2,462 refugees

… and not enough food. And standing in the middle of the 2,462 people raising their voices in Kinyarwanda was I, not understanding anything. Well, I got that they were angry, which served to make me even more stressed. Being surrounded by thousands of people yelling in a language you don’t understand is quite stressful. Although some of the children, and adults alike, were stealing smiling glances at the umuzungu among them.

And the children mostly looked unhealthy, with open wounds on their scalps and faces, and dirty, torn clothing. I’m sure many of them were born in the camp, as some people fled Burundi in 1972 and have been refugees in Rwanda ever since. In 1972, Michel Micombero, Tutsi, led a campaign against the Hutu population after an abortive Hutu uprising. His campaign caused 150,000 Hutu deaths and the displacement of a similar number.

The things we take for granted back home…