Kigali Memorial Centre

“On 6th April 1994, President Juvenal Habyarimana [of Rwanda] and President Cyrien Ntaryamira of Burundi were flying into Kigali when, at 20:23 [8:23 p.m.], the plane was shot down on its approach to Kigali airport. By 21:15 [9:15 p.m.], roadblocks had been constructed throughout Kigali and houses were being searched. Shooting began to be heard within an hour.” Thus began the events for which Rwanda is now famous – one hundred days of genocide during which as many as one million people were massacred. Living in Kigali, sometimes, it's hard to imagine that such a horrific event could have occurred only thirteen years ago; at other times, it's impossible to forget.

Today, our entire staff (approximately 120 Rwandans, 6 Americans and 1 Brit) visited the Kigali Memorial Centre, which is a burial ground, memorial and museum that opened in 2004 on the ten-year anniversary of the Rwandan genocide.
We first visited the mass grave site at the center. There are eleven mass graves on the site which have each been filled with coffins containing over 280,000 genocide victims. Many of those are unidentified corpses that have been discovered in crude mass graves throughout the city. Others’ identities are known, but the corpses have only recently been found, often as a result of the confessions of genocidaires during gacaca.
One of the mass graves is still open (though it should be filled within the coming days), and we gathered around it for a moment of silence. Our medical director, laboratory director, study coordinator and head of administration placed floral arrangements on the gravesite that said ‘NEVER AGAIN’ in English, French and Kinyarwanda. Each of us brought a yellow rose with a purple ribbon.
After visiting the gravesite, we split into four groups to visit the museum. The first floor of the museum is dedicated to the Rwandan genocide and details the events leading up to April of 1994, the hundred days of the genocide and its aftermath and consequences. This floor also has three large rooms, one filled with photographs, one with skulls and bones and one with victims’ clothing. Upstairs, the museum is divided into two sections. One focuses on other genocides and ‘genocidal events’ in places such as Cambodia, Germany, Namibia, Armenia, etc., and the other is a children’s memorial.
Visiting the museum with the entire project staff was particularly difficult, knowing that every single person on staff had lived through the nightmare. The story of the genocide that was told in the museum is the story of their lives. They saw their parents and children massacred in front of their own eyes; they were attacked by machete and left to die; they saw neighbor turn on neighbor, friend on friend, family member on family member. It's no wonder then that everyone was very affected today. Some cried silently, some wailed loudly, and some were so shaken that they collapsed and had to be carried out. I felt more like an outsider than I have since I arrived in Rwanda. As much sympathy and pain as I may feel, I know nothing about what it is like to experience the things that this country has experienced.

Still, there were two sections of the museum that were particularly difficult to visit. The first was the room filled with photographs. I think the hardest part of this situation was watching my coworkers walk up to specific photographs and check the back for the person’s name. I am absolutely certain that they saw friends and family on thet wall. The second area was the children’s memorial. There are fourteen profiles of children who were killed during the genocide and reading them was heart-wrenching. Here is one from the memorial center’s website:

Francine Murengezi Ingabire

Age: 12
Favourite sport: Swimming
Favourite food: Eggs and chips
Favourite drink: Milk and Fanta tropical
Best friend: Her elder sister Claudette
Cause of death: Hacked by machete

There's story after story of children who were murdered in unimaginable ways. But I suppose the entire population of Rwanda is made up of story after story of children and parents and grandparents and siblings and friends and neighbors, all of whom share this horrific past. And yet they all continue to live their lives and amaze the rest of the world with their strength, determination and hope, all the while reminding us 'NEVER AGAIN.'

If you are interested in learning more about the genocide or the Kigali Memorial Centre, visit http://www.kigalimemorialcentre.org/index.php.