Day 2

Today we were able to explore the city of Kigali. We first visited the main memorial museum and communal mass grave site of the 1994 genocide. The museum discussed the long term causes of the genocide stemming from ethnic divisions rooted in European colonialism and Christian missionary efforts, the lead-up to and perpetration of the genocide, and reconciliation efforts afterwards. Different displays showed photos, essays, film interviews, and physical items (e.g. weapons, clothing, and bones) to explain the events. Following the museum we began a driving tour of the of the city exploring different districts and passing by prominent sites. We stopped at the site where 10 Belgian UN peace-keepers were killed which has a stone memorial constructed in their memory. The building in which they died has been converted from a former military post to a small museum discussing worldwide genocides. Though the criteria for the listing of historical genocides seems to vary, the holocaust and Armenian genocide were both listed as well as, interestingly, the North American genocide of 15 million plus people since 1492. We passed by the Hotel Mille Colonnes which is featured in the recent film Hotel Rwanda. We paused the driving tour to walk around the center downtown area for a small period of time passing by small shops and financial institutions while getting a sense of the daily motion. Following a brief stop at a food market, we ended our day and are preparing for our visit the North of country tomorrow. Today we were able to explore the city of Kigali. We first visited the main memorial museum and communal mass grave site of the 1994 genocide. The museum discussed the long term causes of the genocide stemming from ethnic divisions rooted in European colonialism and Christian missionary efforts, the lead-up to and perpetration of the genocide, and reconciliation efforts afterwards. Different displays showed photos, essays, film interviews, and physical items (e.g. weapons, clothing, and bones) to explain the events. Following the museum we began a driving tour of the of the city exploring different districts and passing by prominent sites. We stopped at the site where 10 Belgian UN peace-keepers were killed which has a stone memorial constructed in their memory. The building in which they died has been converted from a former military post to a small museum discussing worldwide genocides. Though the criteria for the listing of historical genocides seems to vary, the holocaust and Armenian genocide were both listed as well as, interestingly, the North American genocide of 15 million plus people since 1492. We passed by the Hotel Mille Colonnes which is featured in the recent film Hotel Rwanda. We paused the driving tour to walk around the center downtown area for a small period of time passing by small shops and financial institutions while getting a sense of the daily motion. Following a brief stop at a food market, we ended our day and are preparing for our visit the North of country tomorrow.

Elliot