Survivors appeal to neighbours to reveal burial sites

Musanze-Genocide survivors in Musanze District have challenged residents around the Virunga areas to reveal where bodies of the victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, lay in order to accord them a decent burial. The president of IBUKA - Musanze, Jean Pierre Birara, said that only 136 bodies in Kinigi sector have so far been recovered and given a decent burial, while remains of hundreds of other victims which were reportedly dumped in the forests remain unaccounted for. “People who were not being hunted, know where the bodies were dumped, they should be truthful and show true repentance by telling us where the remains are. We are haunted by not giving our beloved ones decent burial,’’ Birara said during commemoration activities. There was a shadow of grief as genocide survivors recalled how they survived and what they witnessed during the genocide. “In some cases, women were forced to kill their husbands, while children were dumped into latrines alive. It is hard to recount everything which took place here,’’ said Jerome Kadihira, who survived genocide after trekking through Volcanoes National Park to Uganda. This year’s commemoration is held under the theme ‘Commemorating the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi; Upholding the Truth, Preserving our Dignity.’ It was reported that the residents from the cells of Nyabigoma, Kabazungu, and the sectors of Busogo and Kinigi have remained silent on where the bodies were dumped. Birara said that there is need to construct a modern memorial site in Kinigi. At the commemoration, local leaders urged residents, especially survivors, not to be held back by bitter memories, but instead focus on the country’s development. Ends