I had the opportunity to visit the Kigali Genocide Memorial today.

This memorial is dedicated to the over one million people (mostly Tutsis and some moderate Hutus) who lost their lives in the Rwandan genocide over a 100 day period in 1994. 250,000 are buried here under huge concrete blocks – most have never been identified.

The genocide began immediately following the assassination of Rwanda’s Hutu president in a plane crash. The seeds of the social conflagration were sowed many years before by Belgian occupiers, who, in the 1920s and 1930s divided the population based on their social position (Tutsi’s were owners of 10 or more cows, Hutus then were those deemed not as prosperous. The Twa are another, much smaller social group).  Over time, there was a tremendous accumulation of resentment between these groups, and as there had been changes in power, the new ruling group would exact recriminatory revenge against the other.

It came to a head when the Hutus lost their president and recriminations against Tutsis were swift and brutal. In the years immediately preceding the bloodbath of 1994, there had been a lot of Hutu propaganda about how Tutsi’s should be exterminated. On that fateful day when the president was assassinated, Hutu militias stormed into homes of neighbors, families and those pre-identified as Tutsi and began their murderous campaign, usually using machetes in order to exact as much pain and torture as possible. Men, women and children were all marked for execution. Road blocks throughout the country enforced on-the-spot executions. As stated earlier, over one million people died in the space of 100 days.

The Memorial and museum do a very nice job presenting the history of the genocide. It is a very moving and sobering experience. One section is dedicated to allowing families to display pictures of lost loved ones.

Another area has a display of skulls and bones of some of the victims. Very powerful. And yet another section displays pictures and biographies of children who never got to realize their futures. Heartbreaking.

I have been very impressed with how today’s Rwandans have come to reconcile their community with such a horrible past.  Paul Kagame, ethnically described as Tutsi, has set an environment where forgiveness and reconciliation are valued above all else. No one now identities as Tutsi or Hutu or Twa, just Rwandan. The leaders of the carnage were tried and sentenced (many to life imprisonment) in international war crimes courts. Perpetrators of the genicide were encouraged to plead guilty in exchange for public service sentences. Those who did not plead guilty were sentenced to prison.  They were also encouraged to go to the families of those they killed and ask forgiveness, in many cases even living with the family for a period.

The Rwandans I have spoken with seem to be at peace with their horrific past. The openness with which the genocide is discussed is quite impressive. Instead of trying to hide and forget those events, there is open public discourse. I’ve had a few people actively recommend I go to the Memorial to see and learn about what happened. With an open and frank discourse about the genocide, the bright light of sunshine continues to foster a deep understanding and appreciation for what happened. It becomes much harder to spin those events in a way that allows one group to slant or politicize them for their own gain.

in speaking with one ex-pat Brit here, unfortunately, she feels that the openness still hides a deep and simmering resentment that could boil over at any time. For the sake of the wonderful people I have met here, I hope and pray that never happens.

It has been amazing to see how much Rwanda has grown economically. This is a vibrant, welcoming country that I’ve enjoyed tremendously.