Memorials in Rwanda 

At the end of a July-August 2015 trip that my daughter and I took to Rwanda to see mountain gorillas (July ’16, pg. 30), we visited the country’s Kigali Genocide Memorial (KG 14 Ave., Kigali), which commemorates the Rwandan genocide.

There is no way to describe the horrors of those 100 days in 1994, but out of that has come something good. The memorial has exhibits on other genocides, as well. My thoughts are you have to visit this place to truly understand. 

From Kigali, we drove about 45 minutes to the Bugesera District to visit the Ntarama Church, the site of the slaughter of people who fled there for the protection that a church usually offers. There is a vault outside with the bones of those killed in the church.

In Kigale, we also went to Sainte-Famille Church, where babies and children were killed. Piles of clothes remain as they were left. So sad.

MARILYN ARMEL
New York, NY