Scars

Shortly after I arrived in Rwanda I began having a nagging internal conflict while trying to reconcile the horrific history of this country with its breathtaking scenery. After visiting the genocide memorial and hearing people’s stories, I wanted to see the physical destruction. I wanted to mourn the pain and the terror but I needed to see its legacy. Perhaps demolished countryside or ruined buildings. I saw none of this. Sometimes when I was on the bus I tried to imagine what this looked like in 1994. It sounds like a torturous habit but connecting the history with the present is nearly impossible here if you do not force yourself to imagine the past. There is fast development, unyielding hope and no permanent physical destruction.

Then I discovered where the scars lie. It’s not in the landscape as if bombs were thrown down from planes. It’s on the bodies of the people. Once you begin to look around you can see the scars everywhere. But you must look at the people to see the pain.