Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Gisozi Genocide Memorial



This month marks the 15th Anniversary of the 1994 genocide. I went on my first (rainy) Sunday in Kigali to see the Memorial (built in 2004) where people are still being buried today. So far 250,000 out of an estimated 800,000 - 1,000,000 people are named and buried here.

I found the museum to be very well put together. It wasn't as graphic as I was expecting, though the facts it contains are extremely harrowing. It's a beautifully positioned tribute to the people who died and are still suffering today and also acts as a learning centre trying to prevent any future conflicts.

To be honest, I feel deeply ashamed to be from one of the 1st world nations that could have intervened and saved 100's of 1000's of lives but chose to ignore what was going on. Due to the role the French government is believed to have played, French is no longer being taught in schools (they're reverting to English- which is more a sign of the times than an acceptance of the Brits and Americans who did nothing to help until it was too late) and no French embassy exists.










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