Our day started with a sobering visit to Rwanda’s most famous, and most tragic past…the memorials of the 1994 genocide during which 1,000,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu’s were murdered in 100 days by the Hutu government, and in many cases, their own neighbors. Sadly, this is what most people think about when Rwanda is mentioned, but 15 years later, they are a hopeful people who are working hard to reconcile and move forward to make Rwanda a model African nation with an explosion in development occuring.
The first site we visited was a church where 5,000 people were assembled (thinking they would be granted sanctuary in a church as had been the custom) and then were murdered en masse. The government has preserved the site in its original condition, with grenade holes all around, and the clothing of the victims hanging in an orderly fashion all over the inside of the buildings. The skulls and long bones of the victims are neatly arranged on racks, and a sign in the local language (Kinyarwanda) hangs from the alter saying, “If you knew me, and you knew yourself, you wouldn’t kill me.”
The second memorial was in another village, where 10,000 people had been murdered en masse in a much larger church. This church has clothing stacked on the pews, as well as the bones and skulls displayed in an area under the floor of the building. While we were in the underground part of the memorial looking at the skulls, our female guide pointed to a crack in one of the skulls and then unwrapped her head dress to show me a very long and nasty scar on her head. When we came up, I asked Tim to interpret her story for us, and it turns out that she was attacked with a machete in May of this year! She had returned to this village where her husband and 3 children had been killed to give testimony against the killers, and they attempted to kill her to avoid being discovered. According to Tim, these reprisal killings have become much less common in recent years, but during the anniversary of the genocide in April – June of each year, tensions still run high.
On a positive note, the drive through the villages outside of Kigali was through stunning scenery! Rwanda is known as “The Land of A Thousand Hills,” and it is incredibly green. Every possible inch is farmed, including terracing up the sides of very steep hills. The most amazing site is the number of people of all ages walking on both sides of the two-lane roads, all of whom are carrying burdens on their heads, or pushing goods on old bicycles. Some of these burdens are HUGE and it defies imagination how they balance them on their heads! Even tiny burdens (such as a single umbrella) are carried on their head, so needless to say, their posture is perfect! The people are incredibly friendly and the kids shout out “white person!” in Kinyarwanda whenever they see a Caucasian.
Afterward, we had a late lunch in Kigali at Bourbon Coffee, which truly puts Starbucks to shame! It is spacious, beautifully decorated, and has a full menu of amazing European-style food. People flock to this place because it has the most amazing coffee in the world (literally) and free Wi-Fi access as well! Since Rwanda is only just now laying cable and fiber optic lines, and only 6% of the population has electricity, wireless technology is a must. A huge percentage of the population uses cell phones (including the very poor), by purchasing minutes as they go.
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