Unthinkable Forgiveness

Skulls and bones line the crypts of Nyamata Genocide Memorial, located just outside of Kigali, Rwanda. These crypts serve as mass graves for the genocide victims of 1994.

The clothes of 10,000 victims fill the pews of the Nyamata Genocide Memorial, formerly a Catholic church where Tutsis tried to hide from their killers. The basement shelves hold the bones of those murdered at the church.

Rosary beads hang from the blood-stained altar at the front of the Nyamata Genocide Memorial, a former Catholic church where 10,000 people were killed during the genocide.

Machetes were the weapons of choice for many Hutu killers, and the deadly wounds can still be seen on the skulls of victims buried in the crypts of the Nyamata Genocide Memorial.

The Kigali Memorial Centre was opened in April 2004, on the tenth anniversary of Rwanda’s genocide. The centre holds the bodies of 250,000 victims and serves as a place to grieve for those who were lost.

Lake Kivu, one of the African Great Lakes, gained recognition as a place where many genocide victims were dumped. Despite this, the lake is a great source of food for people living nearby. Here, fishermen prepare their boats for fishing before the sun sets.

Children now play and bathe in hot springs located near Lake Kivu, which was a dumping area for victims of Rwanda’s genocide.

Immaculate Nyiratnbarubukeye was raped and infected with HIV during the genocide. Hutus killed her husband and burned her house with her 7-year-old son still inside. None of the killers have asked her for forgiveness and she refuses to forgive them until they do.

Mardelaine Mukandoli survived the genocide, but her Hutu neighbors killed her husband and all eight children in front of her. She has since forgiven them and even provides them and their children a place to sleep when they need it.

During the genocide, Carsilde Nyirahabimana came home to find her husband dead. She also lost her only son while he was fighting in the RPF (Rwandan Patriotic Front). She now regularly meets with her husband’s killers to talk with them about forgiveness.

Elias Rwabigwi’s pregnant wife was shot down while they were running away from Hutu militia. Today, he meets with his wife’s killers and teaches them about forgiveness, because, he says, “We all need forgiveness at different times.”

“We remember that the Bible says if you don’t forgive you won’t be forgiven,” says survivor of Rwanda’s genocide. “We forgive those who have hurt us, but it is difficult.”

A new believer prays with a group of Muslim-background believers at a weekly Bible study. These women have been meeting for several years and have helped each other move past the tragedies of the 1994 genocide.

A worker in Rwanda leads a Bible study for Muslim-background believers at her home. These women have been meeting together for several years, and their group continues to grow in the knowledge of Christ.

In Kigali, Rwanda, a church service is held at Solace Ministries, which was established in 1995 to help widows and orphans affected by the 1994 genocide. Solace provides trauma counseling, education and encouragement of forgiveness through Jesus Christ.

Jean Baptiste Tuyishimire lost most of his friends and several relatives in the genocide. He is very thankful for the family God has given him today, including a daughter who loves staying by his side.

Ntaganda Eugene joined the Rwandan Patriotic Front as a refugee in Uganda and helped liberate Rwanda from the genocide of 1994. Ntaganda liberated his now wife, Georgina, who lost most of her family members during the war.