The Truth About Machetes

     I have discovered that if I mention the word “machete” to people back home, they tend to freak out a little. I forgot that when I first moved here seeing them everywhere freaked me out, but I adjusted and I barely notice when someone is wielding an excessively long knife (typically 13-18 inches long) around.

      I couldn’t tell you where the machete originated. They seem to be all over history with machete-like tools dating back to the Bronze Age. But the machete is commonly used as an agriculture tool. Its long, strong blade makes it useful to cut through thick jungle and rain forest and to harvest certain crops (i.e.- sugar cane, coconuts, bamboo) and for other tasks such as yard work. Since moving here I have witnessed the machete being used by butchers in the market and around the hospital grounds to cut grass. Rarely does a day go by that I don’t see a machete in use in this very agricultural based society (or someone walking around with an AK-47 I might add… though I have not seen those in use). The most common type of machete here in East Africa is known as the panga or tapanga (Swahili). The blade widens on the backside more than those in West Africa and Central America and is generally longer at 16-18 inches.

       Because the machete is so common, it was the primary weapon used by the Interahamwe militias during the Genocide. I recall how much it unnerved me when I first moved here to see them everywhere. I associated machetes only with violence and I couldn’t imagine how the Rwandans felt to see them everyday of their lives after the atrocities many of them witnessed, had done to them, or even performed during the Genocide. As it turns out, the Rwandans kept the machetes around on purpose. Not only are they extremely important in this agricultural society, but also by using them everyday for non-violence, the population has been desensitized to them, very much like me. I don’t bat an eye when I see one… that was until early Wednesday morning when having just been awoken in the middle of the night by shouts I saw our night guard Charles run by with machete in hand.

     I returned from my relaxing weekend in Italy early Tuesday morning. I got to my friend Jessie's house at 2 am where I promptly napped until 5 am. Jessie and I then loaded up and started the drive to Butare where we gave our ICU nurses a retention exam on the ICU Specialization Course that Jessie taught them in the spring. She dropped me back at home just after 2 pm since I was looking very much like a zombie at that point. I showered, put my pjs on and worked on my computer. I skipped a group dinner and was in bed by 9 pm, lights out by 9:15 pm and I'm sure zonked by 9:30 pm. As I fell asleep I heard Julie and Vanessa come in from dinner, chatting and moving about the kitchen.

     The next thing I knew I heard a loud person and at first I thought I was still in Kigali (Jessie's neighborhood noisier compared to Butare) then realized that I was in my own bed and wondered why was a drunk disturbing my much needed sleep. It was just after 2 am. Then I realized that it was one word, incredibly loud, incredibly close, over and over again. I texted Julie and Vanessa, searched for my glasses, heard them in the living room and joined them.

     That's when I realized that we had been burglarized. The television, surround sound speakers, dvd player, stereo system, and some other small items were gone. Glancing out the open window with a broken handle I saw part of our veranda fencing (for lack of a better word) was broken and then I saw Charles run by, machete in hand. There was a lot of confusion, a lot of calling anyone and everyone we knew who could speak Kinyarwanda and translate for us. We finally got the complete story at about 4:30 in the morning, which was that 3 men had come into the house after breaking the handle off the window and went immediately for the electronics. Charles was able to chase them off and apparently even cut one of them with the machete as he was climbing over the wall. Charles was able to recover almost everything, but the tv is gone and I later discovered my battery power pack that Dan sent me a month ago was also gone. I had left it sitting on the coffee table when I climbed in bed. 

     There was no sleeping for the rest of the night and we were all a little nervous. For a second at the beginning of the confusion we thought they had been in my bedroom and taken my backpack, but then realized as Charles hauled it into the light, that it wasn't my backpack. I almost vomited though when I thought they had been in my room and I hadn't woken up. The scariest what-if though is that Vanessa heard them in the living room. She assumed it was jet lagged me wandering around and almost came out to the living room. She fortunately decided to just go to the bathroom and pop back in bed. But what if she had gone out there. It creeps me out but we are all fine, just a bit unnerved.

     Fortunately, the colonel has been pretty responsive. He sent Robert, our trusty handy man from Kigali on Wednesday to repair the window, he allowed a second guard to stay at night, and we now have shiny new razor wire on top of our wall. He has also said we could get a dog if we wanted... I am certainly going to look into this option. I didn't sleep well until last night, but I think that was primarily from over eating at our ex-pat Thanksgiving dinner. 

     I am glad that Charles is armed with a machete and that Vénuste keeps his police battalion on him and that the entire neighborhood is aware. Not only the neighborhood, but also the army is aware, the police, our HRH staff, University of Texas, the US Embassy, the neighborhood watch, and I don't even know who else. But I think it's safe to say that our house is being well covered and that no one would be stupid enough to come back. But I'm not going to lie... I might invest in a machete myself.