We are not early this morning, although both Beatrice and I are going on field. I am nervous, because I still don’t know who is coming with Fernanda and me, and the permanent secretary in Kirehe, Ignatiana, told us that she is only available in the morning. I sit at the breakfast table, waiting for us to leave, when my phone rings. It is Ignatiana, saying that she can meet us in the afternoon. That is much better.
At the office, we find out that Fernanda and I are going alone with Jane as driver, but now that doesn’t disturb me much anymore. Ignatiana expects us and she is arranging who else we can talk to. Jane says it will take us three hours to reach Kirehe, on the border to Tanzania. Richard joked the other day, that if we continue until we reach a waterfall, we have gone too far and reached the border. In the end it is little more than two hours and we don’t see the waterfall. According to Fernanda, this area is more developed than the other areas we have been to, but actually, I don’t see a big difference. It is not very hilly, similar to the south, but the houses look the same as everywhere else to me. As we arrive at the district office, Ignatiana is not there yet, but it is time for lunch anyway. We don’t have to choose between restaurants, as there is only one option. When someone from SNV comes to the district, they always go there, Jane tells us.
We have the interviews in Ignatiana’s office and the other officers there leave the room for us. Our first interviewee is Ignatiana herself. She doesn’t give us any new information and by now, we know the answers already. She mixes French and English, which is not a problem, but sometimes she says the same thing twice, once for me and once for Fernanda, which is unnecessary and slows down the conversation even more. Well, it is good to get confirmation from different districts so that we can claim that what we write applies to all areas. The next two interviews are more interesting in a way. The two JADF members we talk to know Kinyarwanda only and we get one of the officers as translator. He speaks French with Fernanda and Kinyarwanda with the interviewee. He seems to shorten their answers, though. Now and then, I interrupt with additional questions in English which Fernanda translates to French for our translator. It becomes a bit ridiculous, as he understands and speaks English as well and we decide to speak directly to each other, with a mix of French and English instead of taking the detour with this language-chain. The second of these interviews is rather short. Now even the translator knows already what we are going to ask and we just give him a key word and he then repeats the complete question to the interviewee. We are offered to talk to a third person, but we refuse. That is really not necessary and we have stopped everyone in the office from working long enough. We thank them for taking this time for us and make our leave.
Like every time we are on the field somewhere, there is some food in the area which is particularly good. This time, Jane buys banana, the sweet small ones and the ones for cooking, and papaya. The ride back is less quiet than the way there. We talk, listen to the radio and Jane answers our questions about things we pass. That makes the ride appear even shorter.
Jane drops me directly at the house, as Beatrice will return late from her field trip. I read sitting on the tiles in front of the house when Emmanuel’s cousin approaches me. He had already announced that he wanted to have a conversation with me, but he had not let me know what it was that he wanted to talk about. It is very much what I expected. He belongs to the poor people. We are on different levels. He mentions that with regard to education, but I don’t want to accept even that statement. Of course, he didn’t start university yet, but that doesn’t mean we are on different levels. He says I am like an old woman, which is not meant as a bad thing, I assume. He wants to take me as a sister. That is unexpected. Not as a friend, but as a sister. It doesn’t take me long, however, to understand the implications. Brothers and sisters support each other financially. In this case, of course, I should support him. Even if it is not possible now, because I am a student, we simply have to keep that relationship and after my studies, when I have a job, I can support him. Finally, a last question. Can he have my iPod? Sorry, that is not possible. I have lent it to Emmanuel, but I will take it back home.
