Americans in Rwanda speak out on US elections

With just hours until the opening of polls for one of the most contentious presidential elections in US history, there is a sense of uncertainty and unease within the American community in Rwanda. “Almost every day the topic of the US elections has been coming up in conversation. People always ask about Donald Trump...he seems to be a form of entertainment for many people here,” explained Katherine Tabachnick, a 20-year-old student currently taking field lessons in Kigali as part of her college programme. None of the American citizens in Rwanda that this newspaper spoke to backed Republican candidate Donald Trump but some said they had met Rwandans who favoured the billionaire over Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. But some also said many people hardly judge Trump based on policy issues. “I’ve found that the [Rwandans] who really follow and talk to me about the US elections get the most sensationalist news about Trump...people I’ve spoken with usually refer to the most outlandish things Trump has said, and not the more realistic policies he also offers,” said Peter Freeman, a 21-year-old student who is currently in Kigali as part of a study trip that also involves a stint in Ghana. Compared to past elections, both candidates have encountered much rancor throughout their campaigns. Trump continues to face animosity for his uncensored language, and sexual assault allegations; while Clinton has had to content with allegations of corruption since the discovery of a private email server she had used during her time as Secretary of State. In yet another twist to a rollercoaster campaign for both candidates, the FBI early this week cleared Clinton on the 650,000 leaked emails sent over her private server. “This election and its candidates are making the US look ignorant and unprofessional…we’ve lost a lot of our credibility as a responsible and modern world power,” stated Brannon Lambert, a 20-year-old study abroad student in Kigali. With the Election Day unfolding across the US today, polls split support for the two candidates almost equally. Americans abroad are as anxious as those back home about the results. Meanwhile, responding to an email inquiry from The New Times, officials at the US State Department have said, no matter the outcome of the election, Rwanda’s relations with the US will remain steady. “It’s important to recognise that the major challenges Africa faces are clear, and likely to be similar for the next administration. We should also recognise that we’ve had bipartisan support on U.S.-Africa policy for years, and I don’t expect that to change,” Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Department of State Assistant Secretary for African Affairs, said. About eight million Americans are abroad, according to the Association of American Residents Overseas, with about 3,000 of those residing in Rwanda. Approximately 60 of these have already voted through the US embassy in Kigali and their ballots have been dispatched to Washington. Meanwhile, speaking via a video link, a prominent American freelance journalist, Eduardo Cue, told dozens of journalists, lawyers and academics at the US embassy in Kigali that the media had fallen short in helping the public make an informed opinion about the presidential candidates. For instance, he said, the media did not go out of their way to investigate Trump “because they thought he would auto-destroy himself and lose the campaign.” As a result, Cue explained, they gave him over two billion US dollars’ worth of free airtime, as opposed to the US$746 million free publicity that was given to Clinton. Cue said public trust in the media was being eroded because many view the media as mainly profit-driven, with figures showing that only 32 per cent of Americans have confidence in the accuracy of mainstream media. He said there is need for major reforms to ensure accurate and necessary facts are presented to the public. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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Americans in Rwanda speak out on US elections