Nyamata

Last week I went to the town of Nyamata to visit a haunting and powerful genocide memorial. Accompanied by a Rwandan guide, I entered the church where over 10,000 people had sought refuge in early April 1994. On April 10, the Interwahame, the Hutu Militia, forced their way through the iron doors and proceeded to massacre the people using grenades, guns, and machetes. Today, the clothing the innocents wore that day are draped over benches, podiums, and windows in the church. The pieces are old and tattered and stained with blood. In the back of the church are 2 tombs with stairs going down. Lining the walls are coffins with the remains of at least 50 individuals; skulls and bones are on display with visible machete marks. 

The scene described can be found in churches all over Rwanda where hundred of thousands of people thought they would find refuge in their places of worship. They didn’t know that many of the priests would sacrifice the lives of their congregations to the militia. I have been to the concentration camps in Poland several times but this memorial felt different. This was not advanced technology or a carefully calculated mass murder. This was face-to-face and primitive. After having spent a week in the impressively developed city of Kigali, visiting Nyamata was a reminder of what had happened here. A reminder that the amazing people I have met so far and the people I have just seen walking down the street were all affected by what happened only 20 years ago. No one escaped.

A few days ago, I was privileged to have a conversation with one of my Rwandan co-workers at ASYV about the genocide. I was particularly touched that my coworker had opened up to me and I learned a lot from our conversation. Something that I have struggled with since arriving is that during the genocide neighbor killed neighbor, father killed children, and children killed friends. While not perfect or complete, in 20 years the Rwandan people have reconciled and now live next to the neighbor, father, or child who killed a love one. This is unfathomable to me. My coworker said that following the genocide the country had no choice. It could either spiral into a country of lawlessness and poverty or it could start from base zero and become an international force to be reckoned with. 

Today, Kigali is a sprawling city filled with different restaurants, bars, clubs, hotels, shopping malls, and movie theaters.  The people I have met are the most kind-hearted (and best dressed) I have ever encountered. The World Bank considers Rwanda to be the second most business-friendly country in Africa. All of this in 20 years. And all of this purely Rwandan. Of course there is still a long way to go- this is especially apparent upon leaving the city and seeing the run down villages, the Congolese refugee camps on the side of the road, and hearing the stories of the vulnerable children at ASYV. I hope that this year at ASYV I will be inspired by those I meet as I learn about the beautiful and horrific history of this country. 

View of the city center