Genocide Museum in Rwanda

While in Kigali, the capitol of Rwanda, Jon and I also visited the Kigali Memorial Center.  It is a very modern museum that discussed the history of Rwanda and the events leading up to, during, and after the genocide in 1994.  It was very informative and heartbreaking all at once.  Some of the more interesting things we learned include: the Tutsi who were the target during the genocide had actually been considered the more "elite" group in history.  It wasn't until they began to challenge their colonial leaders that the mentality was intentionally shifted by the French rulers to have the Tutsi seen as inferior.  The genocide lasted only 100 days but is approximated to have killed almost 20% of the Rwandan populations.  The genocide was essentially orchestrated by the Hutu government and military and while it primarily targeted the Tutsi, they also murdered thousands of Hutu if they were suspected of having any compassion towards the Tutsi.  Anyone married to a Tutsi was seen as a "traitor".   Children and women were targeted equally to men and women were systematically raped by HIV positive males in order to subject them to a longer death - the women are still suffering these affects today.  There were photos and video interviews from witnesses that explained the brutality in detail.   There were rooms full of body parts and personal items that were uncovered from mass graves found around the country.  In one room there were thousands of pictures of victims that were displayed in order to put a more personal touch on the experience.  There was also a room dedicated to the other genocides around the world.  Perhaps the most interesting fact there was the the US had still not recognized as a government the Armenian genocide of 1915 that killed between 1 million and 1.5 million people.  Maybe this has changed since the memorial was built, but to be honest I doubt it.  The most upsetting of all the rooms, however, was the room dedicated to the children who were victims.  They had large pictures of  children and then told personal details like favorite food, song, and best friend followed by how they were murdered and at what age.  It was impossible not to get emotional.  The museum was an amazing experience in its own right.  As Jon and I traveled the around Rwanda we saw numerous memorials where mass graves were discovered.  We also saw an amazing recovery in a country with such a bleak past.  The people were very friendly, happy, and the cities clean and organized.  Rwanda is a very interesting place to be and we to have visited!