Parliament Building
The Parliament building preserves the artillery damage from the genocide inflicted on the complex. The building is another symbolic reminder in the leading role of the genocide in political discourse.
Jordan Broutman
Jordan Broutman
January 8, 2013
Property of Jordan Broutman
Butare University Memorial
Another example of local memorials, the Butare University memorial is located on the campus of the southern Rwandan university. The memorial commemorates professors and students who perished. Pictures of the victims have been left by family and friends.
Jordan Broutman
Jordan Broutman
January 4, 2013
Property of Jordan Broutman
Nyanza Memorial
The Nyanza memorial lies on the outskirts of Kigali in the Kicukiro district. The memorial consists of a flame holder that burns during the month of April similar to the Gisozi memorial. There is also a wall of names commemorating the Tutsi who died in Kicukiro after seeking refuge at a UNAMIR camp in the area. The UN soldiers did not protect them when they evacuated the area.
Jordan Broutman
Jordan Broutman
December 27, 2012
Property of Jordan Broutman
Habyarimana Museum
The Habyarimana Presidential Palace preserves the plane crash site that took the lives of President Habyarimana and Burundian President Cyprien Ntaryamira on April 6, 1994. The plane crashed onto the palace grounds. Parts of the plane are preserved. The rest of the palace has been left to rot. Considered an official museum, the palace contains zero wall text about Habyarimana or the site's significance. Considering the lack of information, I argue that the site's preservation must be looked at as a political message. One might argue that the site is meant to humiliate any Habyarimana apologists.
Jordan Broutman
Jordan Broutman
December 20, 2012
Property of Jordan Broutman
Musanze Memorial
In addition to the seven national memorial sites, every district has a local memorial. Nearly every district experienced intense casualties during the genocide. In some districts these memorials are mass graves. In others the memorial is just a monument. During commemoration these sites become gathering places for survivors and family to place wreaths and mourn their love ones. This above photo is of the Musanze local memorial in northwest Rwanda.
Jordan Broutman
Jordan Broutman
January 5, 2013
Property of Jordan Broutman
Kibuye Memorial
The Kibuye memorial near Lake Kivu. The memorial sits next to the church, the site of a major massacre. Madeline Albright visited the site during her visit to Rwanda in the mid-1990s. The memorial's close proximity to the church demonstrates how the genocide continues to play a central role in the day to day life of Rwandans.
Jordan Broutman
Jordan Broutman
December 31, 2012
Property of Jordan Broutman
Bisesero Memorial
It took me a three hours via a jeep from Kibuye to reach the Bisesero memorial. The Bisesero memorial honors the Tutsi resistance in western Rwanda against Hutu militias during the genocide. Situated on a hill, the memorial includes a winding path that narrows as the visitor ascends. This is meant to illustrate how the numbers of resistors slowly died out as the genocide progressed.
Jordan Broutman
Jordan Broutman
December 30, 2012
Property of Jordan Broutman
Gisozi Memorial
The Gisozi memorial is home to the Kigali Memorial Centre. Funded by the British Holocaust memorial foundation Aegis Trust, the site includes a museum exhibition, mass grave sites of Kigali victims, and a series of memorial gardens. The above photo shows the memorial flame holder, lit at the beginning of commemoration week every year by the President. Diplomats who visit Rwanda almost always visit this memorial to pay their respects and lay a wreath. Through the symbolic memorial gardens and the museum exhibition narrative, Gisozi conceptualizes Rwandan history as three phases: a unified past, a descent towards genocide during colonialism and independence, and the rebuilding of the nation after 1994.
Jordan Broutman
Jordan Broutman
January 3, 2013
Property of Jordan Broutman