Original subtitles

"Come and do another series of Misadventures.

"It'll be fun.

"We'll look after you.

"Oh, yeah. By the way, we'll get you to haul your own suitcase

"across the border cos it makes for good TV.

"Oh, yeah, we'll just drive across.

"But we want you to keep it authentic."

Thank you very much.

Literally...

..the worst.

I'd embarked, somewhat foolishly, on an epic journey

through Central Africa,

a month-long trip that would see me visit countries which some people

associate with somewhat negative preconceptions,

to see if that reputation is justified,

or if we should be giving them a second chance.

So far, I've been to Uganda, seeing a country with an abundance

of incredible wildlife and spectacular waterfalls,

let down, in my opinion, by legalised homophobia.

Now, I'd be heading into Rwanda, a place I'd hitherto associated

with the horrors of the 1994 genocide,

to find out what the country has to offer.

Thank you.

I'm in Rwanda, and I'm about to embark on the second leg

of my Misadventures Triple,

uh, the greatest trilogy since Star Wars is what I'm hoping

the reviews are going to say.

Up until very recently, my only kind of association with Rwanda was,

you know, the genocide,

and I've got recollections of watching the news stories -

and whenever people talked about Rwanda, that's

what you'd associate with it.

However, uh, two things have happened more recently.

One of those is that Britain is hoping to send

some asylum seekers here to claim asylum in this country.

And the other thing that's happened

is that the mighty, mighty red and white Arsenal of North London

have started wearing "Visit Rwanda" on their sleeves.

Now, that seems a very trivial point,

but the fact that Arsenal Football Club

have agreed to have that on their sleeve

suggests that there is something more to this country

than we might have otherwise thought.

FILM CREW MEMBER: - So, how high are your expectations?

- Really high. I expect it's going to be a lot like Arsenal.

Start off promising, sort of overperform,

and then end up with sort of disappointment

at the end of the episode.

My guide for the week would be Hyppo, a performance artist

whose work has focused on building bridges between communities

in the aftermath of the genocide.

Hyppo, how are you doing, man? - Yo, you're here.

- How you doing, brother? How's it going? - Yeah.

We can hug. Don't worry. Yes, welcome to Rwanda.

- Thank you so much, man. - Yeah.

- You don't have to open the door for me, though.

- Oh, we are very welcoming in Rwanda. You should know that.

Welcome again. - Thank you, man. Thank you, thank you.

- Wow, it's so good to see you. - This is a great welcome.

UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYS

So, this is it - Rwanda.

- Yeah! We are here. - Very exciting.

- The country of honey and milk.

- I'm vegan, so I don't have milk or honey.

- You know I don't like comedy?

- Oh.

This is such a terrible start to this.

Hyppo told me that we would be journeying

across the length and breadth of a country roughly the size of Wales,

exploring its unique culture and troubled history,

and enjoying once-in-a-lifetime encounters

with its incredible wildlife.

We'd start by travelling down from the Ugandan border

to the country's capital, Kigali.

So, are you Rwandan, born and bred, then, yeah?

- I am, yes.

- In Britain, the only association we had with Rwanda was the conflict,

and, you know, what went on back in 1994. - Yes.

- How has the country changed since then?

- The country is now focusing on learning what happened

and the root cause of what happened in 1994. - OK.

- More than just being angrier and angrier and angrier -

it doesn't solve anything.

In the 1994 genocide,

my dad is killed...

..in front of me.

I live, you know, like a wild animal trying to survive.

How did I survive? Don't ask me, I don't know.

Just miracle, miracle, miracle.

And I'm like, "OK, what do I do?

"I'll become a killer,

"and then do revenge for my family?"

- Did you think about that? - Yeah.

I tried to go in the military, and hoping that I would get a gun,

and maybe later come back and do revenge.

- Really? And... - I tried...I attempted to go in the military.

I used to go back to where my dad was killed.

To the church.

Outside of that church,

that's where a Congolese medical doctor saw me.

And he helped me back to school.

- Really? - Yes.

He gave me money, up until I finished my high school.

- What, he just met you and decided... and paid for you to go to school?

- Yeah.

After all that kindness,

I realised that, actually,

the ideology was what killed us in the genocide against the Tutsi,

not the peop...not just flesh and blood of people.

I started my journey of making peace then.

- That is an unbelievable story, man.

Coming through all of that, and then becoming, you know,

what you're doing now,

I mean, it's, uh...it's kind of inspirational in a way.

And how aware are you of,

or do you even care about the perception of Rwanda

outside of the country?

- Um, the name, some people don't even know how to pronounce.

Do you know how to pronounce our country?

- Well, since. I've got in the car with you,

and I've listened to you talk,

I've realised that I've been mispronouncing it

my entire life. - Yeah.

- So, how do you pronounce it?

- Rwanda. - Rwanda.

- Rwanda, yeah... - Rwanda. - ..close, yes.

- It feels like... Do you know what happened there? - Yeah.

- Is you thought, "I'm going to show him how to pronounce it."

Then I had a go, and you thought, "OK, do you know what?

"That's close enough.

"I haven't got time for this." - Well...

- That is what...that is what happened, though, isn't it?

- Yeah, it is. Yeah.

- MELLOW MUSIC PLAYS

After a quick drive, we arrived in the capital, Kigali,

home to exactly 13% of the country's 13 million people.

Hyppo wanted to grab a pint to get to know each other better,

so we headed downtown to what turned out to be, essentially,

a pub for toddlers.

Just smashing back a big old glass of milk.

- Morning. - Morning. - Welcome.

- Thank you. - Welcome. Congratulations.

Great football team. - Arsenal, yeah! - Yeah.

They don't have any vegan milk today, by any chance?

- Oh, God.

- What? I'm just asking. - Vegan milk?!

Like what? - Like oat or nut, or...

- Any supermarket, you can get some. - All right.

- But in a milk bar, no.

- Which one are you going to have, then?

- Uh, fermented milk.

- OK.

That's so thick.

- OK.

- Thank you. Thank you.

Milk is...it's significant in lots of cultures. - Yeah.

If you go anywhere, and they give you milk for respect.

You don't... I can't... I can't stand here, like, in a bar,

in a...in a wine bar, and stand and drink milk, like this.

It would be a horrible taboo to break. - Really?

So, this is a thing where you're drinking milk.

You have to respect it. You take your time, you sit down.

- You have to respect. You take it with two hands.

- Yeah, yeah, yeah, OK. - Sit down.

- This is not something you're swilling all over the place

as you have a conversation. - No, no. - Right.

- If I... If I go home, and I tell my mum, "Oh, this guy, we shared milk,"

she understands that we're good friends.

And if I say, "My friend, we shared milk, is coming,"

she would take as she would...

She would care as she would care for me.

- Is that right? That's how important it is. - Yes.

- I mean, that's how big a thing it is. - Yes.

You want to try it?

Well...

- HE LAUGHS

- Cows are kept well here. - Cows are kept well here? - Yeah.

- Look, I'll try...

- You've got...OK. - I mean, I haven't drunk milk in...

- It's good.

One, two, three.

How does it feel?

- It's so delicious!

- You don't have to laugh if it's delicious.

- It's really nice. I mean, it tastes like yoghurt.

It tastes like really nice yoghurt.

So, now that we've had milk together... - Yeah.

- ..does that mean that we're friends now? - Yeah.

We shared milk.

- I'd only been in Rwanda a short time,

but compared to almost every other country I've visited,

it looks spotless, with not a scrap of litter anywhere.

Hyppo, I want to...

Well, look, I'm going to make this observation. - Yes.

- Kigali is incredibly clean, isn't it?

Now, let me just qualify that.

I wasn't expecting it to be dirty,

but it just looks very well kept, doesn't it?

- It does. I mean, after the genocide, everything was really dirty.

Destructions of...of houses, ruins.

But there's a cultural practice here,

which is the last Saturday of the month. - Yeah?

- Everyone who is over 18 has to go pick the rubbish off the ground.

And that's a collective thing.

If you don't do it, you're fined.

- Are you being serious? - I am.

- So, what, and everybody does it? It's mandatory?

- Everyone has to do it,

regardless whether you are president or my mum,

who is in a rural area somewhere, they have to do it.

- That's amazing. - That activity's called "Umuganda".

- Yeah. What's it called? - Umuganda.

- Umuganda. - Yes.

It works with what's needed in...in a village. - Yeah.

- Sometimes, they would go and build a house for someone who...

..whose house is...is falling apart.

- So, it's not necessarily just litter picking. - No.

- It's, like, something...you're doing something beneficial

for the community. - Yes.

It also started by banning any plastic bag use.

- Plastic bags are not allowed in this country? - Not allowed.

- That is amazing. Those are two, like, pretty radical things.

I mean, from an outsider's point of view. - Yeah.

- I wasn't in Rwanda on the last Saturday of the month,

but the production team, being TV wankers,

decided it would be fun for me to experience it anyway.

And so, dressed in a high-vis jacket that served absolutely no purpose,

I spent the morning picking up litter

that hadn't previously existed.

You've got a basket full of rubbish.

- Yes. - You are going to drop the rubbish,

and I'm going to pick it up - that's what we're doing now.

- Yeah. - So, we're simulating litter picking.

- Yeah.

- And do you normally do it in a high-vis vest with one of these?

- No. - No? - OK, give me the bag.

I'll take this. - Yeah.

- Look at that.

Is it disgusting?

- What you've just done is disgusting, yeah.

- This is what you would be doing if you were here on Saturday.

- You're a real piece of shit, you know that?

- Anyway, I'll be sitting here. You do that.

- Yeah, you chill out, man.

HE LAUGHS

I'd hate for you to get tired.

CREW MEMBER: - What have you learned from this experience?

- Uh, what I've learned about what happens here

is that the last Saturday of every month,

they do a community thing

where everybody over 18 has to pick up rubbish,

and it's a great thing for the community.

What I've learned about television

is that couldn't have been explained to me in a chat.

- Rom.

Well done.

- Do I think it's a good thing? Yes. Am I impressed by it? Yes.

Do I think you could do it in Britain? Absolutely not.

I want you to imagine going to your hometown

and suggesting to everybody there

that we're going to spend the last Saturday of every month,

from eight in the morning till midday,

cleaning up rubbish.

I can't imagine what the response would be,

but I imagine it'd be something along the lines of...

.."Go fuck yourself."

We headed out of town, hoping to spend the day travelling east

towards Akagera, the country's largest national park.

On the way, we pulled over

at the site of an otherwise innocuous hotel,

the place where Rwanda would house asylum seekers flown from Britain

as part of its deal with the British government.

- What do you think?

- Uh, well, it looks all right from out here,

but, um, what do you think about it,

in terms of being the receiving country?

- We have refugees from Congo, from Burundi, from Afghanistan.

Most of the people in Rwanda who are, let's say, over 30 years,

uh, 35 years, have been a refugee at some point. - Right.

- Or their relatives have been refugees.

So, people would really appreciate the government receiving refugees.

- An argument is that there's only so much room in the country.

There's only so many resources in the country.

"We can't take everybody."

- Oh, God. - How do you...what do you feel about that?

Do you think Rwanda could ever get to a point

where they feel like that?

- Do you know what they used to tell refugees, Tutsi refugees,

who are...who were outside of the country before 1994?

They told them - this is on record...

..you can find it - that Rwanda is full, like a glass of water.

If you put in more, it's going to spill.

I don't think there's ever any country on Earth

that is too full to receive vulnerable people.

- It sounds like what you're saying is, because of Rwanda's past,

it's kind of culturally set up to...to be welcoming to...to people

who have come from difficult situations. - You've got it.

I think they are received well.

Again, of course, there might be some funny pronunciation,

like... - A lot of people

can't pronounce the name of this country, for example. - Yeah!

- Could you imagine doing a travel show,

not being able to pronounce the name of the country?

HYPPO LAUGHS

We drove further east towards the national park,

through stunning countryside.

After a few hours, Hyppo announced we'd be spending the afternoon

making Indigenous art at a cooperative in a local village.

HE SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE

Hello. - Hello.

Hi. Welcome.

- THEY SPEAK LOCAL LANGUAGE

- Rose? - Yeah. - OK.

- THEY SPEAK LOCAL LANGUAGE

- She's going to get some finished work. - OK.

- Yeah. Are you annoyed by those flies? - Not at all.

Not at all. I like it.

It's cool.

It's totally cool. Why, do I look like I'm annoyed?

SHE SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE

Oh, wow.

These are beautiful, aren't they?

They're very nice.

SHE SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE

- She's explaining that this is wood,

and the colours, the way they do it,

it's all done by hand.

And then, she was saying that there's cow poop

and colours and everything.

- What did you say? - Cow poop.

- This is cow poop? - Some of them.

- Why did you choose cow poop?

HE TRANSLATES

Is that a ball of cow poop, there?

- Which one? Yeah.

- The one that looks like a bowl of cow poop.

Yeah, that's...

I don't know why I smelt it.

So, we've arrived at this cooperative,

where a group of artists have got together.

And what they used to do to try and get money

was poach and do all sorts of things,

and then they decided to try and find a more positive way

of making some money.

So, what they do now is they create these incredible pieces of art,

these kind of tiles and stuff, and they sell them to tourists.

And there's a place down the road that they sell them.

And they've turned this into kind of like an arts hub.

So, we came down here, uh, basically, to have a look

at some of the work, to have a chat

and to have a go at doing some of our own.

Full disclosure, I don't really, as a rule,

like handling and being in and around shit.

Are they indoors, the cows, or outdoors?

- Indoors. - Indoors? Oh, the barn.

So, we're going to a barn to pick up cow poop?

- Yes.

- It's actually quite a nice little set-up.

They've got smoke there, to keep the flies off the cows.

The cows look well fed.

And then, you just go in there, and you help yourself to some shit.

- Ready?

- Why did I wear these shoes?

Let's go. - OK.

- Good luck.

- They just found one that is fresh, fresh poop.

Do you want to pick that, or you want to pick the other one?

That's fresh poop. - Which one's the fresh one? - That one.

- Which one? - The one... You see these? - This one, here?

- Yeah. - OK. - Do you want to take...?

I mean, it's like... - What do you want? - ..host honours.

Do you want to...? - I've done it before.

- No, you've never done it before. You're such a... Don't...

You're so...you're so full of that. - OK.

- You've not done it before. - Go for it. - OK, I'll get it.

- Or we could do it together.

Oh, you use two hands, like...

- Argh!

Oh, no.

HE LAUGHS

- Pick up quicker, pick up quicker.

- Oh.

Oh! - Oh, that's a good one.

- That's good shit.

HE LAUGHS

I thought to myself, "It's probably going to be one of those things

"where you pick it up, and it's, like,

"a bit malleable and pliable, but it doesn't leave much on your hands."

Oh, the consistency is so horrible.

Oh... OK, let's go.

HYPPO LAUGHS

- Hey!

Rom, it's going to rain. - I know.

HYPPO LAUGHS, THUNDER RUMBLES

So, it started to absolutely tip it down.

Amazingly, this family, in this house, just no questions asked,

let us stand in there and wait,

with this poo in our hands.

Thank you for letting us shelter in here.

RAIN PATTERS

I think we might be here for a while.

But there's a time limit on how long

you can stand in a stranger's home with three massive balls of crap.

- Not here.

- Just imagine if you turned up at someone's house in the UK,

and you knocked on their door, and you said,

"I'm sorry to trouble you. I'm taking this shit down the road,

"and it's started raining.

"Might I wait in your living room?"

HE CHUCKLES I mean, they're not letting you in.

I would describe it as a cultural difference.

One of the things I've learned so far -

if it's raining, and you've got some shit in your hands,

someone will let you in here.

And that's different to Britain.

- Oh. - OK, full disclosure, I can't do that.

So... - Why?

- Can you do that? You're an artist.

- I'm not sure I can, but let's try.

- I've got to be honest, I knew that we couldn't do it very early on,

and I thought, "Let's just finish it."

Do you know what I mean? Let's just finish.

OK. I think we're good, aren't we?

I think we should stop there.

HE LAUGHS

It's so bad.

Um, now, fortunately, you filmed the making of this

because, otherwise, you'd be forgiven for thinking

that I just squatted over it while Hyppo just spun this around.

CREW LAUGH

With my hands still covered in cow shit,

we headed into Akagera, the country's largest national park,

which stretches for over 400 square miles

along its eastern border.

We would be guided by one of the local Rangers, Isaac.

UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYS

- Oh, man. - Oh, man, look at that.

- Oh, God.

- So, Isaac, what kind of animals are we going to see here?

- We're going to see some zebras. - Yeah.

- Giraffe, hippos,

buffaloes.

Some... Some lions also here, in the north of the park. - OK.

Um, how high can the lions jump, Isaac?

Just because, you know, it's quite an open vehicle.

- They can jump to up to two metres.

- And do they prefer light or dark meat?

Just so I know if they're going to go for us or the crew.

- So, they like dark... - Oh.

- ..because the animals... - Oh. - That's a shame.

So, what are the origins of this park, Hyppo?

- This park was the biggest in Rwanda before 1994,

and actually it's named after the river that is around it on the east,

which is the border with Tanzania.

Actually, you can see - those mountains over there are Tanzania's.

- Oh, really? - Yeah. That's Tanzania.

After the genocide, the whole park was used as a shelter for people

who were trying to escape the killers.

It wasn't safe because of the lions and...and animals.

- So, they were taking refuge in an area full of wild animals?

- Yes. - Wow.

- Because that was better... - Than the alternative.

- Yes.

- What are those? - Impala, the antelopes. - Impala.

They sort of look like posh goats... - They don't... - ..don't they?

I like them.

I don't know why I've got my binoculars when they're this close,

but... - It's a group of all males.

They call it a "bachelor herd".

- That's a bachelor group? - Bachelor group, yes. - Yeah.

- They fight to get females.

Then, the winner will take the females,

and then, these losers, they just make their own group.

- Really? - Which is the single males.

In the future, one of them will go to challenge.

Yeah, they are eating and go for gym.

I mean, they do some training, fighting trainings.

So, when they get ready,

they'll go fight the one who is occupying many females,

and then kick him out so the new male will take over the females.

- So, this is a group of losers? - Yes, yes, you're right.

You're right.

- Isaac informed us that animal numbers

have been steadily increasing

since the historic low after the genocide.

Rhinos were reintroduced in 2019,

meaning the park once again boasts all "big five" safari animals,

and the country is hoping that it can begin to compete for tourists

with its more established neighbours, Uganda and Tanzania.

We eventually arrived at our accommodation for the night -

luxury tents with stunning views of the savanna.

I'm fundamentally opposed to camping,

but, I mean, it's...it's nice.

I mean, obviously, you know, in principle,

I hate this sort of thing, like, really hate it,

but there's no denying that they've...

..you know, they've gone to a lot of trouble.

It's a nice set-up in the circumstances.

But I do hate this.

But they've set it up nice. But I do hate it.

But it's nice, but I hate it.

But they have done...it's nice.

The toilets were, for unknown reasons, open-air.

So, I settled down for a poo with a view.

TOILET FLUSHES

Uh, you might want to leave that for about an hour, I'd say.

Hour and a half. How are you?

- Not bad. Enjoying the fire.

- Yeah.

- Do you want to go on the night-fun adventure?

- Do I want to go on a night-fun adventure? - Yeah.

- That sounds really sinister.

Yeah. What's a night-fun adventure?

- Go on a night safari?

- A night safari? - Yeah.

- Do you think that'll make it easier to see the animals

or more difficult? - It's an exploration.

We're going to see what happens.

- Well, that's my point. I don't think we are going to see what happens.

- It's going to be dark.

- HE SIGHS

No, but you understand what I'm saying, right?

Night safari. - Yes.

- When we are using this spotlight, we will be looking

for the reflection of the eyes.

- I want to see a lion, just from a distance.

- Yeah.

THEY LAUGH

What would you do if one just started running alongside here?

- Oh. You've scared me.

- So, Isaac, are you more likely to see animals

on the night-time safari?

- Yes, the herbivorous animals, they get together,

and then spend the night in the... in the open savanna grassland.

- I'm getting a bit excited now.

- Oh, I see something ahead.

- See something there? Right in front?

- Right in the front. - Oh, it's a sign.

- That's a sign.

- HE LAUGHS

- I saw the eyes.

- I realised I'm useless at spotting.

You start imagining... - Look at those eyes!

Those are eyes. - Where?

- I'm very sure. - Buffalo?

- Buffalos!

My God!

- Oh! - Lots of them. They were eyes.

- Yes!

- This is a big herd of buffalos.

- Wow.

Yeah, now I will trust my eyes.

- Oh, what is that?

- Keep... Keep your light there.

These are lions, lions, lions. - Lions? Lions!

- Lions! - Just over here, to the right. - Oh, there's so many!

Look at their eyes.

Oh! - That's lions.

- Oh...!

- Let me get close to them, and then we can watch them.

We just need to reduce the voices.

- Oh, my...!

- Oh! - Look at that! - God.

- That is amazing.

- Oh, my God.

- That's your first lion?

- Yeah! It's so close.

Look at that.

Oh, God.

- That's a young male, eight months old.

They are still young.

Look at that one. They are playing.

- Yeah. - The young lions playing.

- And they can come and attack the vehicle at any second, right?

- Can you tell if they're hungry?

- Uh, actually, they're stretching, getting ready to go and hunt

in the evening time. Yeah.

- So, will these two just be together, or are they part of a bigger...?

- They're...this pride has 14 lions in total. - Right.

Oh, so they're part of that pride? - These are the young ones.

We are not seeing the big one. The adult one, yeah. - Oh, right.

Listen, I'm happy to admit when I'm wrong.

I thought the idea of doing a night-time safari was ridiculous

because, uh...just, you know, based on my lifetime experiences,

things are more difficult to see in the dark.

- Let's start heading back to the camp.

- OK. Thank you, Isaac.

- Thank you. Thank you for joining our night safari.

- Uh, and so I thought the idea of going out at night

to try and see more seemed ridiculous, but...

..do you know what?

Credit to Isaac, our guide,

it was an incredible night.

Hyppo saw his first ever lion tonight.

He's lost his lion cherry.

CREW MEMBER: - And what was it like when you first saw the lion?

I think you went, "Lion! Lion!"

- I didn't do that.

I didn't do that. You may have...

I think Hyppo went, "Lion! Lion!" I went...

DEEP VOICE: .."Lion. That's a fucking lion."

MELLOW MUSIC PLAYS

We drove back towards the capital.

I was acutely aware that, so far, everything I'd seen in Rwanda

had been influenced in some way by the genocide,

a shadow cast over the entire country.

That morning, Hyppo wanted to take me to a museum in Kigali

dedicated to the memory of the wave of killing that began here

in the spring of 1994.

Although shocking and sudden to outsiders,

the roots of the genocide

were embedded in the history of the country.

Traditionally, Tutsis, the owners of cattle,

were the rulers of the country.

The Hutus worked the land, growing crops.

During the Belgian colonial era, these social distinctions

were deliberately exploited and entrenched,

causing deep divisions.

In the second half of the 20th century,

after independence, persecution of the Tutsi minority

left the country in a permanent state of turmoil.

Waves of killings led to a failed invasion by Tutsi exiles in 1990,

before an extremist movement, known as Hutu Power,

became fixated on ending the dispute once and for all.

On the 6th of April 1994,

the moderate Hutu president was assassinated...

..and Hutu extremists immediately unleashed

a meticulously planned final solution -

the total elimination of all Tutsis.

LOUD BLAST

The killing lasted for 100 days.

Roadblocks were set up along main roads.

Anybody carrying a Tutsi ID card was killed, usually with a machete.

Friends turned on friends.

Neighbours turned on neighbours.

Priests turned on their congregations.

As national radio urged people to "weed out the cockroaches",

nobody was spared.

As many as 10,000 people were massacred every day.

250,000 women were raped.

69% of children witnessed death or harm.

Anybody opposed to the murder was killed.

70% of all Tutsis were wiped out

in one of the darkest episodes in human history

before current President Paul Kagame and the RPF invaded from Uganda,

seized power, and the killing finally abated.

Well, it's just, uh...it's, um...

..it's incredibly difficult coming somewhere like here.

It sort of forces you to actually engage with it

in a way that you otherwise wouldn't have done, and, um...

There's a children's room, and they had pictures of the children

and children that had died during the genocide

and how they died.

And there's stories of babies being hacked to death by machete.

There's children being smashed against the wall.

There's...

..babies being butchered in their parents' arms...

..and people revelling in it.

You know, they thought these people were animals,

and they felt empowered to do it,

and, you know, there's stories of them baptising each other

with blood and stuff.

It's just...it's just absolutely horrific.

Everybody in this country has experienced some sort of trauma.

The idea of...of putting that behind you or drawing a line under it,

it just...you know, going through that, it just seems impossible.

I don't understand how you would ever do that.

What did it actually feel like to...

..for the country to turn into that, where people were just being killed

for ethnicity...wholesale.

Like, what was it like to be in amongst that?

- I was Tutsi. You know, I was young,

but every minute...

..or every second is like,

"I'm going to die. I'm going to be killed."

So, every time, you're thinking, you step on your...on your right,

you'll find, you know, your relative being killed.

And then, go, you turn on the other one...

The only place you can hide in is a mass grave.

That's what I did.

You know, um...

You know, I was...I was among children who were made slaves

for the killers, and you know that, in the next room,

it's where...or in the next house,

it's where your relatives or respected women you knew

are being sex slaves.

How does it feel? It feels like...

Yeah, it's misery.

Yeah. Excuse me.

- No, no, no. You're all right, mate. - See, you...

..you're constantly hoping that you die,

and you leave the misery behind

because thinking the next...the next second,

"It's me, it's me, it's me."

Yeah.

- And how long did that...?

How long did it feel like that?

- Um, I and my brother and my two sisters were in a refugee camp,

so we, um, were...

..rescued,

and when we were taken back into the village

where our house was burnt down, we didn't...

..we didn't have where to go.

The suffering, the pain, the trauma is still there,

and all these things we're talking about, that I experienced,

are still, even today, my nightmares.

- Why is it you feel so compelled to come here?

- We never had a chance to bury our relatives.

Um, when I come here, I feel like I'm visiting people,

like my friends that I lost, my...

..my...my father...

..aunts, relatives.

And also it's a place of learning.

I come here, and it gives me strength to wake up tomorrow

and say, "I don't want what happened to happen again."

I'm sorry. - No, you're all right, man.

You OK? - OK.

I did not always understand how my father could say

that becoming a killer and doing revenge would be a fight, not peace.

Until I forgave his killers.

Killers of my cousins.

Killers of my relatives.

Of my people.

Killers of their neighbours.

Killers of their friends.

Killers of their brothers and sisters.

Killers of their home.

Our beloved country, Rwanda.

But I understand one thing for sure.

You and I are the key.

The key of remembering that all together we can find a way.

A way to peace.

A way to love.

A way to forgive.

A way to confess.

A way to kindness.

Always remember.

You are the key.

The key.

- HE SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE

- You are the key to peace.

- Hyppo told me that after the genocide,

the government banned the terms Hutu and Tutsi,

with all citizens now simply Rwandan.

The country has also tried to foster a sense of national unity

through sports.

One of the great successes has been cycling,

and he took me along to spend the day cycling

through the stunning hills, alongside his friend Sandru

and the Rwandan women's national team.

Hello, I'm Romesh. - Yeah. Hi.

- Nice to meet you. - Yeah, nice to meet you.

- Oi. - Yes.

- Yeah, very slowly, please, because I...

..I'm bad. - Yeah, yeah.

- I don't mean in a general sense, I mean at cycling.

OK. Great. Thanks.

DOG BARKS

- Are you ready for this? - Not really.

I thought the activity was cycling, but it turns out the activity

is cycling and setting fire to your dignity.

I thought... Look, Hyppo, he looks like he's got some cycling haunches.

I've got... Look at that.

I've got no arse whatsoever.

I actually think this is a condition.

LIVELY MUSIC PLAYS

Oh, man.

If I don't get an arse after this, I'm going to be devastated.

Oh!

HE SIGHS

- Allez!

Allez, allez! - Allez!

- No stop. - Allez.

SHE LAUGHS

- Allez!

- Allez!

- Allez, allez!

- So, what does the development of this sport mean for the country

and opportunities?

- Here, it's very important for the community.

Many riders, they can now help their families

to...to keep surviving.

- Yeah. - It also keeps the unity between people.

And in different sport, even football, even, and basketball.

So, we are a good example for other women.

Now, they are interested to come in cycling.

- Oh, really, yeah? - Yeah.

- So, you feel like it's something

that's been encouraged by the country?

- Yeah.

- How are you getting on, Hyppo?

- Yes! - I love hills.

- You love hills? - Yeah, me, too! - So good, yeah.

- OK, so another one ahead. - Yeah.

- Great. Great. Oh, what?!

- Yeah, another one ahead.

- SHE LAUGHS

Guys? - Mm-hm.

- You're obviously going at my kind of pace.

So, why don't we see how fast you can go,

and I'm going to try and keep up with you, OK?

- Yeah. - OK. So, when I say...

..three, two, one,

Tugende!

Allez, allez! Allez, allez! - Argh! - Oi!

Allez!

Allez, allez!

- SHE LAUGHS

- Are you OK?

- OK, let's stop.

HE PANTS

- They went so fast.

- As soon as we set them off,

it was like some nitro went off or something. Afterburners.

It was ridiculous.

I honestly thought we could keep up with them

for, like, 10 seconds, maybe. - Me, too.

- I thought maybe, for 10 seconds, and let them go.

It turns out that was incredibly optimistic. - Oh.

- That was a humiliation.

But fair play to them.

You know, I'd like them to come and do 20 minutes

at the Apollo, you know?

See how they get on doing that.

- One more thing that is amazing

is that, like, Rwandan women parliamentarians

are helping supporting this team.

Did you know that Rwanda has the highest proportion of women

in parliament anywhere in the world?

- In the whole world? - Yes.

- No, I did not know that.

- We have the highest number. - It's an amazing thing.

I think, to see, in the sort of mix of trying to heal the country,

and trying to get the country past those horrible events,

past the genocide,

it's bringing community together.

People are coming out to watch it.

People are coming together to compete against each other.

All of those things - I mean, you can totally see

how positive that all is. - Yeah.

And seeing women riding like this,

I've never seen it before, like...

- Yeah, Rwanda has got the African national champion.

- Yeah. - Pretty amazing.

- Yeah. - And I think it's just good.

You know, I'm willing to sort of sacrifice my dignity

to show how good everyone is, you know?

So, I've contributed in my own small way.

- My legs! - I know.

I'd found Rwanda a fascinating, deeply impressive

and, at times, awe-inspiring place -

but not everyone is so enamoured with the country,

and if you're thinking of visiting,

there are definitely some things you should be aware of.

- OK, stop. Stop, stop, stop.

Keep turning. Keep turning.

Do you know what you've got to say? - Yeah. - OK.

Turning. - Here we go. And action.

- By all accounts, Paul Kagame, the President of the country,

is responsible for taking Rwanda from the chaos of post-genocide

to being sort of heralded as a...

..as almost like a poster country for how things should be done.

Its growth is incredible.

It's got the highest representation of women in parliament in the world.

Uh, they've got incredibly united community,

which is made all the more impressive

by the fact that this country has been so divided.

Having said all of that,

there are people who are extremely critical of him,

which is why I find myself on this boat.

Hyppo is not with me.

We've only got members of the crew here with me.

We're not even recording this on radio mic. Um...

These are all measures that we've had to take

in order to avoid what we feel might be...

..us getting ourselves into trouble

by speaking freely where we can be heard.

And that is something I've never had to do before.

And, to be honest, it's quite unnerving.

Um, there are reports of human rights abuses.

There are reports that the government

have targeted opposition with violence

to kind of quash any kind of dissent at all,

and gone as far as to chase people to foreign countries

in order to...to deal with that.

And on top of that, Rwanda is said to have one of the most extensive

and arguably invasive surveillance operations in the world.

And there's probably some sort of scuba diver

with a microphone underneath the water,

or they've attached it to a fish or something.

I don't know how they'd operate it, but, ultimately,

does what I've just said affect your judgment of the country

so much that you couldn't, in good conscience, come here?

Or do you think to yourself, "Well, I could come here,

"and it won't affect me at all."

I could understand either argument, to be honest with you.

Do you know, that is something to consider,

but I think it would be remiss not to talk about those things

if you're coming to a place like this,

that does, on the face of it,

present as such an incredible country.

SOFT MUSIC PLAYS

Cautious as I had been, I did want to hear Hyppo's views

on the subject, without wishing to put him

in an uncomfortable position.

So, the following day, in the car, I tiptoed my way around the issue.

I think it's been amazing.

This...like, what I've seen so far, has been incredible.

But I wanted to ask you, in the West, there are some people...

- Yeah? - ..not naming any names, that have raised questions

about sort of the authoritarianism in this country.

I was slightly nervous about bringing these things up with you

because I just thought, how will you...?

You know, obviously, we get...we've got on.

- Yeah. - We've had a great old time.

But now you're having a heavy conversation about the country.

- But that's the thing. Where did you get that worry from?

- I don't know. - I think I'm happy to have a conversation with that.

- OK.

Paul Kagame has been in charge for what? Is it 30 years now?

How long? - He was elected in 2003.

- Oh, OK. - But he was in position since 1999, 2000.

- OK. - Yes. So, 23.

- And he's hugely popular, yeah?

- Oh, so popular.

So popular.

He brought back safety in the country. - Yeah.

- You have a country where violence has replaced violence

and, you know, trauma after trauma.

You know, Rwandans are at the point of saying, "We want safety."

Of course, there's no system that is 100% perfect,

but I think, at least the majority of laws here

have helped us to be where we are.

And I think it's a good thing.

I actually don't agree with the description

of authoritarianism as being what...what is happening here,

in Rwanda... - OK. - ..as the system of rule.

- So, you just refute that completely? - Yeah. - That's... That's not the case.

- Yes.

- HORN HONKS

You know, people are free to drive like pricks here, so...

- So...

- HE LAUGHS

- Oh, God.

People make mistakes.

- No, no, I'm joking. - Yeah, I know.

- I didn't say... Listen, I didn't say they were a prick.

I said they were driving like a prick. - Oh, wow.

- So, my time in Rwanda...

Rwanda? - Rwanda.

- Ugan...Rwanda.

- Oh, God. - Rwanda. What? What, are you getting upset now?

Rwanda. - You've been here for how many days?

- Rwanda. Rwanda.

- You can't... - Gwanda?

- Yeah, come again? - Dwanda?

- No. Rwanda. - Rwanda?

- Yes. - Rwanda.

Yes! - Well done.

Yes! - Yes!

HE LAUGHS

So, I've been here for a few days.

Everything I've seen is great.

Are you telling me it's as good as it seems?

Is that what you're conclusively telling me?

- It's as good as it seems.

And I wish it's...

..it becomes better.

- OK.

Hyppo had saved the best of this amazing country for last.

We'd be trekking into Volcanoes National Park,

62 square miles of rainforest

spread along the slopes of eight volcanoes,

and home to over a thousand mountain gorillas.

We'd be guided in by Fidel.

Fidel has stopped and said we're 15 minutes away from the gorillas,

which is incredibly exciting.

So apparently, we have to go...

HE GRUNTS

Like that, and then it knows,

he or she or they know that you're not a threat.

Equally, if a silverback goes to charge you,

you shouldn't run away because, if anything, that encourages him

and excites him, and he will beat you to death.

It's a lot like when I used to go and visit my grandad.

He had a silver back.

No.

His back was covered with silver hair.

What the fuck are you talking about?

He didn't have a pet silverback.

Otherwise, I wouldn't have bothered coming here and climbing a mountain.

I'd have gone round my grandad's house.

Anyway, it's very exciting.

No.

Oh, shit! - Oh, sorry. - I'm all right.

Oh, my God.

HE WHISPERS

I can't believe this.

HE LAUGHS

Amazing. It's amazing.

I just can't believe it, man.

Like, you get yourself ready for it, and you think, obviously,

this is what's going to happen, but I can't believe we're this close.

It's incredible.

These gorillas, which share about 98% of their DNA with humans,

are one of 12 families that live here in the Virunga Mountains.

Each family consists of around ten gorillas, with one dominant male,

the silverback, and several females.

It is amazing.

It is unbelievable.

Both males and females care for the children,

hugging and playing with them until they're older,

when most males and around two thirds of females

leave their birth group to join another family.

I don't know, it just feels very peaceful.

It's an amazing experience to be this close to them.

GORILLA FARTS

Oh, my God!

THEY LAUGH

Actually spread her legs to do it.

That's remarkable.

First of all, I was surprised that I was hearing a gorilla fart.

And to be honest with you, I suspected one of you two,

initially.

But then, Fidel made it clear it was the gorilla farting.

And I just can't believe none of the other gorillas reacted.

I'm going to tell you this now,

if I were sat at home with my family...

..and Leesa did something like that,

we would stand up and applaud.

OK.

It was at this point that the silverback,

perhaps roused by the rumble of immense flatulence,

awakened suddenly and made his way through the crew

with scant regard for Fidel's safety briefing.

Too close.

Too close, too close, too close.

GRUNTING

- Excuse me.

- GRUNTING

That is the most gorilla-looking gorilla I've ever seen.

When you saw the silverback for the first time,

it was...it was unbelievable.

It's like this power.

THEY WHISPER It's amazing, isn't it? - So huge.

- FIDEL GRUNTS

This doesn't feel like ten metres. - He's coming.

- Look how he's walking. Look.

- Oh, yeah. - He's coming.

- Look how he is walking. - Look at that.

Uh-oh.

GRUNTING

- You are too close, please. You are too close.

- GRUNTING

- Come to me.

- Shit. - Oh...

Come to me.

- It's like textbook gorilla.

He honestly looks like

he's been through hair and make-up before this.

- Do you cut the hair?

- No.

- THEY LAUGH

You're the guide to the country,

and you just asked if they come and cut his hair.

- Well, look at that.

Look at how beautiful it is.

- What were you expecting him to say?

"Yeah, it's a little trim, and then a bit of dry shampoo.

"See how he gets on with it."

LAUGHTER

That's... That's the sort of question I'm supposed to ask.

I just wanted to say that this has genuinely been

one of the most incredible experiences I've ever had.

So, I just wanted to say thank you for looking after us.

It's been absolutely amazing.

Thank you.

MELLOW MUSIC PLAYS

Well,

Hyppo, that was, uh...

..genuinely, such an incredible experience.

- Thank you for coming, and it's been amazing.

- Thanks, bro.

- Keep well, yeah? - Yeah, you, too.

I'd say keep in touch, but...

HYPPO LAUGHS

When...you know, when I talked about what I was expecting

or what I knew, what I'd associated with this country before arriving,

it was the genocide.

I mean, talking to Hyppo, who's been an unbelievable guide...

..his story, what that man has been through,

and who he is today,

is nothing short of miraculous.

You know, I've talked about...

..I guess, you know, concerns -

but if you were to put those to one side,

every single day I've been here,

I've done something which I would describe as a really enriching

and amazing experience.

I mean, I don't think that's an overstatement.

You know, whether that be a cultural thing,

whether that be looking into the country's history

and reflecting on it,

whether that be seeing incredible nature and...and scenery,

it's sort of got all of that.

I mean, the...the truth of it is, is that...

..you know, if you were somebody

that had never thought about visiting an African country

because of those kind of preconceptions or stereotypes,

if you want to call them...

You know, the fact of the matter is,

there are parts of African countries that are chaotic.

There are parts that, you know, are dangerous to go to.

If you were unsure about this type of experience,

this is kind of, like, a good way in.

It's a good entry-level country to come and sort of explore Africa.

It's a good...

You know, I can imagine people saying,

"How did you get into Africa?"

"Well, it was Rwanda that got me started,

"and then I moved on to the other ones."

Having done the number of these shows that I have done...

..I'm still...

..it's still an experience that will stay with me for a long time.

I think it's an amazing country. I've had an amazing experience here.

And I'll remember it for a very, very long time.

It's... It's... It's an amazing place.

So, we've been to Uganda. We're now in Rwanda.

And the original plan was to go across the border

to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

But we can't do that because a volcano has erupted

and fighting has broken out on the sides of that volcano.

So, it's where we go next instead.

Now, we can't go anywhere around here because it's too dangerous.

Already been here.

This is full of honeymooners.

I actually went here on my honeymoon.

And we've already been here.

So, we've decided, or I've decided, rather,

that we are going here -

Madagascar!

DANCE MUSIC PLAYS

I don't know loads about it,

but I've got my fingers crossed for talking penguins,

and I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to be physically fit -

physically fit, physically fit,

physically, physically, physically fit.

- So beautiful, eh?

- # I like to move it move it... #

- This is incredible.

LAUGHTER

- # You like to - Move it!

- # I like to move it, move it

# I like to move it, move it

# I like to move it, move it... # - Woohoo!

- # Woman ya cute And you don't need no make-up

# Original cute body You a mek man mud up

# Woman ya cute And you don't need no make-up

# Original cute body You a mek man mud up

# Woman, physically fit, physically fit

# Physically, physically, physically

# Woman, physically fit, physically fit

# Physically, physically, physically

# Woman, ya nice, sweet, fantastic

# Big ship 'pon di ocean that a big Titanic

# C'mon, ya nice, sweet, I enjoy the thing

# Big ship 'pon di ocean that a big Titanic

# Woman, ya nice, sweet, fantastic

# Big ship 'pon di ocean that a big Titanic

# C'mon, ya nice, sweet, I enjoy the thing... #

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