U.S. History Update

Far away from home, yet I feel happily American. Regardless of politics, there is something symbolic to the inauguration of our 44th U.S. president, Barack Obama.

The Washington Post quotes a boy speaking before the Obama family and the Nineteenth Street Baptist Church:

Rosa Parks sat so that Martin Luther King Jr. could walk. Martin Luther King walked so that Barack Obama could run. Barack Obama ran so that all children can fly.

I'm listening to the live broadcast on Voice of America radio, and an interviewer asks an older woman why she is there in D.C. for the inauguration. She replies:

Because there was a time I wasn't allowed in restaurants and office buildings and laundromats.

We can visibly see in Kigali that this presidential inauguration is an international event. There is talk in the streets, movement and whir, and many are gathered now to follow along live at the U.S. embassy.

Our world is not at peace. Our president faces great challenges. But today, the symbol outweighs the doubts. Symbolically, for the world, the greater hope of our new president is the fact that we have chosen him, we are willing to change, though we may fail.

Change is not always good, and hope is not certainty; but overcoming, persevering, giving, trying, and believing ... that is American.

Rose Kabuye Day

November 19, 2008

Do you know what’s happening with Rose Kabuye? Everyone in Rwanda knows.

Not only is she the subject of 4 out of 5 articles on the front page of yesterday’s New Times, but today Rwanda stopped. Our training seminar this week has halted. About 2:30 pm yesterday, word reached our group that the following day would be a national holiday to protest the arrest of Rose Kabuye.

I woke up to the sounds of preparation. You could already hear people in the streets and music in the neighborhood. By 9:30 am, there was a large crowd near our guest house, gathering with banners, loudspeaker announcing and music blasting. They would wait there until receiving word to leave on their march to the city center. Groups like this formed around the city, ready to converge all at the same time at the German Embassy. Every business and every church is closed. If you are in the city, you are participating or staying home.

Rose Kabuye works in President Paul Kagame’s office. She was recently arrested in Germany and extradited to France. Could this have happened if Rose worked for another country?

The rally today is expected to be peaceful and organized. Everyone in Kigali is paying attention, and there may be upwards of a million people converging downtown. As I write (11:07 am) I can hear activity from very far distances, activity which may well continue throughout the afternoon.



[I’m posting this after the day of the rally. The rally was in fact very peaceful and very well organized. I am certainly no expert in the details of Rose Kabuye, her trial, or Rwandan feelings about the events of 1994. Please read more, online or otherwise.]