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Rwanda

Background: In 1959, three years before independence from Belgium, the majority ethnic group, the Hutus, overthrew the ruling Tutsi king. Over the next several years, thousands of Tutsis were killed, and some 150,000 driven into exile in neighboring countries. The children of these exiles later formed a rebel group, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), and began a civil war in 1990. The war, along with several political and economic upheavals, exacerbated ethnic tensions, culminating in April 1994 in the genocide of roughly 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus. The Tutsi rebels defeated the Hutu regime and ended the killing in July 1994, but approximately 2 million Hutu refugees - many fearing Tutsi retribution - fled to neighboring Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, and the former Zaire. Since then, most of the refugees have returned to Rwanda, but about 10,000 that remain in the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo have formed an extremist insurgency bent on retaking Rwanda, much as the RPF tried in 1990. Despite substantial international assistance and political reforms - including Rwanda's first local elections in March 1999 and its first post-genocide presidential and legislative elections in August and September 2003, respectively - the country continues to struggle to boost investment and agricultural output, and ethnic reconciliation is complicated by the real and perceived Tutsi political dominance. Kigali's increasing centralization and intolerance of dissent, the nagging Hutu extremist insurgency across the border, and Rwandan involvement in two wars in recent years in the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo continue to hinder Rwanda's efforts to escape its bloody legacy.




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Areas in : Province de L'Est (5) | Province de L'Ouest (18) | Province du Nord (39) | Province du Sud (20) | Ville de Kigali (141)

November 7th 2009  Africa » Rwanda » Ville de Kigali » Kigali
I'm here! I safely arrived in one piece with all my luggage right on schedule! I cleared Immigration, the Swine Flu Inspectors, and Customs with no problem. There was a driver waiting for me with a ... [full story]

23 hours ago: Pint Size published a blog
Erm... not quite there yet
November 7th 2009  Africa » Rwanda » Ville de Kigali
Who would have thought there could be so much to write about and we haven't even arrived yet! Am writing this sitting in the bar at Nairobi airport, all flights onwards are either cancelled or delaye ... [full story]

5 days ago: Alex and Jenn published a blog
Grocery Shopping
November 2nd 2009  Africa » Rwanda » Ville de Kigali » Kigali
Here are some details about our relatively mundane Saturday... We started off grocery shopping at Nakumat, a Kenyan supermarket chain, located in a downtown shopping mall. Upon entering the parking ... [full story]

Lake Muhazi
7 days ago: Paul D published a blog
Lake Muhazi
October 31st 2009  Africa » Rwanda » Province de L'Est
Last weekend a friend invited a few people to stay at his house in Lake Muhazi. Two Land Cruisers filled with paraffin lamps and a few crates of beer later we found ourselves in paradise. Upon arrival ... 4 photos [full story]

9 days ago: Pint Size published a blog
Final Preparations
October 29th 2009  Africa » Rwanda » Ville de Kigali » Kigali
Welcome to the Cricket Without Boundaries Rwanda team blog! Here we will bring you the highs, the lows, the tears, the tantrums and hopefully a whole lot of smiles and success stories. We aim to pos ... [full story]

Meeting our distant relatives
12 days ago: Weir travels published a blog
Meeting our distant relatives
October 17th 2009  Africa » Rwanda » Province du Nord » Parc National des Volcans
I saw gorillas today. As close to me, from my seat at the bar, as the barman is now, with the silverback about as far away as the TV on the other side of the bar. And they were the most unfa ... 26 photos [full story]

12 days ago: Basselope published a blog
A bit of an update
October 18th 2009  Africa » Rwanda » Province de L'Ouest » Gisenyi
Tanzania seems like a million years ago, I made friends with an immigration officer and a conservationist for the Jane Goodall Foundation (her park was right near by but with exorbitant entry fees ... [full story]

Escaped Kigali
13 days ago: Alex and Jenn published a blog
Escaped Kigali
October 25th 2009  Africa » Rwanda » Province du Sud » Butare
Many thanks to our new friends Joe and Jenny for taking us on a day trip to Butare. Butare is near the Rwanda/Burundi border and around a 2.5 hour drive from Kigali. We stopped off at the National Mu ... 8 photos [full story]

Mutzigfest
15 days ago: Paul D published a blog
Mutzigfest
October 22nd 2009  Africa » Rwanda » Ville de Kigali
Last weekend there was a music festival here sponsored by one of the local breweris; Mutzig. There was live music, (actually one of my friends was playing in the band), brochettes (beef kebab - the st ... 4 photos [full story]

19 days ago: Alex and Jenn published a blog
Videos
October 19th 2009  Africa » Rwanda » Ville de Kigali » Kigali
Attempt at posting two videos. ... [full story]


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