Rwanda II: the impossible

Some other sights to behold in this country of many faces:

Bicycle taxis

Kids that should be in school instead of hanging out with the mzungu

Dignity and beauty

Innovation

Creativity

And a sight burned into my memory but not photographed:

Holocaust Memorial:
A brick church, with makeshift pews of iron seats, piled with clothes emptied of humanity
An altar, with a small Russian icon, and piles of rosary beads, bracelets, wallets, i.d. cards…
A stained glass window, with drops of blood falling from the sky, above a kneeling figure
An open crypt, with shelf after shelf after shelf of skull, leg, and arm bones, arranged in even rows

5000 people taking refuge were massacred here, because the priest tipped off the rebels that their “enemy” was there.

There’s lots to sort out, as you can imagine. Twenty years later, Rwanda is a calm, stable place, that is going through growing pains of trying to develop a stable economy and dig its way out of bone crushing poverty. Given that they had the courage to let go of the past and embrace a present that no longer distinguishes between “them” and “us,” I think they have a fighting chance at it.