23 May 2006

This may well be my last posting from Rwanda. The rumor is we’re out of here on Thursday. Rebecca’s got the tickets in her hand as we speak.

The only problem is the people in Kinshasa who are working on the project that kept us here in the first place are still working on it. In fact, one of them told Rebecca that they wouldn’t be done with a draft by Thursday. Of course, the final grant proposal is due on Friday, so what are they doing? If they don’t let us leave – I don’t care whether they finish – I fear Rebecca may renounce her pacifism, fly to Kinshasa and kill somebody.

Either way, I’ve got to leave. My visa expires on Friday, and I don’t want to be living here illegally. I won’t be able to bribe anyone because no one will accept. But there will probably be a fine the potential size of which makes me quake in fear.

I feel like everything I’ve written about Rwanda has been negative. I don’t want to leave people with the impression that that’s all I’ve felt since we’ve been here. Part of it was that I was really bored the first few months in Kigali. I was writing stories, but not nearly enough. The other part is that bad news makes news. When things are going well, it’s hard to consider that abnormal.

So I want this last Kigali posting – probably my last posting about Rwanda because dwelling on things is singularly pointless and stupid – to talk about some of the things I will look back upon fondly. Some of them will be tinged with doubts, but that doesn’t mean that I’m not rooting for Rwanda.

There are a lot of good things to be said about the government here. They are hard to work with – there are times when visitors say glowing things about their dealings with government officials and I wonder if they’re talking about the same people – but they do have a vision for the country that goes beyond lining their own pockets. They like to call themselves “visionary”, but call me crazy, I don’t necessarily buy it when someone calls themselves something like that.

Yesterday I went to a private investment conference in Kigali. And while the investors and government officials spent all morning patting their backs and saying stuff like it only takes two weeks to start a business here, there were some impressive plans that have already started.

Let’s start with the bad stuff, though. The bureaucracy here is ridiculous. As I said, it’s not corrupt; it’s just Byzantine. It is not possible to pay fees directly to government ministries. First, one has to get a bill from the ministry, run over to the Rwanda Revenue Authority which is on the other side of town, wait in line with the rest of the country, then run back to the ministry in question. This is after collecting the 17 documents with stamps. So, yes, it may take two weeks, if everyone an investor is supposed to meet with is available for the scheduled meeting – highly unlikely – and the line at RRA isn’t too long – again, don’t hold your breath.

But the most important thing I saw yesterday is the government’s plan for Kigali. In short, they want it to be the African Singapore in 50 years. Why not? They want high-rise buildings. They’ve started to build an airport that will be the size of Heathrow in the same 50 years. They see grand boulevards with entertainment and business going on everywhere.

The government also has plans for resorts along their many lakes, which are gorgeous. Shopping is coming to Kigali. They envision the country becoming a tech center, a call center and a transport hub. Again, why not?

Now, there are things that I could point out. Aw hell, I will point out. There are very few plans for the areas outside of Kigali, a recurring problem I’ve found in Rwanda. Even with new shopping options heading to Kigali – the first shopping mall opened up while we were here and another should be open soon – there are still very few people in this country who can afford to buy anything. Rwanda wants Kigali to become Singapore. But look at Singapore’s neighbors. Then look at Rwanda’s neighbors. Singapore was able to service needs in other relatively developed economies like Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong and even South Korea, Japan, Indonesia and Australia. Rwanda’s got Tanzania, Burundi, Uganda and the huge, sucking vortex of the Democratic Republic of Congo surrounding it. Who in those countries has any money to buy the services Rwanda wants to make its central business? Again, I’m rooting for all of them. I just think it’s a lot of variables to pin a country’s hopes on. I hope I’m wrong.

One thing that gives me hope, and has made Rwanda interesting, is that it’s a country where I’ve seen significant changes in the 10 months I’ve been here. Between construction starts, new government policies and an increasing number of people out on the streets at night, seemingly being social, I’ve seen things beginning to build up. If they can keep this up, then they’ve got a shot. When people say they want to develop the country, they sound serious. I believe them. I just hope they remember to try to bring everyone along.

I’ve already written about the police. We like the police here. And we’ll definitely miss our house. It was a comfortable place to live, and a nice respite.

Most important of all, I’ve met some wonderful people here who do care about the country. Among them are the Focus reporters. I don’t think I’ve ever been prouder of anything than watching Helen, the first reporter sign up, get herself to write better. There’s a huge difference from the first story of hers that I read to the last story I edited. Yeah, I helped. But the thing that makes me proudest is how much she wanted to get better, and how much she worked at it. You wouldn’t believe the difference.

Then there’s Teta, who originally showed up to run errands. Now she’s decided that she wants to stay in journalism. Finally, there’s Magnus. Magnus is goofy. Magnus is a space cadet. But Magnus also has this tremendous sense of justice, and responsibility to help stand up for the left behind. We had to stop him from writing so much about street kids and beggars. He never wants to write what everyone else writes. There’s always another angle. He’s my kind of guy.
There are many other people I could mention that made my stay interesting and worthwhile, but I’d be here all day and so would you. Get back to work.

All of these good things don’t get rid of my doubts and misgivings about what’s going to happen in Rwanda. I’ve written enough about them and don’t want to cover old ground. But they do give me hope that things may actually get better.

Rebecca and I are now on to bigger and better things. We get to Yaounde late Thursday night (I hope) and I’ve already got a story to write on Friday. A few other outlets have expressed interest in stories from the region already. It’s good to hit the ground running.