A folder of the six Genocide Memorial Museums in Rwanda, funded and maintained by the National Museum of Rwanda. This is a somber post, indeed, but I wanted to bring all of the memorial museums into one place. Unfortunately, all but a few small sections of Rwanda are lo-res, so only two Memorials - Kigali and Ntrama - are visible from GE. Three of them have been previously marked by others - see credits below. Although some images are hard to look at, I have used only the "indirect" imagery of some museum display photos and of bones. This gives us, for better or worse, an additional layer of detachment from confronting the human capacity for evil. It's debateable, I suppose, but I feel the GEC isn't the place for explicit horror.

The Rwanda genocide, as most of you probably know, took place in 100 days in 1994, beginning in April. To summarize a highly complex chain of events, Hutus, historically in the majority, massacred Tutsis, the minority "ruling class" since colonial times. By the end of this hellish rampage, about 800,000 people had been killed. Tutsi friends and neighbors were killed, Tutsis-by-marriage were killed, and Hutus against the killing were killed. These memorials are in churches and schools because tens of thousands of Tutsis took refuge there. Many survivors of the genocide believe that the Catholic Church followed government orders to entice Tutsis to churches so they could be killed. A disclaimer: there is significant discrepency among sources about the numbers killed in the different memorial locations. Also, the surrounding areas seem to have been counted in the total in some cases and not in others. The numbers I've given are approximate and some could be off by thousands.

Photos and information in this post, except where noted otherwise, are from the National Museum of Rwanda.


Bisesero, south of the town of Kibuye. This is the only region where the Tutsis fought back against the attack of their Hutu neighbors. For many days, they hid out at the top of a hill and threw rocks against the onslaught of machetes. Hutu members of the Republican Guard in Kigali and Interahamwe militiamen were finally sent to finish off the Tutsis. Almost 50,000 in this region were killed. Only a handful escaped.
Memorial and Museum.
Mass graves.


Kigali - The nation's main Genocide Memorial. Previously found by daz8615, kalgath, and photizo. This one is very moving from above. The museum is in the shape of a black cross and mass graves surround it.
Memorial Museum. Mass graves.

The website has an extensive photo gallery of the Kigali Museum.
Some of the interior displays...


Orphaned refugees.




Family photos of the dead.



Murambi - Approximate location, previously found by Jabiru Rwandais. This was a technical school under construction near the town of Gikongoro, in which "over eight hundred corpses have been preserved [and] have been left untouched." They are located in burial rooms, where "some of the human remains [can] be viewed, while at the same time they are also buried with some dignity."
A triptych by a local artist hangs in the entry.

Historical background of the Tutsi and Hutu tribes is also featured.
Children of the genocide.

Five thousand were killed in and around the Murambi school. Inside are piles of bones and rows of skulls, similar to all of the memorials, but one of the most moving relics (in my opinion) is a simple display of clothing worn by the victims. It is dusted with lime.
This photo: The World.


Ntarama - Previously found by VooDooNoel. Only this and the Kigali Memorial are visible on GE. About 5,000 people were killed in and around the Catholic Church, where they had taken refuge. Government forces and militia members broke down the iron doors and killed everyone inside. It is no longer used as a church.
In this memorial, preserved human bones have been stacked among the pews where victims fell. As in all of the memorials, it is impossible to avoid knowing what happened here. In the first-hand accounts I have read by journalists who have toured the museums (e.g., Post-Gazette, see below) corpses were heavily coated with lime, but the smell of decaying flesh is obvious, 13 years later, at some distance before entering. Some still have flesh and clothing attached to bones. This is a courageous memorial strategy by the National Museum of Rwanda. I admire it because of the willingness of the government to own up to what happened in Rwanda in April, May and June, 1994.
This photo: Post-Gazette.


Nyarubuye - The church and school are located near the southern town of Kibungo, in the Goma District. As in other memorial locations, much of the horror and impact of the genocide is expressed in the display of the preserved remains of the massacred. This is the right choice. It allows no denial theories to develop.

The church and, in the foreground, a garden of mass graves.
Church interior.
Some of the weapons found in the area of the church. Photo: Post-Gazette


Nyamata - The approximate location is placemarked south of Kigali. The Nyamata area had one of the largest numbers killed, about 10,000, because the majority of the population were Tutsi. Again, the memorial is in a church where approximately 2,500 had taken refuge and were killed. From the National Museum website, "The images inside this church of human remains is a powerful reminder of the concept of 'Never Again,' key words for the country of Rwanda."

Interior of the church and its heartbreaking artifacts.


Two related posts: Psylant's Rwanda Genocide - UNAMIR, RFG... Details about all of the factions centered around Kigali and their locations during the genocide. Waiting for Peace in Bukavu. The eastern Congo and Rwanda, as you will see, are tragically intertwined.

Women for Women in Rwanda: One Woman's Story is a wonderful short video about the work of an innovative organization. (I have a special faith in the work of women.) A link to their website can be found at their YouTube homepage and in my Signature, below. Please take a look...

Another thought provoking post from you Diane, thank you.

There's a Rwandan genocide memorial sculpture in Brussels (50.8325� 4.41333�) by Tom Frantzen. It's called "Sous le m�me ciel" (under the same sky), and it was done in tandem with Rwandan artist Epaphrodite Binamungu.

"Cette sculpture fut �rig�e au rond-point de la rue Vandendriessche en m�moire des victimes du g�nocide du Rwanda en 1994. Cette oeuvre est le fruit d'une r�flexion conduite par deux artistes, le belge Tom Frantzen qui a r�alis� l'oeuvre inaugur�e le 8 juin 2004 � Woluwe-Saint-Pierre et l'artiste rwandais Epaphrodite Binamungu qui a sculpt� celle install�e � Kigali." Woluwe St Pierre.

"Somewhere in the sky beneath which we all live, these birds meet the birds that Rwandan artist Epaphrodite Binamungu sent from Kigali in a similar gesture. When the world started again after the Flood, birds were the first animals to be seen by men.". Tom Frantzen's website

Here is a painting by Epaphrodite Binamungu on the Inganzo art gallery page and the sculpture by Tom Frantzen:



Some information about about Binamungu:

"Epa is also a sculptor and has received significant commissions including one from the Belgian government, Rwanda's colonial rulers, who commissioned him to create a work of art in memory of the genocide that occurred 10 years ago. Epa has built a 9 metre statue in the Butare Memorial Centre."
Source: African Colours

It also says he went to art school in Bukavu!

Thank you very much for this information, Noisette! A beautiful addition to my post!

D.

Here is one of the most insightful accounts of the Rwanda Genocide I have found so far, by Samantha Powers in The Atlantic Monthly, Sept. 2001: "Bystanders to Genocide." Her article covers background leading to the explosive events, the Rwandan factions, international observers, UN peacekeepers and befuddled, passive bystanders. Most notable in the last category were the governement of the United States and the UN.

I found the last section most interesting and easiest to relate to as a human being. Powers gives a summary of the emotional and moral aftermath for the main western players in events, such as Canadian Lt. Gen. Romeo Dallaire, commander of the UN Assistance Mission in Rwanda. Witnessing and being unable to stop this 100-day massacre stole his soul and, as he said, "It has never, ever come back, and I'm not sure it ever will." Powers writes of Dallaire: "He says he can barely stand living and has attempted suicide." Luckily for us all, he didn't succeed. His book, Shake Hands With the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda has been a bestseller in Canada since 2003, and won Canada's Governor General Award. The Foreward is written by none other than Samantha Powers. Last month (January, 2008) a film of the same name based on the book received 12 nominations for the Genie Awards, Canada's equivalent of the Oscars.

Signing his book, 2003. (Photo.)
In Rwanda, 1994. (Photo and interview.)

Since his successful treatment of severe PTSD and depression, he has become Hon. Romeo Dallaire, Senator of Quebec Province, and a ceaseless humanitarian activist around the world. A top-notch man, in my estimation.

Anthony Lake, Pres. Clinton's national security adviser at the time, laments how the White House - which would include himself - "could have stood by during one of the gravest crimes of the twentieth century." It is fascinating to read how Lake puzzles over his own indifference. Powers says of him, "...lurking at the margins of Lake's consciousness seems to be an awareness that in light of press coverage at the time, he must have simply chosen to look away." As of the writing of Powers' article, Lake was apparently not as as prone to guilt or existential torment as the retired Gen. Dallaire. I can't help admiring Dallaire more.

"Bystanders to Genocide" is a powerful analysis of the Rwanda genocide and worth a thorough read.