On a trip to Volcanoes National Park on the Rwanda and DRC border, travel writer Jon Holmes was expecting to see mountain gorillas, but he wasn’t expecting to learn how to speak to them.
It’s safe to say that, for a long time, tourism wasn’t exactly on Rwanda’s mind. The 1994 genocide, easily within living memory, means that everyone I meet in this beautiful land is touched by violence; a waiter in his 20s who, as a toddler, saw his family get hacked to pieces; a young woman who watched her sister die; and a driver whose neighbors turned on his parents and killed them. Years later, they remain united by two things: Their experiences and, remarkably, their forgiveness.
Rwanda is unique. It’s a country that lived through a massacre and moved on. As part of the healing process, they tore down tribal barriers, built memorials to the dead, picked themselves up and set about inviting travelers along to see what they’d done with the place. Just 24 years later, Hotel Rwanda is back in business.
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