On a trip to Rwanda in December we took the chance to visit Kigali genocide memorial center. This center is about honoring victims of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and spreading information about what happened. For around 100 days starting from the 7th of April 1994 the country went through a true nightmare. With the mass murder of the Tutsi ethnic group performed by people from the Hutu majority ethnic group.
As it is told at the center the genocide was planned by extremists within Rwanda’s political elite and preparations had been going on for a long time. At the start of the 100 day nightmare a plane carrying the countries president was shot down and the chaos unleashed. The scary aim of the Hutu extremists was to wipe out the entire Tutsi population. It is estimated that around 800 000 people were murdered during the 100 days genocide. In a country that at the time had a population of 7 million.
At the Genocide memorial center there are several mass graves, containing around 250 000 of the victims. During our visit we saw a basket of flowers standing by one of the graves, probably left by somebody remembering their loved one.
As well as the area with the graves there is a memorial garden and an exhibition center telling the history about how the division in Hutu and Tutsi started. What happened during the 100 days in 1994 and a bit of how the country has healed after the genocide. It is an interesting and emotional experience visiting the memorial center. As well as an important reminder of what mankind is capable of doing.
