The New Times staff honour Ntarama Genocide victims

The New Times journalists and other staff, yesterday visited Ntarama Genocide memorial site in Bugesera District, Eastern Province to pay their respects to the victims of the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi. The group led by the Managing Director, Joseph Bideri, was given a testimony about how Tutsi were hacked or shot to death at the site in 1994. According to Gaspard Mukwiye, a guide at the site, before 1994, the genocide had already started in Bugesera by 1992 when many Tutsi were killed. He noted that the construction of memorials sites was a worthwhile initiative and living testimony to the Genocide that occurred in the country. “This helps to record the history of Rwanda, if we had no sites like this, it would be difficult to convince the world that Genocide occurred in our country, especially given the work of genocide deniers” he said. Chantal Murekatete, who survived when Interahamwe attacked the church, narrated how her child was killed.“I had just given birth when the killing begun. We decided to seek refuge in this church. I hid among dead bodies but my baby was killed,” the weeping Chantal narrated. Bideri observed that visiting the memorial site helped the journalists reflect as Rwandans, and grasp the accurate narrative on the Genocide, as professionals. “As Rwandans and journalists, the visit helps us reflect on the Genocide that was committed against the Tutsi in this country. And by getting the accurate story of what happened here, and in other parts of the country, we are well-equipped to dispel the propaganda put out by the revisionists out there,” Bideri said. The Ntarama Genocide Memorial site was once a catholic –run centre before the Genocide and it contains the remains of over 6,000 people who were mercilessly slaughtered after seeking refuge there. The memorial site is strewn with clothes, skulls, and some of the weapons used to kill the victims.. Ends