This week marks the 15th anniversary of the beginning of the Rwandan genocide: 100 days in which 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed by their neighbors and fellow countrymen.
In our travels to Rwanda in 2006, we visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre, which stands both as a tribute to the victims, and as a reminder to the world that such atrocities are possible in this day and age.
Good resources for learning more about the Rwandan genocide include the films "Sometimes in April" and "Hotel Rwanda", as well as the books "We Wish to Inform You that Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families" by Philip Gourevitch, "Machete Season: The Killers in Rwanda Speak" by Jean Hatzfeld, "An Ordinary Man" by Paul Rusesabagina (the real-life inspiration for "Hotel Rwanda"), and "Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda" by Lt. General Romeo Dallaire, the leader of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR).
The country has received considerable international attention due to its 1994 genocide, in which between 800,000 and one million people were killed. This was very sad.
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