By Hapsa Dia.
I just came back from a visit to the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre… it was heavy and full of lessons.
First of all, they ask where you come from. Mauritania. « Oh we don’t see a lot of Mauritanians coming here, welcome. » The Memorial is built on a hill and during the visit we see the gradual escalation to what we know today as « the genocide » and the aftermath of it.
I saw a depiction of cold facts through archives, testimonies, showing how such monstrosities could take place under the same sky that we all share. And it was displayed with no hatred or grudge or blame. « It happened, we learned from it and we’re healing… » that’s the message.
But still, how could it happen while the whole world was watching humans slaughtering humans. Once more!?
A scene told by a young survivor who was with his mother and family at a stadium could give us a glimpse of the horrors. They were surrounded by killers screaming and yelling and all of a sudden silence was heard among the trapped victims… who probably had just few minutes to live, accepting inhumanity and almost welcoming death. The mother said to the only survivor of the family « don’t cry or scream, if you must die, die with dignity ». He never saw his family again. And this is one of the too many stories of these dark days.
I left the place feeling very worried about our time. These events did not happen all of a sudden, it was a process that started by division, classification, resentment, hatred, leading to dehumanization… then what happened, happened.
From there, the path to what is Rwanda today is nothing else than a miracle. I’ve seen a country that Africa can be proud of, and the vision of the leadership is felt everywhere! Discipline, abnegation, strong will, hope, hard work, love of the land, respect of nature, embracing their heritage, their scars and wounds – rising for all Africa to see… this is a lesson for all of us.
I am leaving with a lot of food for thought, but also with hope. If they were able to go through that and stand today; no matter our challenges, so can we. So can our continent. And last but not least, we should never let division get the best of our unity. Rwanda showed that’s it’s by joining hands and standing as one that we can make anything possible.
