Please Remember-LeAnn Rimes

Our first day in Rwanda began with an open air breakfast at our hotel.  We then took a taxi to the Genocide Museum.  Kigali is a city of 2 million people.  One of the things that struck me immediately was the constant state of haze-it reminded me of August in Montana during forest fire season.  Everyone builds fires to cook their morning breakfast and dinner so the haze is everywhere.  It was fascinating to watch the activity on the streets out the windows as we drove.  SO many people walking on the sides of the road, such interesting roads and buildings-it was a sensory onslaught as we smelled food cooking over fires, dusty roads, ripening fruit, and more.

Memorial and Survivors-

We arrived at the Genocide Museum and it was a profoundly impactful experience.  Beginning in April of 1994, the Hutu majority began massacring the Tutsi minority in Rwanda.  Over one million people were killed in just 100 days.  Of those 1 million, over 250,000 are buried on site at the genocide memorial-including the family of our guide, Serge.  He told us about the significance of the memorial to survivors and mentioned that many of them come to the memorial to process their grief and seek support and camaraderie.  They have developed families of survivors when their own families were killed.  These groups are called Ibuka, which means “remembrance”.

The bodies buried here are often combined into one coffin per family.  They are covered in gray and white cloth which signifies the ashes that remain after so much killing.   Rwandans and their government have made a concerted effort to reunite and overcome the genocide.

After touring the grounds, we visited the museum which discusses Rwanda before the genocide, how propaganda and culture were used to begin and perpetuate the genocide, and the international community’s lack of intervention. There is a somber memorial to the victims of the genocide where family members can bring in photographs and hang them on paneled walls,  There is also a room of skulls and bones, and a room of clothing and possessions left behind.  Upstairs there was information about other genocides throughout history.  The hardest part of the museum for me were the children’s room where they had the stories of some of the children who were killed in the genocide.  Fortunately, it ended in the peace room with hopes that the more people who make a visit, the more likely something like this will never happen again.

Education

While Serge was talking to us, I was reminded of the importance of education in preventing such atrocities.  Serge mentioned that culturally Rwandans have a strong respect for authority and were not taught critical thinking in school.  As a result, when the government ordered people to turn in their Tutsi neighbors and friends, they did so, or risked being killed themselves.   However, three years after the genocide, in 1997, a group of militia entered the Nyange Secondary School and asked all of the Tutsi’s to stand.  The students replied, “There are no Hutus and no Tutsis, we are all Rwandans here.”

Aftermath of the Genocide

One of the reasons I have always been interested in visiting Rwanda was to learn more about how the country came back together after the genocide.  As soon as the capital was liberate, in August 1994, the country began working to restore stability and seek reunification.  I can’t imagine that process.  There were 300,000 orphans and 85,000 children who became the head of their households.  Over 2/3 of the population was displaced.  A UNICEF report indicates that 80% of children lost a family member and 70% witnessed a killing firsthand.

Justice

One of the most interesting programs implemented was the Gacaca courts.  The goal of these courts was to promote truth, peace, justice, healing, forgiveness, and reconciliation.  These courts are reported to be one of the most comprehensive efforts at post-conflict justice worldwide.  These court systems bring community members together, perpetrators confess their atrocities and the community determines the proper punishment. 1.9 million cases were handled in over 12,000 community Gacaca courts.  The government also began targeted efforts to expand access to education and healthcare, promote women’s empowerment, and boost economic growth.