Arrival

We left on Tuesday, May 8 and arrived in Rwanda two days later via overnight flights separated by a full day in London, England. The good news is that we arrived safe in Kigali with all our bags. As for the bad news…well, there’s really no bad news, except that we’re very tired.

I would also consider it bad news that Solange (our wonderful liaison here in Rwanda) has informed us that we can’t take photos in the city without permission from the national authority. We are told that basically not even tourists can snap photos without facing risk of being detained by local authorities. Whether this is true or not is still hazy at this point. Solange seems to think it won’t be a problem when I am shooting for the New Times and Newsline, but I have my doubts now.

There is always the possibility to apply for government permission to shoot. Such permission, however, is supposed to cost mucho dineros. I’ll find out soon enough what option is ideal for a foreigner in my position. In the meantime, sadly, I will be leaving my camera in the house.

Speaking of which, the house is quite nice. It is nothing as I expected. In fact, it is much more than I expected: nice yard, huge sitting areas, several washrooms, great food prepared every day and even my own room. The property is surrounded by brick walls rimmed with razor wire and broken glass shards. Security guards are always at the gate.

We are staying in two houses, just minutes walk away from each other. Cynthia, Melodie, Emilie and Kyla are in the other house. Kate and I are in the other house with John, Solange and Sally. A few more interns and journalists will arrive in both houses as the summer goes by.

There is no really easy access to internet, and therefore, I have little choice but to write these blogs, transfer them to my jump drive, and post them the following day from an internet café (or possibly the newsroom, when I start my work).

We all start our internships next Thursday, a full week from our arrival. The reason for this is to leave time for an orientation program whereby we see the Journalism School in Butare, visit the main news outlets in Kigali and see one of the larger genocide memorials (the name escapes me at the moment) in the city. I can’t wait.