Rwandan Refugees, A Story of Life
In May of 1994, Dr. Richard Niemeyer, a medical doctor and a distant cousin, called me up and asked if I would want to join him in a trip to Rwanda in late August. He wanted to assess the problems of the refugees so he could determine how he could help. He had done work in Kenya some years ago and felt a special empathy for the needy people of Africa. His request of me, was to document what we saw so that the images and story would create a sensitivity in the US for the plight of the refugees, which would hopefully create help to alleviate the situation. We traveled to Nairobi, Kenya; boarded a plane to Entebbe, Uganda, which when in the air, had mechanical problems, which caused us to return to Nairobi till the repair was made. After some time we again took off for Uganda. Subsequently we arrived later in the evening then was planned. We did not have hotel reservations and all was closed in Entebbe. We hitched a ride in a truck for an hour ride to Kampala to a very primitive hotel where the pilot of a small plane would meet us for our flight to Goma, Zaire. Goma was the location of three large camps of refugees which had fled Rwanda. We flew into Goma in a six passenger plane. One of the passengers was a nurse from Nairobi who worked for World Vision. Since we had no prior accommodation plans, she suggested that we might stay with World Vision and visit the camps via their transportation. We arrived in Goma, and had to obtain a seven day visa. We were told it would cost $150, for each of us. The nurse stated that is was far too much and suggested that we leave the passports with the airport official and World Vision would do the negotiations. This was our first taste of the corrupt anarchy that existed there. We went to World Vision's enclave near the Rwandan border and were invited to stay. Richard found a room and I slept in a tent. The three camps that we visited were Mugunga, Kibumba and Kitali. Each camp had over 200,000 refugees living in straw huts which were crammed together in a ten foot square area. All three were primitive with very little order. Anarchy prevailed everywhere. Each morning the dead were placed beside the road where Gaol, the Irish relief provider, would pick the bodies up in a dump truck and take them to a common grave for 40,000, hewn out of lava. The first day we went to Mugunga where World Vision distributed food and ran an orphanage. The shock of the primitive conditions had an incredible impact on us. Just recently, treated water from Lake Kivu was made available as well as latrines. The cholera epidemic had just subsided, but death was everywhere and human dignity was translated into numbers. The next day we hitched a ride to Kibumba. Annie Liebowitz was there photographing for the London Times. The third day we went to Kitali via several hitched rides. Unfortunately we went too far and we got off the truck away from any providers and were immediately surrounded by a mob. Coming the other way slowly in the throngs of people was another truck which helped us out of a very compromising situation. When we left the camp the next day, Richard informed me that he would like to go to Kilgali, the capital of Rwanda. I informed him that I had work to do in the other two camps if I was to make something out of the trip. He told me that he would clear the passport in Goma and he would meet me on the plane in Nairobi or in the United States. He asked me if I had enough money. I said yes, however I only had $150 on me, in the middle of Africa. Meanwhile I continued to work Mugunga and Kibumba. One evening I went for a walk, and accidentally crossed over the Rwanda border where I was immediately surrounded by Rwandan soldiers. My first thought was that I did not have a passport and that I was in Rwanda illegally. A soldier had a new Nikon around his neck. He motioned that he needed a battery. I indicated that I did not have one. He then asked for film and I hand signaled that I would give it to him if I could get some pictures. I took two pictures, gave him a roll of film and quickly walked back over the border, waiting to hear a staccato burst. At the end of the week, I made arrangements to fly with a Canadian cargo plane, under the auspices of the UN, back to Nairobi, missing two days of travel through Entebbe. When I got into Nairobi I delivered a letter to World Vision and asked to be directed to an inexpensive hotel prior to leaving for the US the next day. I was given an address, went to the hotel and checked in. Just as I was finished I heard "Lucian". There was Richard whom I had left halfway a continent away. It was amazing. The next day we went on an incredible safari where we were charged by a Rhino, just prior to boarding the plane back to the US. Back in the US I took the resulting images to Leica, where Roger Horn, President, viewed them. He graciously agreed to help sponsor the exhibit, granting me $1500 out of over $5000 that I needed. Berry & Homer printed the images on Ilfochrome Classic and mounted them on black Sintra covered with a protective coating. The images were shot with Leica R-7 and R-5 cameras on Agfachrome 100 or 50ASA color film. The editorials ran in the Delaware County Sunday Times over a period of months. The epilogue was written in November 1996 to complete the journalism.
When the exhibit was completed I took the work to Steve Bruni, Director of the Delaware Museum of Art in Wilmington. Del. He had initiated Sabastioa Salgado's exhibit of workers in the world, a very significant work in the world of photography. He liked the work and wanted to place our exhibit in a new museum gallery opening in the fall of 1998.
Mount Kilimanjaro without a cloud surrounding its cap. An unusual occurrence. Taken with an R-3, a 400mm lens and Kodachrome 64 film from Amboseli National Park in Kenya.
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Last updated: January 10, 2008.