All language subtitles for Travel.Quest.With.Bill.Ball.S02E06.CONVERT.1080p.HDTV.H264-CBFM

MAN: I wasn't sure that
I would ever want to go there.

The news stories were too horrifying
to ever contemplate a visit,

let alone a filming trip.

This was a destination
that was way off my radar.

So when my co-producer, camera-shy
Jodie, suggested it last year,

I thought she was crazy.

Two terrible events shaped
the world's perception

and modern history of this east
Central African nation.

The first was the 1985 murder
of Dian Fossey,

the famed gorilla researcher
of Gorillas In The Mist,

and the other, even more horrifying
by a thousand times and more,

the war and genocide between
the competing Tutsi and Hutu tribes

in 1994.

Countries and times change fast
in this world.

Yugoslavia broke up

and the countries fought
a bitter series of wars,

but only a few years later,
many were normalised EU members.

Jodie was convinced
from our last trip -

last year, visiting the gorillas -

that Rwanda deserved a chance
to tell its story.

She challenged me to learn
how Rwanda is handling

this post-genocide era.

So join me in my potentially most
heart-wrenching quest yet

as I search for the soul of Rwanda.

Since I was young, I had
an intense desire to discover

the world around me.

That hasn't changed,

just the level of adventure.

Now every journey has a purpose.

And each time I venture out
to explore new destinations

around the globe, I am following
my travel quest.

Rwanda is the fourth-smallest
African country,

little bigger than
the state of Vermont.

Located in central-eastern
section of the continent,

it is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania,

Burundi and the Democratic
Republic of the Congo.

With a population of
just over 11 million,

it is also one of the least
populated countries in Africa.

With such a small population,
you would think that the populace

wouldn't fight for fear their larger,
more powerful neighbours

would use it as an excuse
to take territory.

Researching the country,
I found, not surprisingly,

tourism is an essential
part of the economy.

The major tourist economic
driver is gorilla visits.

Rwanda has several
attenuated gorilla troops,

allowing several people to visit
each day for no more than an hour

to reduce the chance
of human diseases

being passed to these huge primates.

I loved my visit to
the great ape territory,

including my exploration of Fossey's
life and death last year.

I also had the opportunity to visit
a reborn national park - Akagera.

This park was founded in 1934,
covering nearly 300,000 acres.

But due to the 1994 human tragedy,

this park was nearly lost.

Between poaching, subsistence
hunting and the refugees fleeing

inside the borders,
killing predators for safety,

much of the wildlife
was exterminated.

Even as the war ended for the people,

the troubles for
the wildlife did not,

as more refugees and displaced
people streamed into the park

as their last option for survival.

Starting in 2015, the park
began to repopulate the big 12,

making it a great safari destination.

What is even better for those seeking
a less crowded touristy destination

is it is largely undiscovered.

The rejuvenation of this park
was my first clue that Rwanda

was on the right path following
the horrors of the Hutu-Tutsi war.

It was that incredible trip
that drew me back to Rwanda

to learn about the shocking genocide
past of this developing nation.

For this trip, we made a conscious
choice to stay at Hotel Rwanda.

Of course, it was made famous
by the 2004 movie

starring Don Cheadle as hotel
manager Paul Rusesabagina.

The movie chronicles how a Hutu
hotel manager married to a Tutsi

helped house more than
1,000 refugees in the hotel

during the peak of the genocide
in 1994.

Subsequently, the manager has come
under fire for exploiting

the residents by demanding money
for food and protection.

Many survivors credit the UN
peacekeepers for saving them.

On the other side of the issue,

Paul's supporters claim
it is his criticism of

the long-serving president of
Rwanda's refusal

to allow a true democracy to evolve,
as he promised he would,

that got people to
attack him unfairly.

Paul was kidnapped by Rwanda in 2020
and faces terrorism charges.

This is a complex story about
a real man, flawed indeed,

that lived through a horrific time
in his native country.

Our stay would not reveal
any new information

about who or how the residents
were saved in the hotel,

but no-one denies that over a
thousand are alive at the end of 1994

and the genocide, due to this hotel.

There are still bullet holes visible
as a testament to that terrible time

in Rwanda history.

As hotels go, it is Western-level
in the capital city of Kigali.

Convenient, nice and historic,

and it made particular sense
for this visit.

I could not really imagine what went
on here, but it was another way

to immerse myself in the history
of this emerging country.

I thought it prudent to get a local
perspective on what exactly happened

during the horrible genocide period
that so defined Rwanda.

As much as I followed it
in disbelief in 1994,

I still wasn't confident
that I understood the extent

or horror of it.

As I talked to my local
guide, Issac, he explained

that the genocidal civil war began
on April 7th, 1994,

when the plane carrying Rwanda's
Hutu president was shot down.

Radical ethnocentric
Hutus assassinated

moderate Hutu and Tutsi leaders

to control the country
in the new power vacuum.

They called on the majority of Hutus
to maim, kill and rape Tutsis.

In the end, about a million
Rwandans were killed,

with 2 million becoming refugees.

Some say the blame rests at least
partially on the colonial powers

Germany and Belgium for putting
the minority Tutsis in charge

and giving little
to no rights to Hutus.

It seems there was
plenty of blame to go around,

but in the end it was another sad
example of what man can do to man

when compassion and reason
are traded

for radical nationalistic rhetoric.

So with this hard-to-digest
information,

I ventured to the Genocide Museum
in the capital city of Kigali.

This is as sobering of a site
as there can be.

It was the final resting place
for over 250,000 victims.

In that sense, it is one of the
largest cemeteries in the world.

The dead are buried in mass graves
laid out in two main rows.

Victims have been brought here
from across the country,

starting in 2001, from newly
discovered unmarked graves,

so the victims
could have a dignified burial.

A wall of names chronicles
those that are documented,

though many in the graves
remain unidentified.

The wall reminded me of
the Vietnam Memorial

with its simple and poignant look.

Around the graves of Memorial Garden
allows visitors a chance to reflect

on the past and asks each of us
to take personal responsibility

to end discrimination and mass
atrocities around the world

and in our own backyard.

An education centre with
permanent and temporary exhibits

gives perspective to
the 1994 massacre.

There are three main exhibits -
the history of Rwanda's genocide...

..a collection of world genocides,

some of which have not
been recognised

by the world community yet,

and the children's room, which
reflects on those children murdered,

injured and otherwise psychologically
damaged by the killings.

A lost generation.

The memorial had
a profound effect on me.

It was a tough day.

But an even tougher day was to follow

when we would visit
the Genocide Church.

The church got that ominous title
because of the mass killing

of moderate Hutus and Tutsis
that had taken refuge

in the Nyarubuye Roman Catholic
Church on April 15th.

This Catholic Church is really
the epicentre of one of the most

horrific events in human history.

Before 1994, there were some minor
events where Tutsis were persecuted

by Hutus, and they came
to this church for sanctuary

and they found it,
protected by an Italian nun.

But she was killed in 1992.

In 1994, where the full genocide
broke out, many of those Tutsis

remembered those earlier days
and came back to this church

for sanctuary, only to find
10,000 of them massacred

in a period of two days.

Behind the church is a mass grave
of 50,000 people

who were killed in the area.

This is really where
the genocide began.

In the end, the numbers range
as high as 20,000 people

were murdered as they sought
sanctuary in the church

and its surrounding grounds.

Though photos inside are not allowed,

I can tell you it is a gut-wrenching
experience to walk in

as clothes and personal belongings
of the victims

still lie in the pews
where they fell.

As hard to see and hear
the stories of 1994,

my local guide assures me
that a new era of hope

and partnership is born in Rwanda,
and he would take me to a place

where I can see that for myself.

That place is a reconciliation
village.

Here, victims and repentant
perpetrators

live and work side by side.

True remorse is met by
true forgiveness.

It is in the vein of South Africa's
truth and reconciliation policy,

and then some, because
here the two live together.

The concept and practice
blew me away.

As a victim, I'm not sure
that I could ever forgive.

And if I was the attacker,

I don't know that I could ever
look the others in the eye

for the shame of it all.

I was mesmerised as one of each
spoke to us to tell their story.

First, the representative
of those attacked spoke.

Hearing firsthand had an impact
that even the graphic pictures

in the museum or the church
could not equal.

I was transfixed as the man
who participated

in the genocide spoke.

I did feel both the remorse
and forgiveness

from these two people.

Both survived a terrible chapter
in this country's history

that will forever define
Rwanda and its people.

(APPLAUSE)

And, most importantly, I saw the hope
that my guide had spoken about.

I began to understand how
a brighter future was tied,

to a large extent, to tourism.

Even our visit to this village
was helped via visitation fees,

donations and purchases
of the handicrafts made here.

As helpless as one may feel in
changing a whole country's economy,

it happens one step
or one tourist at a time.

I talked to the Millennium Village
tourism coordinator

about Rwanda's efforts to involve
communities like this one

in programs aimed at
foreign visitors.

The major aim of NDA is to
make sure that the visitors

who come to Rwanda, who come to
visit Rwanda, they get to learn

more about the country, the culture
of the people in the country.

And that is why our slogan
is "Rwanda, beyond gorillas."

There is a lot of people who come
to Rwanda to visit the gorillas,

and as NDA, our major aim
is to make sure that people

get to know the bigger picture
of the country beyond what they come

to visit in the Northern province.

Having learned about community-based
tourism, I was eager to learn

about some of the special wildlife
programs Rwanda has invested in

and to expand tourism
beyond the iconic gorillas.

Last year, we visited
Akagera National Park.

Adding this park to the gorillas
almost completed their tourism draw.

I said 'almost' because
they also attenuated

our closest relative, the chimpanzee.

We did not have time last year
to visit the chimps,

so it was high on
my agenda this year.

And after the heavy
emotional part of this trip,

I could use some time
in the wilderness.

Chimps are one of our closest
relatives, sharing 98% of our DNA.

Their intelligence makes them
one of the most interesting

and intriguing animals in the world.

Chimpanzees are not easy to see.

They are quick, active primates

that instinctively try to avoid
people, with good reason.

They have been ruthlessly hunted
in the past for meat and as pets.

That is no longer the case
here at Nyungwe National Park,

where not only are they protected,
but the staff has attenuated them

to humans so they are easier to see.

"Easier," though, I have been told,
is not easy.

They are still elusive,

and when you do find them,
they often move on.

For our stay at this
national park, we have chosen

the Nyungwe Forest Lodge.

It is on a working tea plantation
at the edge of the jungle,

designed to blend in
with its surroundings.

This is the only five-star lodge
currently in Rwanda,

making it a destination in itself.

The rooms are really a series
of separate mini lodges,

with all the amenities you could
expect from a five-star property.

The living space is large,
comfortable

and gives you a sense of Africa.

I like the rooms where I stay
to reflect the culture and feel

of the place I am visiting.

It was voted the best
new small hotel

for its construction
and design in 2012.

It is a great respite
before our adventure tomorrow,

and looking for chimps is
certainly an adventure.

Lucky for us, the park rangers go
out early and track the agile apes

from where they slept
the night before.

These cousins of ours are,
like many of us, driven by food.

Where there are fruits,
there will be chimpanzees.

Like us, they're omnivores, meaning
they eat meat as well as vegetation.

But this time of year, when
fruiting trees are abundant,

they concentrate on
a vegetarian diet.

And that is where we found them.

We made it to the chimpanzees.

We had a long walk, mostly uphill,

and then we came to the base
of a giant fig tree laden with figs.

Not coincidentally, about
a dozen chimpanzees were there.

Now, this is one of two troops
where people can get up close

to them and actually get
good photos.

That allows only about 16 people
a day to see the chimps.

But those aren't the only chimps.

The ranger told me that there
are about 500 in this park,

which makes it one of the best
chimp sanctuaries anywhere.

They are incredible animals to watch.

This was a dream come true for me,
to see these beautiful creatures

in the wild.

I'd always been drawn to them
in zoos, seemingly observing them

as much as they observed us.

Their intelligent eyes
and their human-like emotions

always fascinated me.

Now I was privileged to see them
in their natural environment,

eating, playing and
just being themselves.

I felt like the luckiest person
on earth to be experiencing this.

And in many ways, luck
is not an understatement.

Chimpanzees are highly endangered.

Their numbers are dropping
due to habitat loss

and, outside of highly
protected parks, poaching.

Adult chimps are killed
so their babies can be captured

for the pet trade.

Seeing these majestic animals
in the trees, it was hard to imagine

how people could not want
to protect them.

(CHIMPANZEE HOOTS)

Near the rangers' offices
is a long suspended bridge

that gives you a great view
of the whole region.

Looking out over the mountains
and valleys, I could only guess

how many rare and endangered animals
and plants are protected here.

This is truly one of
the world's great sanctuaries.

On the way back to Kigali,
my guide suggested we stop

at Millennium Village again.

He said there was a new development
he wanted me to see.

His tone was a bit ominous.

I worried that the rivalry
between the two factions

of the genocide had
finally exploded.

I feared this was not
going to be good.

But I soon realised that my fears
were totally unfounded.

The village was celebrating
an anniversary

and the party had just begun.

I was so happy to be invited
to see their great accomplishment

at bringing peace to Rwanda.

I pulled our guide, Issac, aside
to ask him about the future of Rwanda

and about his past.

I have been told that forgiveness
and reconciliation

is the big thing now.

And that at the time of the genocide

you had Hutus and Tutsis,
you had two distinct groups.

That no longer exists.

No, no.

Right now we are all Rwandans.

We don't have those tribes
of Hutus and Tutsis anymore.

And, to my understanding,
I don't think we ever had them.

It's just something that
the colony came up with.

Before all that,
it was all Rwandans.

OK. Um...

As the genocide has
defined the country,

it kind of defines your past, too,
because your family left Rwanda

back in 1959, right?

You're right, 1959, because
that's when the first...

..I'd say, the first
genocide happened.

And for those who really saw
what was happening, they left.

So, my grandparents,
they take all the credit.

And you've come back to Rwanda.

You weren't born here, right?
No, I was born and raised in Uganda.

Came back in 2000.

So, I should say, this is
my 15th year in Rwanda.

But you consider yourself a Rwandan?

I AM Rwandan, yes.
You ARE. OK.

No doubt about it.

Even if it's in my sleep, somebody
ask, that would be the answer.

Issac, around the world,
a lot of countries try to hide

their tragic side, the bad things
about their country,

but I've come to Rwanda and one
of the things that you show everybody

is the memorials about the genocide.

You don't try to hide that.
Why is that?

That's a very interesting question,
Bill, because I think

it's more like teaching.

And it's not a good thing that
happened, and hiding about it,

that, to me, it might be one
of those reasons can happen again.

So I try not to and teach the kids,
you know, to be the better people.

And whatever happened,
they learn from that.

It's more like history right now.

But for those who lived
in and felt it, yeah,

so we have a thing of saying
we don't forget, we forgive.

And it's more like teachings.

I've been all over Africa and I am
incredibly impressed by the progress

that Rwanda has made,
by the country as it is now,

and the fact that you don't hide
the tragic history and you use it

as a teaching method
to make the future brighter.

And I've got to say, this
is one country that people,

I really think, should be visiting.

Well, I may just decide to anoint
you to be the ambassador right now.

(BOTH LAUGH)

Well, thank you for your time.
You're welcome.

It's been a pleasure.
Thank you.

Rwanda has come a long way
since the horrible days in 1994

when this country was
turned inside out.

Prejudice, fear and the misguided
nationalistic identity caused people

to turn on their neighbours
in the most horrific ways.

We can all learn from
this sad example

and strive to never let
this happen again anywhere.

But the people of Rwanda have turned
it around and are moving forward

together towards a bright future.

They have developed a new model
for tourism that will stabilise

the economy and create habitat
for threatened and endangered animals

like elephants, lions
and chimpanzees.

A win-win for all of us,
people and wildlife.

Captions by Red Bee Media
(c) SBS Australia 2023