The Genocide Memorials
After changing to a cheaper and more central hotel, we went to see the main Rwandan genocide memorial in Kigali.
Unfortunately my camera kept saying error and then ran out of batteries, so the pictures will have to be taken on a return trip.
The memorial is situated on one of the many mass graves in Kigali. It takes a few hours to go through and tells the story of how it all happened, with photos, video, and artifacts from the events. It's beautifully presented and very powerful. It's not the kind of thing you do every day.
One of the rooms has pictures of children, and it gives their names, age, hobbies, and then says something like "stabbed in eyes" or "head smashed against brick wall".
There is a room full of smashed skulls and other bones, and a room filled with pictures of the dead.
At the end it also briefly goes through other genocides of the last century. It's not really possible to express how powerful the memorial is, it's something that needs to be seen in person. It amazes me what human beings can be persuaded to do.
After the memorial we had a drink at Hotel Mille Collines, which is the hotel that "Hotel Rwanda" is about. I stole a beer mat. People keep asking me if I want coke with my guiness.
When we left Mille Colline, it was about 9pm, and downtown Kigali was completely deserted and unlit. No cars, almost no people, no street lamps, and electricity was out in most of the roads. We walked back to our hotel, slightly nervous, and entered the hotel and went to our rooms. We never saw a single member of staff or any other guests, all the lights were out and the building was deserted. We went to bed.
Unfortunately my camera kept saying error and then ran out of batteries, so the pictures will have to be taken on a return trip.
The memorial is situated on one of the many mass graves in Kigali. It takes a few hours to go through and tells the story of how it all happened, with photos, video, and artifacts from the events. It's beautifully presented and very powerful. It's not the kind of thing you do every day.
One of the rooms has pictures of children, and it gives their names, age, hobbies, and then says something like "stabbed in eyes" or "head smashed against brick wall".
There is a room full of smashed skulls and other bones, and a room filled with pictures of the dead.
At the end it also briefly goes through other genocides of the last century. It's not really possible to express how powerful the memorial is, it's something that needs to be seen in person. It amazes me what human beings can be persuaded to do.
After the memorial we had a drink at Hotel Mille Collines, which is the hotel that "Hotel Rwanda" is about. I stole a beer mat. People keep asking me if I want coke with my guiness.
When we left Mille Colline, it was about 9pm, and downtown Kigali was completely deserted and unlit. No cars, almost no people, no street lamps, and electricity was out in most of the roads. We walked back to our hotel, slightly nervous, and entered the hotel and went to our rooms. We never saw a single member of staff or any other guests, all the lights were out and the building was deserted. We went to bed.
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