Rawanda and Around

I travelled from Kenya to Rwanda for my last trip in Africa before heading home.  I visited the Memorial Museum in Kigali and went to one of the church massacre sites in the foothills.  I am very proud to be Canadian and to know General Dallaire did his best to help during the genocide 18 years ago.  The UN failed again, the International Community failed again.  Here are some pictures of the sites I saw.  PLEASE NOTE SOME OF THESE PICTURES ARE VERY UPSETTING.

Evil men

Stained glass window at the Memorial Museum.

Average people like you and I were executed in the most intimate ways utilizing hand weapons.

Many thought they would be safe on church grounds but they were not.  This is the inside of one of the many churches where people sought refuge.

Pictures of survivors were posted on public boards.  In this instance a young girl with her baby brother strapped to her back look in hope for a family member.

This little person did not make it and was hacked to death.

The trauma shows.

More evil men.

Inside the museum there are pictures of loved ones who died.

These pictures go on and on and on by the thousands.

I could only sit and weep.

Blood stained clothes

This one is a Super Man blanket.  Unfortunately there were no heros to intervene.

The skulls show how intimate the violence was.  Over approximately 100 days 330 people were killed per hour.  That is more "efficient" than Nazi Germany's machine.

 

In short over 20% of the population was murdered.  Boutros Boutros Ghali as former Secretary General of the United Nations (1992 to 1996) suppressed information relayed by General Daillare so no intervention would be forthcoming.  It is horrifying to note that this same Secretary General facilitated and arms deal with Egypt to Rwanda in 1990 while he was an Egyptian diplomat.  He was also sided with the French who also supplied arms to the Rwanda government in preparation for the genocide.  It was all planned.

I suppose as we sit here in Canada with our heads up our asses and choose to take no action this will happen again.  I am not blaming as we are all in our own little head spaces but perhaps we need to start looking not just local, provincial and national but also international.

Love most of you.  Try to be kind to one another.