Stories of Kagame and who is exploiting whom??

Story One: Employee at ASYV-Congo-born Rwandan refugee with good upbringing and in tact family which was able to return to Rwanda from Congo after 94 Genocide with nothing. He is now a Congo-an refugee living in Rwanda and making enough to get by. Early thirties, unmarried, manual labor 10-12 hours a day.

So what do you think of Kagame, I asked, as we snapped green beans together. You know, he is a great great man!! He has done so much to bring people back together. Before Hutus and Tutsis hated each other (yes, he actually said the words out loud without self-consciousness or hesitation) and now everyone lives together all as one.

I heard he was tearing down houses and kicking the very poorest people out on the streets with nowhere to go.

Oh no, this is not happening. He would not do that Kagame is a great great man.

I heard if you did something he did not like he would arrest you and throw you in prison if you were black but would never do that if you were white.

Oh no, this is not happening. He would not do that Kagame is a great great man. This is a poor poor country and he is changing it, making things better. There is no more hatred. He is a great man.


Story Two: Susan-Sitting at the table in the open kitchen also snapping green beans. Mother of ASYV volunteer, from Minnesota, in Rwanda for 1 week so far and 10 days to go. Muzungu

It's quite a democracy here!! You really should see it.
Actually, it is a police state, I replied.
No, it is a democracy...she trailed off, with less conviction...more uncertainty.
I wish it were not true, I said, but this is a police state with strict government controls...

Story Three: Gary-window contractor doing work and living at ASYV. Mid 40's just moved here from Canada, wife and 2 year old are coming along soon. The work here is good and there is ample room to make a living since there is so much growth. Muzungu

Kagame does some shady stuff (Gary told me about the arrests and that he thought the people from the leveled, tin-roof shacks were getting screwed into a worse financial and living situation-much like similar measures in America during gentrifying efforts...people being duped to sell their homes to make room for super highways...ahhh, the lure and power of the almighty dollar...) Everything here has to be done on time for inauguration in three weeks or else my counter-part here is in real trouble. If Kagame does not like it, my guy might go to jail.

Aren't you worried about going to jail too?

No, I am white and he won't send me. But my guy could be sent for 10 years just because these damn doors don't close right...people here are really poor and will do anything for money. (My sense so far is that inter-Rwandan exploitation is pretty low/non-existant.) My wife is coming soon and when she does, I am having her bring a shipment full of thumb drives. I buy them in Canada for $10-15 but can sell them here for triple that. I told one of the workers here, I would give him 4 million francs to be the middle man. That is more money than he will make in 10 years and I will still make a killing on the deal. I told these guys, anyting you want to sell, let me know, I will bring it to you...

When ask about sex trafficking, it has been described to me as a crumby job no one likes but it earns a living like mopping floors. There are no pimps, there is no psychological manipulations, it is a shameful job that the women do not enjoy and do not want to do. But no one seems to be exploiting them in to it.

NGO workers are here from all over the world. Young 22-28 year olds making real social change in this society-but is the work changing the people? Empowering them? Or is an NGO class being created where you can lunch at Novotel and then go and save people in the afternoon while being a superstar entrepreneur at a very young age while hanging out with a cool cohort of like-minded people? When will the NGOs know to leave and will they function to put themselves out of business or will they keep creating a need for more of their help?

Foreigners can come in and sell cheap goods for a high price and make a killing off of the poor and desperate. Made all the easier because the muzungu offers it and how great is it to be friendly with one of them?

English speaking teachers from the Congo and Uganda are coming in as the national language is shifting from French to English. Will they leave in a few years or will they force Rwandans out of the education sector?

I think what is happening here is amazing. Rwanda is one of the cleanest places I have ever been. There are no paper towels because trash is just minimized. Everything is gorgeous. It looks so good (and creates a lot of low-level jobs to do upkeep on sidewalk garden plots and hand-sweeping the endless city streets). Here is what I am fretting about (because I like to fret...) As Professor Saul Eisen commented to me during a recent phone conversaiton, sometmes we make short term decisions which have devastating long-term consequences. Is that happening here?