Memorials to visit Kigali

Opened in 2004, on the 10th anniversary of the genocide, the Gisozi Memorial houses the remains of more than 250,000 genocide victims killed in and around Kigali.

This traumatic visit brings back the pain of the many Rwandan visitors, whose cries and screams can sometimes be heard. In the modern building, the visitor will first be confronted with colonial history. Videos show the Belgians measuring the faces of the Rwandans, in order to determine who is Hutu, who is Tutsi... The following gallery describes the genocide and the monstrous efficiency of the extermination plan. The video images are terrifying. They show the killers in action, wounded people asking for mercy from their executioners, skulls and bones piled up... Further on, pictures of heroes, those who risked their lives to hide the persecuted. And then, hundreds of photos of genocide victims, when they were alive, happy, perhaps carefree. All that remains of these victims are bones, their clothes, a few objects. The most difficult part is at the end: the children's memorial. Fourteen large photos show as many children playing or sleeping, and under each of them their last words, their talents, their dreams, and how they died.

The visit continues outside in the "Meditation Garden", where visitors can meditate. Here one sees especially young people and women like this widow of Nyamirambo, who comes once a month to meditate near the mass graves. "Before, I couldn't bear to cross the site. Now it is my only consolation. When I am there, I feel connected to my six children and my husband, who are all buried here," she told the InfoSud-Syfia agency.

At the exit of the memorial, visitors can slip a ticket into the urn to help the survivors. "In collaboration with the tourist office, we are currently examining how to introduce an entry fee," reveals the coordinator of the memorial sites. The country's distinguished guests usually come to the memorial sites to gather and see for themselves the extent of the tragedy.

Gisozi is a place to realize what happened, to remember, and to give oneself the courage to act so that barbarism never again takes over. As a duty of remembrance, educational activities are regularly organized there.

Guides are available, as well as audioguides in French. Cafeteria open every day. Count on 1h30 on the spot.