What do the children feel about the 1994 genocide – the genocide that shook their country to its core and broke its soul?

They did not witness the atrocities, the brutal killing of their friends and family.  But their parents did, their grandparents did and their neighbours did…..in Rwanda everyone has a horror story to tell.

But today’s children want to put the atrocities of the past behind them and show the world the Rwanda of today.

Euphrasie, Alain, Sylvine, Sonia and Serge are at the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre, a place to remember all the people who died and suffered. And it is a place, most importantly, that educates people, so history may not repeat itself.

What you can’t imagine and what hundreds of people have to face every day is living their daily life amongst those who committed such callous acts of inhumanity. A few of the perpetrators have been jailed, those who initiated the mass killings. But many more are free and living in the community. As a Rwandan you are told to forgive – easier said than done. But it is the only way the country can move on.

As the children respectfully walk around the museum, they are shocked at some of the images on the walls – images of women and children who have been killed and gangs of men shouting and waving weapons with the intent to kill.

Even as Rwanda begins to develop and prosper, no one can forget what happened during those 100 days in 1994 when more than 800,000 people were slaughtered by machete-wielding gangs. Feelings of fear still pervade Rwanda: personified by young government guards who patrol public buildings, carrying machine guns. But there is hope and a determination that the memorial centre's emblazoned plea, 'Never Again', will prevail.

Window of hope

The children sit in front of a poignant and symbolic stained glass window. There are two stained glass windows at the memorial museum. The one that you see is called ‘During the Genocide’; it symbolises the period leading up to the genocide, when there was no effort by international governments to intervene. The window is dark and sobering. There is another stained glass window called ‘After the Genocide’. In this window, the stairs are free and lead up to the sky. It promises a better future.