On Sunday we went to Kigali to tour the genocide memorial and museum there. It wasn't a large place, but it was very informative and well done. For those of you who don't know much about the genocide, I will give an extremely brief summary. In Rwanda, everyone speaks the same language and has similar beliefs. During colonialization, the Belgians gave power to the ethnic minority, the Tutsi. This was done because they were lighter skinned and thought to be racially "superior." The Hutu majority were deprived of education and good jobs, which obviously led to tensions. After the colonial powers left Rwanda, many clashes between the Hutu and Tutsi occurred. The Hutu took control of the government and they started the campaign to exterminate the Tutsi. I'm going to repeat that. The government started the genocide. Many people believe that the genocide was simply because of tribal differences and was carried out by uneducated people. Yes, most people participated or collaborated. However, the act of genocide was not spontaneous. It was entirely premeditated and had been planned for years. The government even had lists of Tutsi to kill. In the spring of 1994, over a MILLION people were killed in 100 days. The world knew what was going on, and chose to ignore it.
The memorial in Kigali includes about 13 mass graves that hold over 250,000 people. That number is unfathomable. I saw the graves, simple concrete slabs that don't seem large enough to hold that many people.
On Monday, we had an entire day devoted to learning about HIV/AIDS. In Rwanda, about 3% of people are infected. It is not as high as some other African countries, that have rates of over 25%, but obviously it is still an issue. (In comparison the rate in the US is less than 1%).
I got home from a long day and met a young girl who was visiting. Mama said she was a cousin, so I was trying to ask her how she was related (moms side, dads side, etc). She was getting confused then finally said she was Diane's sister. It turns out, Diane isn't my host parents biological child. She is really their niece. Her parents died of AIDS when she was 3 years old. My host mom and dad took her in and raised her as their own (my mom made it a point to say that she was not Diane's aunt, she was her mother). Diane's two older sisters live with separate family members. Thankfully, they are HIV negative.
Finding out this news hit me pretty hard. I think mostly because it came as such a surprise. Also, it is so hard to fathom losing your parents so young and then being separated from your siblings. I was also struck by how selfless my host parents were to not only take Diane in, but to truly love her like a daughter. It sounds like her sister is not so lucky, and may have to drop out of school because the aunt who took her in does not support her.
It was a lot to take in, and I am still processing everything.
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