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{{Infobox Museum
{{Infobox Museum
|name = Murambi Genocide Memorial
|name = Murambi Genocide Memorial
|image = Rwandan Genocide Murambi skulls.jpg
|image = Rwandan Genocide Murambi skulls.jpg
⚫
|caption = Skulls of genocide victims (2001)
|imagesize =
⚫
|caption = Skulls of genocide victims (2001)
⚫
| alt =
| map_type = Rwanda
| map_type = Rwanda
| map_caption = Location within Rwanda
| map_caption = Location within Rwanda
⚫
| map_alt =
| latitude = -2.454
| longitude = 29.5684
| coordinates_type = type:landmark_region:RW
| established = {{Start date|df=yes|1995|04|21}}
| established = {{Start date|df=yes|1995|04|21}}
{{Infobox UNESCO World Heritage Site
|type = Genocide museum
|visitors =
| Child = yes
| Part_of = Memorial sites of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda
|website =
| Criteria = Cultural: vi
|location=
⚫
| ID = 1586-002
⚫
}}
⚫
| Year = 2023
|Coordinates = {{coord|-2.455528|29.567722}}
⚫
}}}}


The '''Murambi Technical School''', now known as the '''Murambi Genocide Memorial Centre''', is situated near the town of [[Murambi]] in southern [[Rwanda]].
The '''Murambi Technical School''', now known as the '''Murambi Genocide Memorial Centre''', is situated near the town of Murambi in southern [[Rwanda]].


==Description==
==Description==
This memorial centre is one of six major centres in Rwanda that commemorate the [[Rwanda Genocide]]. The others are the [[Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre|Kigali Memorial Centre]], [[Ntarama Genocide Memorial Centre|Ntarama Memorial Centre]] and others at Nyamata, Bisesero and Nyarubuye.<ref name=unesco>[http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5753/ Sites mémoriaux du génocide : Nyamata, Murambi, Bisesero et Gisozi], UNESCO, Retrieved 2 March 2015</ref>
This Memorial Center is one of six major centres in Rwanda that commemorate the [[Rwandan genocide|1994 genocide against Tutsi in Rwanda]]. The others are the [[Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre|Kigali Memorial Centre]], [[Ntarama Genocide Memorial Centre|Ntarama Memorial Centre]] and others at [[Nyamata Genocide Memorial Centre]], [[Bisesero Genocide Memorial Centre|Bisesero Memorial Centre]] and [[Nyarubuye massacre|Nyarubuye]].<ref name=unesco>[https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5753/ Sites mémoriaux du génocide : Nyamata, Murambi, Bisesero et Gisozi], UNESCO, Retrieved 2 March 2015</ref>
[[Image:MURAN.gif|thumb|left|Mummified bodies of genocide victims. 2001]]
[[Image:Mummified victims of the Rwandan genocide (1994) at Murambi Technical School.gif|thumb|left|Mummified bodies of genocide victims. 2001]]
[[Image:Genocide_Victims_Rwanda_Photo_by_Sascha_Grabow.jpg|thumb|left|Mummified genocide victims.]]
This was the site of a [[Wiktionary:massacre|massacre]] during the 1994 [[Rwandan genocide]]. When the killings started, [[Tutsi]]s in the region tried to hide at a local church. However, the bishop and mayor lured them into a trap by sending them to the technical school, claiming that [[France|French]] troops would protect them there. On April 16, 1994, some 65,000 Tutsis ran to the school. After the victims were told to gather there, water was cut off and no food was available, so that the people were too weak to resist. After defending themselves for a few days using stones, the Tutsi were overrun on April 21. The French soldiers disappeared and the school was attacked by [[Hutu]] [[Interahamwe]] militiamen. Some 45,000 Tutsi were murdered at the school, and almost all of those who managed to escape were killed the next day when they tried to hide in a nearby church. According to the guide at the memorial, the French brought in heavy equipment to dig several pits where many thousands of bodies were placed. They then placed a volleyball court over the mass graves in an attempt to hide what happened. Among the bodies currently displayed are many children and infants.
This was the site of a [[Wiktionary:massacre|massacre]] during the 1994 Rwandan genocide. When the killings started, [[Tutsi]]s in the region tried to hide at a local church. However, the bishop and mayor lured them into a trap by sending them to the technical school, claiming that [[France|French]] troops would protect them there.<ref name="archive" /> On April 16, 1994, an average of 65,000 Tutsis traveled to the school. Once the victims arrived, no water or food was provided. This was done to ensure the people were too weak to resist. After defending themselves for a few days using stones, the Tutsi were overrun on April 21.

The French soldiers disappeared and the school was attacked by [[Hutu]] [[Interahamwe]] militiamen. Some 20,000 Tutsi were murdered at the school, and almost all of those who managed to escape were killed the next day when they tried to hide in a nearby church.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Numbers (HRW Report - Leave None to Tell the Story: Genocide in Rwanda, March 1999) |url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/rwanda/Geno1-3-04.htm |access-date=2022-03-31 |website=www.hrw.org}}</ref> The death toll of around 50,000 given by the government is not supported by the number of bodies exhumed, even considering yet to be opened graves and unburied bodies.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Through A Glass Darkly |url=http://maps.cga.harvard.edu/rwanda/murambi.html |access-date=2022-04-04 |website=maps.cga.harvard.edu}}</ref> According to the guide at the memorial, the French brought in heavy equipment to dig several pits where many thousands of bodies were placed. They then placed a volleyball court over the mass graves in an attempt to hide what happened{{cn|date=November 2021}}. Among the bodies currently displayed are those of children and infants.


Only 34 people are thought to have survived the massacre in Murambi.<ref name=archive/>
Only 34 people are thought to have survived the massacre in Murambi.<ref name=archive/>


The memorial was founded on 21 April 1995. The site contains 50,000 graves.<ref name=archive>[http://genocidearchiverwanda.org.rw/index.php/Murambi_Memorial Murambi Memorial], GencideArchiveRwanda.org, Retrieved 3 March 2016</ref> The school building is now a [[genocide]] [[museum]] exhibiting the skeletons and [[Mummy|mummified]] bodies of some of the thousands of people killed there.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Grill|first1=Bartholomäus|title=Prison of the Past: A Reporter Revisits His 'Shameful' Coverage of Rwanda|url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/a-reporter-looks-back-at-his-shameful-coverage-of-rwanda-a-962335.html|newspaper=Spiegel Online|date=April 4, 2014}} Translated into English by Christopher Sultan. Originally in German, issue 14/2014 (March 31, 2014). [http://www.webcitation.org/6YOyitQVE Page 1 archive], [http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/a-reporter-looks-back-at-his-shameful-coverage-of-rwanda-a-962335-2.html Page 2] ([http://www.webcitation.org/6YOytVii3 Page 2 archive])</ref>
The memorial was founded on 21 April 1995. The site contains 50,000 graves.<ref name=archive>[http://genocidearchiverwanda.org.rw/index.php/Murambi_Memorial Murambi Memorial], GencideArchiveRwanda.org, Retrieved 3 March 2016</ref> The school building is now a [[genocide]] [[museum]] exhibiting the skeletons and [[Mummy|mummified]] bodies of some of the thousands of people killed in Gikongoro Province in 1994.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Grill|first1=Bartholomäus|title=Prison of the Past: A Reporter Revisits His 'Shameful' Coverage of Rwanda|url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/a-reporter-looks-back-at-his-shameful-coverage-of-rwanda-a-962335.html|newspaper=Spiegel Online|date=April 4, 2014|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150427142603/http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/a-reporter-looks-back-at-his-shameful-coverage-of-rwanda-a-962335.html|archivedate=April 27, 2015}} Translated into English by Christopher Sultan. Originally in German, issue 14/2014 (March 31, 2014). , [http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/a-reporter-looks-back-at-his-shameful-coverage-of-rwanda-a-962335-2.html Page 2] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20150924152038/http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/a-reporter-looks-back-at-his-shameful-coverage-of-rwanda-a-962335-2.html Page 2 archive])</ref> In his study of Rwandan genocide memorials, [[Timothy Longman]] argues that although the bodies on display at Murambi are presented as those of people killed on site, in reality they are bodies brought to Murambi from throughout the surrounding area. Those killed at Murambi were buried in mass graves on site in 1996.<ref>Longman, Timothy. ''Memory and Justice in Post-Genocide Rwanda''. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2017, pp. 6-7.</ref>

== See also ==
⚫
*[[Dark tourism]]
*[[List of massacres in Rwanda]]


== References ==
== References ==
Line 33: Line 37:


== External links ==
== External links ==
*[http://www.museum.gov.rw/2_museums/murambi/genocide_memorial/pages_html/page_intro.htm Official Web site]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090203160912/http://www.museum.gov.rw/2_museums/murambi/genocide_memorial/pages_html/page_intro.htm Official Web site]
*[http://www.crazymalc.co.nz/06Nov/25Nov/25Nov.htm Malcolm Trevena's visit to the Murambi Technical School]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080123130843/http://www.crazymalc.co.nz/06Nov/25Nov/25Nov.htm Malcolm Trevena's visit to the Murambi Technical School]
⚫
*[[dark tourism]]


[[Category:Rwandan genocide]]
{{Rwandan genocide footer}}
[[Category:Rwandan genocide museums]]
[[Category:Rwandan genocide museums]]
[[Category:Museums in Rwanda]]
[[Category:Museums in Rwanda]]
[[Category:Mummies]]
[[Category:Mummies]]
[[Category:Museums established in 1995]]
[[Category:1995 establishments in Rwanda]]

Latest revision as of 11:29, 18 October 2024

Murambi Genocide Memorial
Skulls of genocide victims (2001)
Murambi Genocide Memorial Centre is located in Rwanda
Murambi Genocide Memorial Centre
Location within Rwanda
Established21 April 1995 (1995-04-21)
Part ofMemorial sites of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda
CriteriaCultural: vi
Reference1586-002
Inscription2023 (45th Session)
Coordinates2°27′20″S 29°34′04″E / 2.455528°S 29.567722°E / -2.455528; 29.567722

The Murambi Technical School, now known as the Murambi Genocide Memorial Centre, is situated near the town of Murambi in southern Rwanda.

Description

[edit]

This Memorial Center is one of six major centres in Rwanda that commemorate the 1994 genocide against Tutsi in Rwanda. The others are the Kigali Memorial Centre, Ntarama Memorial Centre and others at Nyamata Genocide Memorial Centre, Bisesero Memorial Centre and Nyarubuye.[1]

Mummified bodies of genocide victims. 2001
Mummified genocide victims.

This was the site of a massacre during the 1994 Rwandan genocide. When the killings started, Tutsis in the region tried to hide at a local church. However, the bishop and mayor lured them into a trap by sending them to the technical school, claiming that French troops would protect them there.[2] On April 16, 1994, an average of 65,000 Tutsis traveled to the school. Once the victims arrived, no water or food was provided. This was done to ensure the people were too weak to resist. After defending themselves for a few days using stones, the Tutsi were overrun on April 21.

The French soldiers disappeared and the school was attacked by Hutu Interahamwe militiamen. Some 20,000 Tutsi were murdered at the school, and almost all of those who managed to escape were killed the next day when they tried to hide in a nearby church.[3] The death toll of around 50,000 given by the government is not supported by the number of bodies exhumed, even considering yet to be opened graves and unburied bodies.[4] According to the guide at the memorial, the French brought in heavy equipment to dig several pits where many thousands of bodies were placed. They then placed a volleyball court over the mass graves in an attempt to hide what happened[citation needed]. Among the bodies currently displayed are those of children and infants.

Only 34 people are thought to have survived the massacre in Murambi.[2]

The memorial was founded on 21 April 1995. The site contains 50,000 graves.[2] The school building is now a genocide museum exhibiting the skeletons and mummified bodies of some of the thousands of people killed in Gikongoro Province in 1994.[5] In his study of Rwandan genocide memorials, Timothy Longman argues that although the bodies on display at Murambi are presented as those of people killed on site, in reality they are bodies brought to Murambi from throughout the surrounding area. Those killed at Murambi were buried in mass graves on site in 1996.[6]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Sites mémoriaux du génocide : Nyamata, Murambi, Bisesero et Gisozi, UNESCO, Retrieved 2 March 2015
  2. ^ a b c Murambi Memorial, GencideArchiveRwanda.org, Retrieved 3 March 2016
  3. ^ "Numbers (HRW Report - Leave None to Tell the Story: Genocide in Rwanda, March 1999)". www.hrw.org. Retrieved 2022-03-31.
  4. ^ "Through A Glass Darkly". maps.cga.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
  5. ^ Grill, Bartholomäus (April 4, 2014). "Prison of the Past: A Reporter Revisits His 'Shameful' Coverage of Rwanda". Spiegel Online. Archived from the original on April 27, 2015. Translated into English by Christopher Sultan. Originally in German, issue 14/2014 (March 31, 2014). , Page 2 (Page 2 archive)
  6. ^ Longman, Timothy. Memory and Justice in Post-Genocide Rwanda. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2017, pp. 6-7.
[edit]
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