Rwanda’s genocide memorial sites wasting away

As you walk around the building at the Ntarama Genocide Memorial Site in Bugesera district, you will notice the holes through which grenades were thrown in to kill the estimated 5,000 people who had sought refuge here during the 1994 genocide against the Tutsis.

Inside the building, the walls are still blood stained, the clothes of the victims piled on the pews, and the bones and skulls that were recovered are neatly arranged on shelves.

The building, which looks dilapidated, has not been tampered with since the genocide 21 years ago. Prayers are no longer held here, and the place is now more frequented by tourists, researchers and anyone who wishes to honour the victims of the genocide than by those seeking spiritual nourishment.

It is memorials like this that have helped Rwanda preserve the genocide story along with the memory of the victims of the killings that claimed the lives of an estimated one million people.

However, as the years pass by, it is clear that time is taking its toll on the genocide memorial sites — about 300 in total around the country.

According to a report released last year by the National Commission for the Fight against Genocide (CNLG), several genocide memorial sites in the country are in poor state either because of natural wear and tear, or the government lacks sufficient funds to complete construction of buildings needed to shield the remains of the victims from the elements.

For instance, at the Nyarushishi Memorial Site in Southern Province, construction began in 2009 but the building is still incomplete six years later. The facility not only lacks a proper ventilation system, but is also not fenced, which leaves it susceptible to flood waters that cover the mass graves during the rainy season.

Francois Byabarumwanzi, a member of parliament and chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Unity, Human Rights and Fight against Genocide, told parliament soon after the release of the report that commendable work is yet to be seen at the Nyarushishi Memorial Site since the construction began.

The same can be said of other genocide memorial sites where construction is still incomplete such as Commune Rouge in Rubavu district.

The others are Kanzenze, Muhoza, Nyakarambi, Nyarubuye, Rukara, Nyarushishi and Nyange. According to Innocent Kabanda, the Rubavu district representative of Ibuka, the umbrella body of genocide survivors, the remains of more than 3,000 victims of the genocide still lie in a pit near the incomplete structure. The plan was that they would be removed from the pit and stored in the building with all the dignity they deserve. But the construction is far from done.

This has caused fear that the remains of the victims are deteriorating fast and might not last for more than a few years before they totally waste away — along with the important physical memory of the genocide.

Kabanda said his organisation needs Rwf180 million to complete construction of the building which is being funded by genocide survivors and well wishers.

In 2012, floods badly damaged the Nyundo Genocide Memorial Centre in Rubavu district and the remains of the genocide victims had to be relocated to Nyundo Cathedral pending construction of a new and better memorial site.

Such incidents have led to demands from genocide survivors for the government to set certain standards for construction of all memorial sites in the country.

“A memorial site is not supposed to be a simple building; there must be set standards in terms of construction,” said Jean Pierre Dusingizemungu, president of Ibuka, the national umbrella body of genocide survivors.

“There is a need for improvement in the quality of the structures of all genocide memorial sites. Also, beyond good structures, each site should be able to articulately tell the history of the genocide. For instance, the memorials should have all the names of the victims whose remains lay there, including their stories.”

Mr Dusingizemungu also expressed concern that the memorial sites lack adequate parking space, resting gardens and other amenities, while the displays are not well organised in a way that would make it easy for visitors to access information.

The brain child of Kigali City Council, Rwanda’s genocide memorial sites have been operating thanks to funding from donors, genocide survivors, CNLG and Aegis Trust since their inception in 1999.

Efforts to get a comment from CNLG were futile at press time, but Mr Byabarumwanzi told parliament last year that the organisation did not have sufficient funds to maintain the memorial sites in the country. “All institutions, both private and public, should come on board and help CNLG because maintenance of the sites is quite costly,” he said.

Only the Gisozi Genocide Memorial Site in Kigali has so far been given a facelift, perhaps because it’s the most visited by tourists who come to Rwanda.

The site, has three exhibition spaces, a library, a documentation centre, a photo gallery, an education centre for peace and reconciliation, mass graves and beautiful gardens and attracts an average of 80,000 visitors per year, according to one of the guides.

Last year’s facelift was funded by Aegis Trust, a non-profit organisation based at the Holocaust Centre in the UK. Aegis Trust has been working in partnership with CNLG to maintain this particular memorial site since it was officially opened to the public in 2004.When this writer visited the Ntarama Memorial Site recently, a guide at the site said CNLG has now acquired more land and plans are underway to renovate and expand the site.

The other major memorial sites that are in a sorry state include Kanzenze, Nyundo, Muhoza, Nyakarambi, Nyarubuye, Rukara, Nyarushishi and Nyange.

If well maintained, packaged and marketed, Rwandan tour operators think the genocide memorial centres could rake in a lot of tourist revenue. Currently, the country does not market the memorial sites as tourist attractions.