Grappling with the Reality of Genocide: Sleep My Child and Dream of Days to Come

Help us, we pray, in the midst of things we cannot understand, to believe and trust in the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, and the resurrection to life everlasting. Amen.

~ Prayer from "Prayers and Meditation in Memory of Over Fifty Thousand People Who Died at Murambi Genocide Memorial in 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi," led by Fr. Philbert Kalisa

Children carrying items to market along the roadside between Kigali and Butare.

Muramuke!

That's "good night." By the end of the trip, you'll all be armed with a collection of various Kinyarwandan phrases. Expect a quiz when we return!

Our schedule today took us all the way out to the city of Butare, a few hours' drive from Kigali. We stopped midway to meet Father Philbert's good friend The Rt. Rev. Nathan Gasatura, the bishop of the Butare district.

Bishop Nathan Gasatura's (tall man in center of photo, in white shirt) 

warm welcome made us smile a lot.

We also had a great time teaching these children to use a digital camera 

during our meeting with Bishop Nathan.

Some of us enjoyed a spot of tea before getting back on the road.

Continuing on to the city of Butare itself, we passed a world of amazing sights: bustling and overcrowded urban streets, fields of eucalyptus trees, children playing by the side of the road (who were very eager to wave at us), the beautiful rolling hills of the Rwandan countryside, and more. We stopped for a buffet lunch in the city, then continued onto our destination: the Murambi Genocide Memorial.

Women carrying fruit to market along the busy streets.

A roadside fruit and vegetable stand. Friendly folks!

Women wearing colorful dresses make their way toward Butare.

Along with feet, bicycles, and busses, dirt bikes are common transportation in Rwanda.

Most of the ones we see are colorful, and they serve as taxis to ferry individuals around town.

Loggers balance precariously on the hillside, sawing tall trees with long, toothy saws.

Murambi is one of the country's most shocking monuments to the genocide. The museum was created out of the remains of a secondary school where local Rwandan authorities urged Tutsis to flock to in order to be protected. Once all the victims from the surrounding areas - around fifty thousand in all - had gathered within the school's fenced-in campus, they were slaughtered. There are few, if any, other single sites in the country that offer witness to such mass killing.

The entrance to Murambi Genocide Memorial Centre.

This is the building that houses the Murambi exhibition. 

Behind it are the school buildings where thousands of bodies lie.

The museum exhibits were similar to that of the Kigali Genocide Memorial Center, though no less unsettling. Outside was a mass grave that houses 28,000 Rwandans - it was impossible to comprehend the number of the dead that lay below the simple yet beautiful structure before our eyes.

The mass grave of 28,000 victims. 

As additional remains are uncovered around the countryside, they are prepared for burial and brought here for a formal funeral service and internment of the bones.

The school buildings, which were unfinished at the time of the genocide, remain unfinished.

Inside, they offer a record of the horrors that happened here in 1994.

We provide photographs of some of the memorial rooms at the bottom of this blog entry.

But it was what came next that was most difficult (to warn you, the following part is a little graphic - skip to the next paragraph if you like). As our guides led us behind the museum, we came into sight of about a dozen school buildings, each with several classrooms in them. In each room lay piles of decomposed corpses retrieved from the crude pits that the Hutu killers and French soldiers unceremoniously dumped them in. Testimonies, museum exhibits, and books can only hint at the sheer tragedy that was the Rwandan genocide, but standing before the actual bodies of its victims was something far more earth-shattering and threatening to the distance that usually shields us from the devastating inhumanity of such events. Bodies lay contorted in tortured positions, and the decayed remains of children lay atop their parents. There were hundreds, if not thousands, each a horrific reminder of a life that was cut short. I can say without a doubt that walking through those rooms was one of the most difficult experiences of my life, and the one that has most effectively and intrusively conveyed to me the true tragedy of genocide.

A bas relief artwork inside the Murambi Genocide Memorial.

From there, we continued onto the remains of a volleyball field that French soldiers hastily constructed over a mass grave in a despicable effort to hide the killing that took place at Murambi. Passing several more mass graves, we returned to the museum where Father Philbert led us in a prayer session to help us process the sights of the past few hours.

Help us, we pray, in the midst of things we cannot understand, to believe and trust in the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, and the resurrection to life everlasting. Amen.

A view of the lush Rwandan terraced farmlands from the mass grave area 

where French soldiers set up a volleyball court after the Murambi massacre.

We then hopped back on the bus, and a few hours later returned to the Center for Unity and Peace for a late dinner. We're up early tomorrow to go meet with a Rwandan youth group, then continue on to Akagera National Park for two nights, including a New Year's Eve celebration!

Muramuke and amahoro - peace be with you all.
~ MacLean Cadman, Boston College senior


Photographs by Annalise Nielson, Northeastern University undergraduate student, and Brandy Purcell, Northeastern University staff member. Additional photographs below.

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Please note: The photographs below are very difficult to take in. After much conversation amongst our group about whether or not we should include them, we decided to do so because we believe they help us tell the story of the one million people who lost their lives in the 1994 genocide. As pilgrims visiting Rwanda, we deeply honor the memory of these men, women, and children who were viciously and systematically murdered and whom we will never have the chance to know, except through the witness of their bones.

These skulls and the other bones that follow are from a mass grave at Murambi.

It is difficult to imagine how 50,000 people could have been killed in the space of a few hours.

The mass grave from which these human leg bones were taken

remains a deep and painful gash in the red earth of the verdant Rwandan hillside.

We grieve with the families and friends of those who lost their lives in the genocide.

We offer this blog as our bouquet of flowers 

to the memory of those who died and with hope for those who remain.

Perhaps the hardest and most devastating loss of all is the loss of children.

So many innocent young people--babies, toddlers, school-aged children, adolescents, and young adults--lost their lives to a genocide perpetrated by adults 

who should have been teaching them how to live together in peace.

This poem sits on a table in the children's room at Murambi. The poem reads:

Sleep my child and dream of days to come when

Pain is conquered in love's sweet embrace.

Why do these lands cry out, stained with our blood and tears

All the hopeful years blossom into grief

Hurt more than words can say, dignity stripped away

Taking my everything, leaving me to mourn.

Someday I'll wake to see, change drifting over me

When truth has told her tale, and her voice is heard

These rains wash over me, scars though they still may be

Forgiveness takes a step leaving me with hope.

These children, who live next door to Murambi Genocide Memorial 

and who play in its backyard, are the hope for the future. 

These children are the dream of forgiveness.

Help us, we pray, in the midst of things we cannot understand, to believe and trust in the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, and the resurrection to life everlasting. Amen.

Meeting REACH Rwanda, Learning About the Past

DioMass College Pilgrims, one and all! 

Following this morning's breakfast at the Center for Unity and Peace, Kigali.

Mwiriwe, family and friends!

Get out your notebooks: Mwiriwe is "good evening" in Kinyarwandan, one of the official languages of Rwanda. Though it's more night than evening by now, we're finishing up our first full day in the beautiful city of Kigali. We're still sluggish with jet lag but eager to take anything Father Philbert and his REACH Rwanda team can throw at us. And it is a pretty amazing organization - including the kitchen and service staff, who have been cheerfully teaching us various words of the local dialect while serving our meals and assisting in a multitude of ways. After we woke this morning, we were treated to a breakfast of African and chai tea, fresh fruit, rolls and a creamy-looking cheese that turned out to be butter masquerading as cheese, which we discovered in a startling and palate-befuddling manner.

This is where we are staying--The Center for Unity & Peace (CUP), Kigali.

Bishop Tom Shaw of the Diocese of Massachusetts 

with Fr. Philbert Kalisa of REACH Rwanda outside CUP.

Afterward, we meandered over to the Center for Unity and Peace's conference room, where three of the REACH Rwanda staff - Father Philbert, Fidele and Rob had prepared a presentation for us. Father Philbert gave us a brief personal history - how his parents fled with him to Burundi as the violence that began in the late '50s continued into the '60s; the murders of many of his relatives who stayed in Rwanda; his difficult childhood in a refugee camp; his education in England during the early '90's, including during the 1994 genocide; and his vocation to return to his homeland a year later to promote reconciliation between the survivors and offenders. He was rather modest, however, about the enormous efforts that he must have put in to transform a team of a few determined Christians into an internationally-recognized reconciliation program that is run by over 60 volunteers and has trained thousands of counselors to facilitate healing for the people of Rwanda.

The REACH Rwanda Team.

Fidele spoke of some of the difficulties the team dealt with in creating a viable program. A year after the horrific genocide, not many were interested in reconciliation; offenders were being imprisoned, while victims struggled with the trauma of the violence and the pain of losing their family and closest friends. With a fifth of the country's population dead and many more displaced, its economy was devastated and the future of a whole generation was in question. But as Father Philbert and his team have proven, reconciliation and forgiveness can exist even in the worst of circumstances. Finally, Rob, an Australian (complete with accent) who moved to Rwanda a few years ago, described his work to combat Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder with programs like Empower, which seeks to help traumatized people safely and healthily process their distressing memories.

DioMass College Pilgrims in dialogue with REACH Rwanda staff.

Come afternoon, we drove to the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre, our driver skillfully navigating the streets clogged with dirt-bike taxis and pedestrians struggling with heavy bags, baskets, and boxes of all colorful sorts.

On the bus, riding through busy Kigali.

Military and police presence are heavy in the city, as are interesting advertisements.

Outside of the Kigali Genocide Memorial.

Our group waiting at the garden entrance to the genocide memorial.

The memorial is a beautiful and sobering place, contrasting the heartbreaking exhibits of its dim interior with the beautiful gardens and fountains outside. The tour provided a depth of understanding of the genocide and its aftermath that cannot be matched by any movie or textbook. For any who aren't familiar with the history (I'll admit I wasn't), here's a brief summary: The Belgian colonists, in the 1930s, began to establish a divide between the peaceful Hutu and Tutsi people, beginning by identifying Tutsis as those with ten cattle or more, and Hutus as those with less than ten cattle. The schism heightened when the colonists issued ID cards identifying their carriers as Tutsi or Hutu, and placed the minority Tutsi in power. They were soon overthrown by the Hutus in the late '50s, however, and sporadic violence against Tutsis began, only increasing when General Habyarimana seized control in the '70s. Habyarimana began preparing for the extermination of the Tutsi people, creating death lists and enlisting and training militia called "Interahamwe." When his plane was shot down in 1994 (by whom is still uncertain), the genocide began instantly: over the next three months, the Interahamwe and regular Hutu citizens, spurred by the urgings of radical Hutu leaders, murdered nearly one million Tutsis and moderate Hutus who refused to participate in the violence. The genocide was largely ignored by the UN, despite the warnings of one of its generals in the country, and was only stopped when the Rwandan Patriotic Front - a force of previously exiled Tutsis - invaded and took control of the country, sending millions of Hutus fleeing to surrounding countries. But despite suffering one of the most horrific genocides of modern history, Rwanda has since become a model of recovery and reconciliation.

A mass grave. 

Under these concrete slabs lie the bones of thousands killed in the 1994 genocide.

Roses on a mass grave.

The rose garden with all sorts of roses planted to honor the many different victims of the genocide.

A view of Kigali from the genocide memorial. 

In this land of stunning beauty and warm people, it is hard to imagine such atrocities that took place. 

Our trip back to the CUP included a stop at the Hotel des Mille Collines, the basis of the film "Hotel Rwanda," where manager Paul Rusesabagina saved the lives of more than one thousand refugees by sheltering them in the building. It was a welcome relief, visiting the site that served as a beacon of inspiration, heroism and hope in such a dark time.

Hotel des Milles Collines, the site where over 1,200 Tutsis and Hutus survived the genocide.

We drove through the compound and may return to the hotel restaurant for dinner. 

The set of the film, Hotel Rwanda, was in South Africa, not Kigali.

We returned eagerly to a much-awaited dinner, which we enjoyed with the company of a similar team from Japan. Afterward, we gathered for prayer and reflection, the serious mood of the meeting bolstered by songs from our emphatic and very talented music team.

Our Pilgrims Choir--MacLean, Trotter, Sarah, and Liz.

They have the voices of angels!

Now, most of the team wanders off to bed as I write this, as we have an early morning with a long drive that will eventually take us to Akagera National Park. We'll check in again tomorrow night with stories of more exciting adventures. Thank you all for reading, and God bless!

Text by MacLean Cadman, Boston College senior
Photos by Annalise and Judith Stuart. 
Additional photographs below.

Lady in yellow along the road into Kigali.

Men working the rich fields of Rwanda.

Thinking and relaxing on the plaza at the genocide memorial.

It's not the yellow rose of Texas, but it's just as gorgeous.
What a beautiful world we live in!

We've Reached Rwanda! It's Time!

Some of our group, just arrived at Kigali International Airport!

Greetings Fellow Pilgrims!

After two plane rides (a long Boston to Amsterdam and a longer Amsterdam to Kigali) with a total travel time of almost 24 hours, we arrived in balmy Kigali this evening! We deboarded the plane around 7:30 p.m. Central African Time, which is 2 hours ahead (+2) of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC); in comparison, Boston is 5 hours behind UTC (-5). When we stepped onto the tarmac to cross into the Kigali International Airport, we were greeted warmly by The Rev. Philbert Kalisa and the REACH Rwanda staff. Walking to the bus, we saw palm trees and hibiscus bushes, and we smelled the fragrance of other flowering plants that we hope to identify tomorrow in the morning light. Kigali, a modern city of about 4 million, was hopping tonight as we rode our bus through the city past the soccer field where two national teams were playing to a packed crowd. Once we got to the Center for Unity and Peace, we found our rooms and were treated to a delightful and tasty dinner, courtesy of our hosts at REACH Rwanda.

We are very tired and stinky tonight after our travels, so we aren't writing much. We are, however, including photographs below for your enjoyment. They follow us across the world to here. Tomorrow, we'll be going to the Kigali Holocaust Museum, and we will surely have much to reflect upon after that.

Here are our photographs, courtesy of Kevin Johnson, Annalise Nielson, Brandy Purcell, and Liz Peter. I upload them for your viewing pleasure to the sounds of some of our group singing beautiful bedtime songs that echo through the hallway of the guesthouse where we are staying. It is so lovely against the quiet of the Kigali night.

Peace be with you all,
Shan Overton, Boston College graduate student

On layover in Amsterdam's airport. Still smiling!

Duty free excitement.

The Alps from our flight from Amsterdam to Kigali.

A busy night outside Kigali International Airport.

What we saw from the bus--Kigali's lights...

Bedtime with mosquito net.

Delicious Rwandan repast, night one: fried bananas, chicken, saffron rice, beans, and potatoes.

Blurry post-dinner photo. Celebrating our safe arrival!

Good night, one and all. We will be back with you tomorrow.