Everything has built up to this moment. The presidential election in Rwanda is being held tomorrow. We have all prayed for peace. There have been some bumps in the road - grenade attacks in the capital, a vice presidential candidate for the opposition was nearly beheaded, newspapers were shut down - but here we are. Of course nothing was completely proven but Human Rights Watch has some comments about the whole thing.
We've all been holding our breathe. Peace Corps always has a contingency plan. Legally of course they have to have our backs… and our fronts…in complete safety. So I know where my consolidation point is. At this point they just want to know exactly where I am for the next couple days. I am supposed to be keeping a low profile, staying away from political events and avoiding crowded public places. If it comes down to it, we will be consolidated aka gathered in small groups in secure locations around the country so Peace Corps can keep a closer eye on us. The plan beyond that leaps to temporary evacuation to a regional place outside of the country. The next leap is evacuation to the US and then the very worst scenario - permanent evacuation and then being relocated to another Peace Corps country to serve out the rest of my 2 years. All this being said, it is very unlikely. It is expected that Kagame will win the election in a landslide. Last election he won with 95% of the vote. Subduing opposition is one of the claims against his political party.
To be honest, I can't tell if the setting up in town is for the voting process or the inevitable victory party.
So tomorrow, I get the day off work. I expect to sit around reading and visiting with my neighbors. Happy democracy.
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