While I did have the chance to celebrate America's Independence Day (twice!), July 4th marked the 17th Liberation Day in Rwanda. While this may not seem all that exciting, think of how recent this is- 17 years! I was 11 years old. Can you imagine being in America 17 years after gaining freedom?!? Yeah, that's right, most of the population can remember when this happened. Liberation Day marks the end of the genocide and is a symbol of hope for the country. So a group of us from the hostel loaded up in a few taxis and headed to the national stadium for a big celebration including traditional dance, music, military processional, and a speech from Rwanda's President, Paul Kagame. Once we arrived there were thousands of people filling the stadium and lined up to get searched before getting in. A nicely dressed man came up to us and asked if we needed help getting in. He took it upon himself (Rwandan hospitality?) to help us get through the line and find seats. It turns out he works for the Ministry of Defense and he got us quickly through the line (we all felt guilty for getting sent to the front of the line-- they call this muzungu privilege and this may be the one time I ever felt slightly ok with it). Once we got searched, which was worse than airport security, we passed the gates and waited to get seats. We followed a policewoman up the stadium stairs and through a crowd that rivaled any thing I had ever seen. At one point I felt like I was going to get pushed over the balcony and I can't count the number of times toes were stepped on, people were pushed, and it looked like people were about to riot to get a seat at the coveted event.
Our new friend got us seats in the "VIP" section which turned out to be a section filled with other expats, located directly next to the real VIP delegations who came from neighboring countries to witness the days events. It was also the section from where the President would make his speech. Very cool but once again, very uncomfortable sitting in the area where we had the clear view of the dancers and entertainment and not so much for the general Rwandan public who bused in from all over Rwanda for their big day. He later arrived and sat with us which was good because the entire ceremony was in Kinyarwanda and all I can really say is hello, how are you, fine, thank you, milk, water, and eggs.
 |
| The group of us at Liberation Day |
Shortly after we arrived traditional dancers came out and performed accompanied by local singers and drummers.
 |
| Traditional dancing-- the wigs are supposed to resemble lions |
After the traditional dances performed, it felt almost like we were at a circus. There were people on stilts, roller blades, unicycles, and gymnasts.
 |
| Unicycle |
 |
| Mini unicycle |
 |
| Backflip crew |
 |
| Man on stilts |
Then came the military procession along with their jazz band and the Rwandan police force.
 |
| The military lining up |
 |
| Presenting the flag |
 |
| Official flag presentation |
 |
| President Kagame! |
 |
| Military processional |
 |
| Rwandan police force |
After the military presentation, the special forces came out and showed us that "just one person on the special forces can take out an entire team." It was hilarious and proves to me that people here watch way too much 24. The best part, as you can see in the following video, was when one of them came out dressed as a woman and took out the entire crew. Probably my favorite moment of the day.
Then the traditional dancers came out one more time before the President gave his speech.
Once the event ended, we were swarmed in a sea of people making their way to the one exit. The event was very long and hot but totally worth seeing. When we got back to the hostel, we had about 30 minutes to get ready before heading to the American celebration.
No comments:
Post a Comment