The Kigali Genocide Memorial is situated in the heart of Kigali city, it was built to put victims of war to rest from the deepest darkest moment of Rwanda in 1994 when millions of people were killed majority of the Tutsi who also happened to be the minority group, the centre was built in the early 2000s and was launched by 2004, it is a final resting place for the people that lost their lives including innocent women and children, people who lost their loved ones during this time now have the chance to visit the genocide memorial centre to pay tribute to their loved ones.
The Kigali Genocide Memorial has a display along the walls of fame where history is displayed about what happened during the 1994 genocide, stories of how the war sparked, and the items that were used to kill each other including the remains of clothes, shoes of the victims, the centre acts more of a museum to both locals and international guests who come from all over the world, this situation made Rwanda be a concern of visit, however following the genocide, the government has done a great job if emphasizing safety, security and stability more so to travellers that come into the country.
Kigali genocide memorial showcases a memory lane in 3 phases, the main large area exhibits the history of the 1994 genocide, a children’s memory lane and another place where all world genocide happenings are displayed, despite the site documenting the genocide, it also displays the culture of the people of Rwanda and how they have managed to survive overtime. Upon visiting the genocide memorial you will be given a guided tour around the facility, some of the guides are survivors of the war and each one of them has a story to tell.
Besides the Kigali genocide memorial, there are other places of genocide in Rwanda that are always visited in memory of the victims, for example, the Nyamata church, people took refuge in the church while knowing theywere safe from being, murdered however a tragedy falls, it so happened that all of them were killed until the last person, to date the church also still displays a spray of blood and the remains of people that were murdered during the war.
Murambi Genocide Memorial is built on the former Murambi Technical School, it is one of the most challenging sites to visit because of the remains of the victims that can be seen here, the Tutsi thought that if they had hidden here the soldiers would be protected by the soldiers that guarded the region, however, it all turned out worse and that it was a trap they all ended up being killed. The site has several graves and the former classrooms were transformed into exhibition centers.
Nyanza Genocide Memorial, a place where the military abandoned Tutsi people at the mercy of their massacres, often acts as grounds for the genocide memorial service, this happens every year, and the graves of over 1000 people were buried here, it is believed that only if the UN forces had fought to protect them however as the war intensified it only got worse and they too had to leave.
In conclusion, besides the sites mentioned there are other places where a lot of people lost their lives these include the Natarama genocide memorial, Bisesero Genocide Memorial, and Nyarubuye Genocide Memorial. Since 1994 Rwanda to date has been a peaceful country with the government emphasizing peace and stability, it was a lesson learnt that there will never be such happenings ever again in Rwanda.