A Dark Day

Our first day started out with yoga taught by a wonderful instructor and beautiful person, Connie Beaudoin.

Despite the wonderful start to the day, it was dark in that we spent most of the day learning about the genocide of 1994.  

We started at the Belgium Embassy were eight soldiers were shot to death at the beginning of the war.  The memorial was created leaving the original bullet holes in the concrete walls and floor outside and inside the building.  It was very somber.  

We then went to the Kigal Memorial which was inaugurated in April 2004 on the 10th anniversary of the genocide.  It is estimated that the remains of over 250,000 victims are included in the common burial site.  The feeling there was formidable and emotions could not be contained.  What was particularly disturbing was the memorial to the children who were killed during the war.  The Rwandans want all who visit to learn about the past as it is considered an attack on humanity, not just the Tutsi's who were targeted. The more that know, the better the chance of it never happening again. 

   

That evening we watched a movie called "Shake Hands with the Devil" which was incredibly intense.  The movie was shot in Rwanda and it was interesting to note the sites we had seen that day in the movie.  According to the Rwandans, this movie most accurately depicts what happened.  Rwandans I spoke to do not sponsor the movie "Hotel Rwanda" as it was shot in Cape Town, not Rwanda, and it makes a hero out of the hotel manager who was seen as unethical by locals.  

There was a lot of meaningful dialogue amongst the group.  A dark day, yet necessary for us to understand the history of Rwanda and get the most from the remainder of the journey.