Huge raindrops
pelted the old school building, and my translator held an umbrella by the door
while I walked around the corpses.
We were at the Murambi Genocide Memorial, which is unique for preserving
and displaying over 800 bodies of people who were killed in the genocide.
The memorial is
located in the southern province of Rwanda. My translator and I spent about 3 hours on a bus in order to
get there, followed by a few minutes by moto. Finally, we arrived at a large building situated among
rolling hills.
Inside, we first
toured the small museum, which tells visitors a story of
the genocide as well as what happened on those very hills. According to the memorial, between
40,000 and 50,000 people died on April 21, 1994, at what was then a high school under
construction. People from the town
of Gikongoro and neighboring communes had congregated there, as authorities
directed them to the school and told them they would be safe.
Actually, the
area where the school was located (the southern province) saw much higher
levels of violence than other regions of Rwanda. Explaining regional variation in genocidal violence is part
of my dissertation, so I have been exploring reasons for this difference. While there are many potential reasons
(for example, more Tutsi were living in the southern region), the influence of
political leaders is key. On April
18, there was an attack on the school, but the displaced peoples gathered there
were able to resist the attack.
The very next day, the interim President of Rwanda visited the area and
distributed new guns and machetes.
Two days later the attack started again, and this time resistance was
not successful.
Today, visitors
at the memorial can see corpses of those killed there arranged on tables within
what should be classrooms. I won’t
show pictures, as seeing the looks on peoples’ faces as they were killed is not
something to be seen if you aren't expecting it.
Thanks to those of you who have been reading this so far! I realize it has been depressing at times, but it is important to know and better understand genocides and other mass atrocities. However, next I’ll share
what I’ve learned about traditional weddings to depart from such sad topics and add some light.
The way you shared your knowledge here is amazing.
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