15-11-2011 Blog: Jasper in Rwanda!

My shoes still glistening with tin dust, my throat still dry, I sit down on my hotel bed in central Kigali.

I just returned from visiting a small artisanal tin mine not far from Kigali, and going all the way down one of the mine shafts has left me with many thoughts running through my head. First of all, how these guys get up in the morning and do this for 8 to 9 hours every day what became unbearable for me after 10 minutes. Secondly, how little we, as consumers, think about how dependent our European industry is on the metals these guys dig up each day. And, more importantly, the consequences this has for development in countries across Africa, of which Rwanda is only one of many.
 
One of the things we intend to find out in this unique little African country, where cars actually stop at pedestrian crossings,  where it is just as difficult to find a plastic bag as it is to find a dirty street, where I’m discovering new ways a banana can be prepared every day, is how developing countries can profit more from their natural resources and use them to further their development. It’s week 2, and the research is going remarkably well. I’m pleased to have met very helpful and friendly people and am finding out more about mining in Rwanda each day.
 
As anywhere, the way to someone’s heart is not the stomach, but language. My ‘murakoze’ (thank you) deep down in the mine as I am given a piece of tin resulted in a hearty laugh, echoing through the shaft. I couldn’t help but think of those Chilean miners, and figured that if anything happens, at least this muzungu (white person) can entertain everyone with some basic Kinyarwanda. Muzungu is said to come from the Swahili word zungu, meaning spinning around on the same spot, as white people in Africa are always aimlessly looking around at a loss of where to go.
 
So I’ll leave you today with that fun fact. I’m going to be here for 2 more weeks so be sure to keep checking out this blog and Facebook to keep up-to-date with my progress here in Kigali!

Jasper with the manager of the mine.

 The inside of a tin-mine.