Rwanda Hosts Commonwealth Nations

KIGALI, RWANDA – Prime Minister Philip Davis is scheduled to leave for Kigali Saturday evening, heading to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Rwanda. He will join counterparts from over 50 other nations in this high-level gathering.

There are 7,347 miles between Nassau to Kigali, Rwanda.

The journey through Miami to Istanbul and into Kigali.Our 1am arrival leaves little to see en route to the hotel but dawn revealed a bustling metropolis in central Africa.

Kigali, the capital of landlocked Rwanda, is referred to by locals as “a country of a thousand hills”.

Looking around, there are few if any signs of a war-torn Rwanda which captured the world’s attention during a 1994 civil war that morphed into genocide.

The Rwanda Genocide Museum is a chilling reminder of how over a million Tutsis died in a modern ethnic cleansing at the hands of Hutus, their blood brothers of the same race and nationality.

Flowers mark the spot where 250,000 genocide victims are buried.

The site is a landmark recollection and sobering tribute to the human suffering that once scourged these streets. People of all ages, races, ethnicities and nationalities come to remember and learn daily.

The evidence of recovery, reconstruction, and reconciliation are evident. Our guide January points to building after building of new construction credited to Rwanda’s president Paul Kagame. Our News asks him how have they been able to make so much visible progress. He simply says, “good governance”.

We make it to the Kimir-Onko market on a busy Saturday afternoon. The the hum of rows of sewing machines turning out local garments from local fabric is bordered by abundant fruits and vegetables, some familiar and others news.

The market is a microcosm of the economy and culture of this now peaceful African nation.