Missive from the Congo 020

This week’s missive is about Rwanda. Last weekend being a long weekend (Easter), five of us drove to Kigali, Rwanda for a change of scenery. In this missive I will discuss some of the similarities and differences between Rwanda and the Congo.

Someone, I don’t remember who, when referring to Rwanda, called it the “Switzerland of Africa”. The metaphor is apt. Rwanda is tiny. It has a total area of approximately 25 million square kilometres or about half the size of Nova Scotia. As with Switzerland, Rwanda’s neighbours are much larger. In comparison the Congo is almost 100 times larger than Rwanda. Rwanda is also very hilly. It is referred to in French as “le pays des milles collines”. The entire west and center of the country is mountains. It took three hours to drive from Goma to Kigali and the entire time was spent climbing and descending mountain passes. As an indication of how much up, down and around the road does, the distance from Goma to Kigali as the crow flies is 106 km but the actual road distance is 155 km. That’s a 50% premium. Needless to say it was an exciting drive in darkness.



New pavement in central Kigali



Having said that, one of the first things you notice the relative quality of the roads. The entire road between Gisenyi (the town on the Rwandan side of the border) and Kigali is paved, as are all the major roads in Kigali. Moreover the pavement is not leftover stuff from colonial days like much of the pavement in the Congo. It’s relatively recent and in good condition. In fact they were laying some fresh pavement while were there. The road east of Kigali to Akagera National Park was also well paved, at least up to the town just outside the park. Now to be fair, the side streets in Kigali weren’t any better than those in Kinshasa. Nonetheless there is a very significant contrast between Kinshasa and Kigali.

The means used to get around town in either city are pretty similar. Generally that involves collective taxis (mini buses), motorcycles and bicycles. The main difference though is quality. The vehicles in Kigali appear to be in good order. The relatively good condition of the roads helps keep them that way I’m sure. There are also a great number of motorbikes, as with Goma. Again the difference is quality. The motorbike taxis in Kigali appear to be regulated. The drivers have jackets with some kind of numbering scheme. All drivers have helmets and a spare helmet for the passenger. No such luxuries in Goma. There were also some “normal” taxis in Kigali. Again no such luxury in Goma and I don’t remember seeing any in Kinshasa.





Public service announcement



Finally, the thing that struck me the most is the language. Rwanda is a former German colony that was part of what was known as German East Africa. Following the end of WWI, the League of Nations declared Rwanda a mandate territory under the control of Belgium. As such, Rwanda became a mostly French speaking country. However, there is now a decidedly English bent to the country. The clerks, wait staff and others seemed determined to speak English instead of French. Public service announcements were in both Swahili (I assume) and English. I saw relatively few French signs, and those seemed relatively older. One of my fellow travelers, who has worked with a Dutch non-governmental organisation, said there was conscious public policy decision to shift to English. English is now taught in schools to a greater degree than French and as mentioned above many of the public service messages are in English as opposed to French. It is apparently intended as a deliberate break from the past.

All in all, Rwanda was a rather interesting study in contrasts. I don’t know how Rwanda and the Congo compared before the Rwandan genocide and subsequent African wars but they have surely drifted apart now.