south-west, extending into Burundi and in total composing the largest area of mountain rainforest in the world (1030km2). We visited this area some days ago, hiking in the rainforest on altitudes from 1900m to 2500m. Unfortunately we did not see too many of the 275 different species of birds, the 100 varieties of orchids or the 13 types of primates. Following are pictures from "Nyungwe National Park", one of the three national parks.

AL

[pictures with AL behind the picture are from my friend Achim Luft]

Rwanda - remembering the genocid

Last weekend was Easter Weekend.

Last weekend was also the most important national holiday in Rwanda: Commemoration Day. Rwanda remembered the genocide. The holiday actually started a whole week of remembering. This week, almost all fun facilities - like tennis courts, cinemas, etc. - are closed. It is of utmost importance for the Rwanda peoples to be reminded that they are ONE nation. Quite in contrast to what colonial powers made them believe, and what propaganda of some fundamental groups communicated in the past.

Some days before the Commemoration Day we visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre. It was one of the most gripping memorial visits I had in my live so far. I already entered with mixed feelings, not knowing what awaits me. I had seen the movie "Hotel of Rwanda" some months ago, so I was prepared for the worst. However, it got even way worse. After about 90 min I left, only after shedding many tears.

The Memorial Centre starts with a short history of the country. You learn that it were actual the Germans who were the first colonial powers of Rwanda (1895-1916). That surprised me, as I did not hear much about the German history related to colonialism in school, definitely not about us being involved in Rwanda.
After World War I the Belgiums took over from the Germans. They started distinguishing the Rwandees, grouping them into three "ethnic" groups: The Hutus (about 85% of the population), the Tutsis (14%) and the Twa (1%), and prefering one group over the others. The distinction was made based on race theory: According to it, humanity is to be divided into different "races", some being superior to others. Hitler's thinking was one result of this theory.
This colonial oppression lasted until 1962, when Rwanda finally gained freedom and independence. But the damage was done and the foundation for civil war, the artificial grouping of the peoples and the preference of one over the other, was laid.

The genocide itself was well prepared, with lists of where the Tutsis live. It all started on April 6th, 1994, when the plane with the Rwanda president in it was shot down when approaching the Kigali airport. It was the gun blast for the killing of a million people, who's disadvantage was to belong to a ethnic group that has never really existed but was invented by colonial powers. How sad is that. It makes me go back between furious anger and devastating sadness.

What is also very dissappointing is the role of the international community in the process of the events. First of all, the French supported the Hutus for a long time, selling them weapons and training their forces, all of this long into the preparation for the genocide. Second, the UN and the French had troops in the country and region because of brewing conflicts already the years prior to 1994. Despite, the UN decided to pull out and ignore the genocide. Until the end they refused to name it a genocide, which, under international law, would have required them to take measures to stop it. Yet it could have been stopped so easily: The Memorial Centre argues that the number of soldiers who evacuated all internationals from Rwanda alone would have been completely sufficient to stop the violence. But the international community decided to save their buts rather then saving a million people. How sad is that. It makes me go back between furious anger and devastating sadness.

The killing continued for 100 days, until Kagame, a Tutsi who then was a general in the neighborhood country Uganda, finished his counter-strike of invading Rwanda and taking control of Kigali.
Meanwhile the French established a "safe corridor", extending from Kigali in the middle of Rwanda to the border to Kongo in the west. Though this corridor relieved many, it also gave many of the murders the opportunity to leave into Kongo. Again, the French had their hands in injustice.

Back to my visit and impressions at the memorial centre: There are some quite stark incidents displayed. You can actually see video clips of Hutus killing Tutsis with machetes - real incidents. You see pictures of wounded and mutilated people. You hear stories of victims and relatives of murdered family members. All this quite drastic and horrific.

The climax of the experience however, comes with the last room in all of the memorial centre. It is a dark one, round in shape, perhaps 5 meters in diameter. The only light comes from six showcases , each about 2m wide and 1m deep, that are placed around the room. As you enter the room you can already feel a weigh down atmosphere. Approaching the glass showcases you stop horrified: They are full with human skulls and bones. Six showcases, three of them with stacks of bones, three of them with skulls. The total is 106 skulls!!! You realize: You actually stepped into a mass grave.
No anger anymore. Only overwhelming, depressing sadness. Your natural tendency is to want to flea this room as you stand in the middle of 106 human remains. Despite this tendency I decided to force myself to face the drama of it...

Exiting this intense room, there is a quote displayed, which, in my eyes, says a lot. It goes like this:
"When they said ´Never again´ after the Holocaust, was it meant for some people and not for others?"
Apollon Kabahizi

This week is commemoration week - Rwanda remembering the genocide and that they, really, are ONE peoples, despite what others wanted them to believe.

Last weekend was Easter, the world wide memorial weekend that speaks so loudly about grace, forgiveness, redemption and hope. In order to see the wounds heal, Rwanda needs all of this more then anything else. I am so happy to see a country and it's peoples having traveled this road already quite a distance, Christians and churches being no small contributors to the progress. It is by grace Rwanda is where it is today.

Rwanda - church experiences

The Lord is risen! Peace with you! Happy Easter!

Ýesterday, Easter Sunday, we had our first church experiences in Rwanda. In the morning we walked past a church on our very pagan way to the shopping center - we ran out of drinking water the night before ;-). The dusty roads to the church were unusually crowded, and when we turned around the corner we saw why. You can see on the picture to your right: The church was packed! A church that, I would guess, fits at least 2000 people seeted, had so many people visiting that there was a huge overflow on the streets. Quite a stark contrast to the picture of German churches. But could be that this is only because it is Easter, right!?

In the later afternoon a new friend of ours, Christin, who is a Rwandan, took us to church. I was not sure what to expect. Yet it turned out to be a great experience of simple but passionate and devoute Christian faith. The independent but fairly charismatic church is only 8 years old but has already more then 2000 attenders in a fairly modern building with quite modern technical equippment. But could be that this is only because it is Easter, right!?

Well, as we learned from Christin later, the numbers are not only because of Easter. She shared with us that the genocide, that took place about 13 years ago, drew people even closer to God. There were some bad experiences about churches too, though: Some priests took refugees (so called "Tutsis") into their churches whith the promise to hide and protect them - and then went to get the Hutus to kill everybody. You can only cry about those incidents. I can so understand why some are done with church, hearing and reading these stories, some of them well documented in a Genocide Memorial Center.

Despite and because of these bad past experiences, Christin said, Rwanda people are more drawn to new churches then old ones. Here is a reason for church planting in Rwanda!

I feel I have to touch on the choir before ending this post: It was excellent and as you imagine African worship: Very lively, involving, rythmic, passionate. I look forward to the heavenly choir and hope that there are lots of Africans in it ... ;-)

Rwanda - intro

On invitation by a friend of mine, Michael, I am currently in Rwanda, doing research, exploring ministry opportunities and, of course, enjoying some vacation in a land of vast beauty. Michael, part of the EPIC community, moved to Kigali last year, doing, among others, community development through sustainable tourism. What I have heard and seen so far seem to me a much better way of helping Rwanda people, then the traditional approach of development aid. For more information I suggest you check these websites of Michael and his partners: www.newdawnassociates.com and www.sd-tourism.org

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about "Rwanda"? Most of us Westeners will remember the civil war that took place in 1994. At that time, the so called "Hutus" systematically killed the so called "Tutsis", resulting in about a million dead Rwandies. A modern day genocid.

However, as often the case, we only remeber the stark impression media brings to us. You do not hear much about Ruanda´s beauty, it´s enormous economical development over the last years, or the rich culture and history.

In the next posts I will share some of my impressions about Rwanda.

ECPN - in Barcelona

As said, the first European Church Planters Network (ECPN) gathered for the last three days in Barcelona. It was my first time in Barcelona and I must admit: I fell in love with this city! It is of extravagant beauty, filled with amazing architecture and sparkled with so many nice plazas. Here are some pictures:

Brit Awards 2007

3 of the more important choices and thus winners of the Brit Awards yesterday:

• International Female Solo Artist: Nelly Furtado
• International Group: The Killers
• Outstanding Contribution to Music: Oasis

Great music.

xmas greetings - Weihnachtsgrüße

[Picture:www.photocase.com]

Rwanda - Ruanda

1) Who has insight into the spiritual, cultural, sociological, ... situation of Rwanda? In case you have, please contact me. I would love to talk. Especially if you know about churches, missionaries, ...

2) Who has a heart for this country? I want to get to know you.

Ein Mann mit Geschmack - Starbucks

Darf ich vorstellen? Mr John Winter! Ein Mann mit Geschmack! Seine Mission? In jedem Starbucks der Welt einen Drink trinken. Am 3. November 2006 waren es genau 6283 Coffee Shops der derzeit ca. 12.000, die Winter schon besucht und geschmeckt hat. Der Tagesrekord: 28 Talls an einem Tag!

[seine Website mit allen Infos zu seiner Leidenschaft und Quelles des Bildes: www.starbuckseverywhere.net]

Mehr zu dem geschmackvollsten Menschen diese Planeten auch in diesem Artikel: http://www.radaronline.com/features/2006/09/starbucks_jones.php

In Deutschland wird es immer schwieriger, meinem Kaffeevorbild nachzueifern und jeden Starbucks Store besucht zu haben. Ich gebe mir ja alle Mühe, aber selbst wenn man nur die Städte (Starbucks gibt es in 17 deutschen Städte) statt Stores (76) zählt komme ich nur auf 8 der 17 Standorte ...  ;-)

Derzeit fährt Starbucks ne ziemlich aggressive Expansionsstrategie: 548 Mio Euro investiert das Unternehmen im laufenden Geschäftsjahr in neue Filialen. Da kommen derzeit jedes Jahr weltweit 2400 neue Ort des Genusses zu den schon 12.000 dazu! Sehr lecker! Ich frage mich wie Herr Winter da mithalten will ... ?

In Deutschland war er übrigens noch nicht. Schade, würde gerne mal einen Tall Caramel Macchiato mit ihm schlürfen. Aber dafür gibt es ja mehr und mehr Möglichkeiten: Konzernchef Jim Donald sieht in Deutschland noch viel Potential: "Deutschland ist ein großartiger Markt, nirgendwo auf der Welt ist der Kaffeekonsum größer." Ich treibe dieses Image der deutschen Kaffetrinker gern an. Gern geschehen!

Randbemerkung: Ganz im Sinne meines derzeitigen Fokus auf Afrika, 3.Welt, fair trade, etc sei bemerkt: Starbuck ist fair trade!

Randbemerkung2: Mr. Winter's story wird derzeit sogar in einem Dokumentarfilm verfilmt: "Starbucking". Stay tuned.