That's
because in the early 1990s Rwanda had a grisly civil war between two
different ethnic groups, and in 1994 there was a horrific massacre.
The word genocide means the deliberate killing of a particular
group of people—and when Hutu extremists killed about a million
Tutsi (and moderate Hutu)—well, that qualifies as genocide.
But
Rwanda is trying to put that horrific past behind it and tell the world about the
good things about the nation. Here are some of the “best of”
Rwanda:
It
is one of only two countries in which mountain gorillas can
be seen, and gorilla tracking has helped tourism grow. Chimps,
golden monkeys, and other primates live safely in Nyngwe
Forest, another popular attraction.
Traditional arts include imigongo, which is cow dung art. (You read that right—it's made with cow poop!)- Rwanda was the first country to be ruled by a parliament in which women outnumber the men (after the 2008 elections).
- Rwanda
is attempting to become the Switzerland or Singapore of Africa.
Like Switzerland and Singapore, it is a small nation that is
positioning itself as very business-friendly. (And like Switzerland,
Rwanda is landlocked and very mountainous. It is sometimes called
the Land of 1000 Hills, and the entire nation lies at high
latitudes.) Rwandan President Kagame is trying hard to make sure the
cities and towns are clean and orderly, he has personally started a
trade relationship in which CostCo and Starbucks buy Rwandan coffee,
and he has succeeded in luring some tech companies, such as Google,
to invest in his nation.
Check out photos of Rwanda here and also over here.
Also
on this date:
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