Rwanda is not a one-star country

Our leaders last week rediscovered the joys of high school at the Leadership Retreat. Double decked beds, communal bathrooms (I’m not sure if hot water is supplied) and enforced sports time in the early morning. They were probably spared the Spartan food, the bullies, the arbitrary prefects and morning prep at ungodly hours - it’s down nostalgia lane without some of the more unpleasant realities of boarding school life in a secondary school. The participants at the retreat seemed surprisingly enthusiastic about their return to their teens considering that, a year before they were living it up at the Serena Hotel in Gisenyi. From what I heard of the President’s opening speech on radio, they couldn’t stop applauding every time His Excellency made a reference to the fact that the retreat was at a Military Academy. Looks like the teenage years trump the early twenties every time. All levity aside, I think it was a good initiative on the part of the organizers. This way the money spent hosting these annual retreats will have lasting benefits for the hosting institution – in this case the Rwanda Military Academy of Gako. I’m sure the Academy appreciated the renovations and face-lift made in preparation for the retreat . The good people at the Serena will probably disagree with all of this but seeing as they usually play host to most of the Government’s conferences, summits and formal occasions it’s not like the decision to take the Retreat elsewhere will send them to the poor house. Speaking of the Serena, this week I visited the Foreign Policy website to catch up on this week’s talking point – whether Israel will strike at Iran’s nuclear facilities. Foreign Policy also has interesting slideshows [you should check them out when you have the time] so when I was done with the articles I turned to one that was entitled “5-Star Hotels in 1-Star countries - Enjoy your stay at the Serena Hotels, where plush lodgings meet deadly warzones” fully prepared to check out where one can find luxury in places like Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Pakistan, Somalia and perhaps Chad. Places where it’s advisable to move around with a flak jacket, a brightly coloured helmet, a walkie-talkie and armed escort. To my surprise I found East African nations had made the list of one-star countries. Even more surprising is that they were the list for reasons other than being ‘deadly warzones’. In summary, Arusha’s Serena was contrasted against a mining disaster in 2008, Nairobi and Kampala’s Serenas were contrasted against slums in the respective cities and in Rwanda’s case the Kigali Serena was contrasted against - you will not believe this – the abolishing of ethnic references in the national ID! My nationalistic feathers were further ruffled by the picture of the old ID [this is inexcusable as the page was posted on 27/02/2012]. As an African and Rwandan, I’m accustomed to unfair publicity but usually some attempt [however flimsy] is made to anchor it in misinterpreted fact. To suggest that abolishing ethnic references in IDs, in addition to mining accidents and slums, somehow places one in a deadly warzone seems more than a little malicious. It is true that Rwanda is a third world country but it is safe, organized and developing fast. We may not be a five-star country yet but we are not a deadly warzone. If they had said ‘5-star hotels in 3-star countries – where plush lodgings meet developing countries’, I’d have less to object to.