The Intro That Became Its Own Blog Entry

"Personal experience with Rwanda peace-keeping efforts..."
Note: Posting written on 6/24/2009

Dear FF&B,

I walked along after breakfast, smiling in the sunshine and eager to share my last few hours in Rwanda as only a bittersweet lover destined to move away "forever" wishes to spend his every last moment with his cherished beloved. Nothing could stop me from savoring the experience through sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, and nostalgic memory – a luxury for any wayward traveler should his departure not be scheduled too early.

As I dodged my way through taxi drivers/motorbikes/ buses, I smiled and greeted each citizen upon my trek, becoming an emanation of goodwill on behalf o all global travelers. Despite the courteous but firm declinations of talk-time/newspapers/magazines/paid transport, I felt as if every encounter was positive and understood from this cosmic perspective.

Planted into this was an individual that decided to walk about with me. Speaking part Kinyarwanda and part French, I tried to explain I could not understand him. There was much gesturing and I began to lose my sense of cosmic lightness. Let me be clear: never did I ever wonder for my personal safety, as I was not physically impeded in any way. The only slightly concerning aspect of this encounter was the placement of his hand on my forearm – not alarming for a transaction – but the grip was decidedly firm and demanding. I had experienced many "non-US" elements of interactions during my travels: draped arms around the shoulders, holding hands for an extended minute or five, etc. But this just "felt different." I was beginning to wonder when I should make my apologies and extract myself from his grip.

This whole scene took no more than 30-60 seconds. A short time... but an eternity when considering unwanted personal contact. And just as I thought that this had gone on too long – the man was forcibly separated from me with a sharp yank. A policeman walking the opposite way, who neither of us had noticed because of the interaction, assessed the situation and made a swift move of action.

Until this point, I had noticed the high visibility of policemen in Kigali and other large towns. Some are just in uniform, other even care rifles. But I never had seen up-close their interactions in keeping the peace. Despite the feeling that I could’ve handled the situation, I was thankful for the local sensitivity and concern of travelers’ discomfort.

And as quickly as my sense of cosmic peace was lost... it was restored in full once again.

Safe and Peaceful Journeys,
-Stan