Blogs from Gikongoro, Province du Sud, Rwanda, Africa
March 19th 2009
Hi all! This is just a brief blog about Rwanda to bring my East African account to a close! I am actually back in sunny Shropshire, UK, at the moment, gearing up for my year of work in Human Rights in Mexico. I set off April 20th. I hope to keep the blog going out there! One thing I've decided to do in future is to list my location as the most appropriate for the blog I'm writing. ie. I am not in Rwanda at the moment but have listed my location as Rwanda as that is where I'm writing about, if you get me! So don't be surprised when I put some more Ethiopian photos on here later and my location is listed as Ethiopia. I'll still actually be here in Treflach! So, anyway, I ... read more
Murambi Genocide Memorial *WARNING Graphic Images and Text*
Published: December 19th 2008Africa » Rwanda » Province du Sud » Gikongoro
December 8th 2008
We arrived at the gates to find the place seemingly deserted. Looking at our watches we concluded that the memorial center would probably open soon enough. We walked up the long entranceway to the main building looking for anyone who might know when the center opened. I gazed around the grounds thinking how normal the school looked. Essentially, it looks the same as it did back in April of 1994. Had I not been told, I would have never guessed that this open hilltop was the sight of one of the worst single acts of genocide in modern day history. After news of mass killings throughout the country reached Butare Tutsis in area flocked to churches in hopes of hiding from the killers. There, authorities and priests convinced them that they should go to the college ... read more
May 28th 2008
“It’s time to cut down the tall trees…” and with these words on 6 April 1994, a genocide of brutal ferocity and speed was inflicted upon the people of Rwanda. "Tall trees" was the code word for a carefully calculated campaign that saw one million people butchered by the crudest of weapons - mostly the machete - within 100 days. With the exception of the only two agencies that remained in the country throughout the genocide - The International Red Cross and Medecins Sans Frontieres - the world deserted Rwanda in its darkest hour. Throughout rural Rwanda you will espy men dressed in dark pink overalls working on farms and other projects through the countryside. These people are considered category three prisoners (category one being planners and organisers, category two being those who oversaw the massacres) ... read more
