THROUGH A GLASS DARKLYGishamvu
GENOCIDE MEMORIALS IN RWANDA 1994—PRESENT

The Gishamvu site is located in Southern Province. Click on the image for a slideshow of photographs. All photographs © 2002-2008 Jens Meierhenrich.


The Mukimbiri family memorial is located on the side of the dusty main road of the village of Gishamvu, just a few feet away from the main square where the gacaca proceedings for this cell were held. The memorial’s two white tiled structures, swept clean of the ubiquitous red dust, are nestled inconspicuously between a private home and a bed of jagged rocks. The two structures resemble many of the memorials and graves scattered across the country, with its raised platform and roughly hexagonal headstone. A white cross, made from the same white tile that covers the structures, is mounted on top of each headstone. A raised platform is in front of the two structures, as if to protect the visitors from the overgrowth of bramble and bushes.

There are no inscriptions or engravings that indicate who is honored in this memorial. According to local residents, however, this memorial was constructed by the surviving son of the Mukimbiri family, in honor of his parents and relatives who perished during the 1994 genocide. It is unclear how many persons are buried at this site or whether indeed the victims hailed solely from the Mukimbiri family.


Copyright © 2010 Jens Meierhenrich. All rights reserved.