Murambi Memorial Center
Murambi Genocide Memorial Center:
The memorial has been developed as a permanent exhibition to the genocide. It documents from pre-colonial times to the more recent history of the 1994 genocide. The design focuses on developing a memorial from which the school children and local community can benefit.
The genocide memorial at Murambi is easily the most graphic memorial in Rwanda. It is located at the site of an unfinished school, near the town of Gikongoro in the South-west section of Rwanda approximately 30 minutes from our main museum in Butare. This is where estimated 40,000 Tutsis sought refuge with the encouragement of their community leaders, with the understanding that if they came willingly it would be known that they were not supporting the RPF.
There are only two known survivors of this massacre, both of whom now work as guides at the memorial. Visitors are led through the different classrooms, in which the bodies of the victims (preserved using powdered lime) are displayed on small tables. The bodies are so well preserved that in some instances facial expressions can still be clearly observed. In the largest school room, the clothing of the victims has been hung from the rafters.
Mass Grave:
To one side of the school buildings, the original mass grave pit created by the genocidaires and later exhumed by Rwandan authorities, can be seen. On the opposite side of the memorial is the new mass grave, where most of the victims were reburied according to Rwandan tradition.
Related package vacations
