despite the presence of memorials and commemorations everywhere, daily life in rwanda does not remind you of the terrible past this country had to endure, the beautiful landscape of lush green and red earth, the perfectly paved roads and pavements, the capital's cafes and restaurants..
yet it is ever present, the backbone of the internal and international politics that stemmed right from those terrible months nearly 15 years ago now
the starkest reminder however, the one that puts you face to face with that very particularly horrendous past, is when you see workers by the road, all dressed in pink outfits
for these are the ones with stained hands, trialed (some of them) and condemned by local tribunals for actively participating in a genocide by the machete, paying for the destruction caused by rebuilding the country roads, buildings or else
if pink was never my colour, in this country of distinctly coloured prisoners it's even less so
No comments:
Post a Comment