Monday, June 11, 2007

Slums of Kigali



There are many safe and beautiful things to do and see in Rwanda. Such things rarely fascinate me.

Magnus from The New Times lead Christine and I down dark crowded roads. Vendors selling cheap shoes, clothes, popcorn, candy, fruits, veggies and pirated movies lined the main street. People stare at Christine and I, the only two Muzungus (white people) in this area tonight.

This is the slum of Kigali.

Though safer than many African slums, Magnus warned us to stay close. He lives mere steps away from here and knows the area, the people and the dangers all too well.

In the darkness, the lady to my left suddenly falls hard into a two-metre deep pit. She disappears for a moment, causes a small scene, but emerges with some help and no seems not to have sustained any serious physical injury.

We turn down a dirt road parallel to the main street—the prostitution strip. Here, girls as young as 15 earn a living doing sex work. We walk past small children playing on the road, none older than 10. “All children of prostitutes,” Magnus explains.

We are led into a small restaurant with wobbly tables and plastic chairs. We order ugali, a local root that is pounded into a dough-like blob. You grab pieces with your fingers; dip it in a liver or meat sauce; then chew and swallow. We also had porridge, a house specialty. For the three of us, the bill came to 1,900 Rwandan Francs, or about $3.75US. In other areas of Kigali, meals usually cost more than that per person. Now I can only hope that I don’t have some kind of amoeba from poorly handled food. A risk I probably won’t take again.

One photo I managed to take was of a butcher shop. I loved the sign and had to take it. Despite Magnus telling me there was no problem taking a photo, about five people protested and yelled at me. Although they were yelling in Kinyarwanda, there was no misscomunication: the butcher held up a clever, looked at me, and made a chopping motion.

We then caught a bus back to our house. Best night in Kigali so far.

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