In Memory of the Children lost

Before you read this, I’d like to give you a warning. I’m not writing this to be graphic. I’m not exaggerating this or trying to add to the gore to make it more appealing. I’m sharing my heart and sharing the memory of the children lost. For parents who can’t. They deserve to be remembered, and their story needs to be told so what happened in Rwanda will never happen again.

Rwanda. A country of a thousand hills. Beautiful. Peaceful. Children play in the streets. Women call out to each other in greeting as they pass. Men gather and relax after work at the local store. In a communitarian society, everything is shared, everyone is family. They love their neighbors children almost as much as they love their own.

It hasn’t always been this way. In 1994, Genocide cast a shadow over Rwanda and in the course of almost 100 days, over a million people were brutally murdered.

It has been 18 years since the beginning of the Genocide, April 7^th, 1994. Let us never forget.

I would like to share with you a few their stories. In memory of them.

At the Kigali Genocide Memorial Center, there is a room dedicated to children. Their pictures hang on the wall, given by a family member or a friend, in memory of their lives, however long or short they might have been. They were infinitely loved and made in the image of God and they deserve to have their story told.

This room breaks my heart each and every time I visit it. It becomes so much more personal when you get to know them, even the basics like their favorite food, their best friend, and favorite sport.....

**taken from the Kigali Genocide Memorial Center, Kigali, Rwanda**

Francine was 12 years old.

Favorite sport: Swimming

Favorite Food: Eggs & Chips

Best friend: Her big sister Claudette

Cause of Death: Hacked to death by a Machette at Nyamata

Fabrice was 8 years old.

Favorite Sport: Swimming

Favorite food: Chocolate

Best Friend: His Mom

Cause of Death: Bludgeoned with a club

David was 10 years old

Favorite Sport: Football

Favorite thing to do: Make people laugh

Dream: Become a doctor

Last words: “UNAMIR will come for us”

Cause of Death: Tortured to death.

Ariane was 4 years old

Favorite food: Cake

Favorite thing to do: Dance and sing

She was described as a neat little girl

Cause of Death: Stabbed in the eyes and head.

Chanelle was 8 years old

Favorite sport: Jogging with her dad

Favorite food: Chocolate

Favorite song: “My native land which God chose for me”

Cause of Death: Hacked by Machette

Irene and Uwamwezi – Sisters

Favorite toy: a doll they shared

Favorite food: Fresh Fruit

They were daddy’s girls

Cause of Death: A grenade thrown in the shower

Fabrice was 15 months old

Favorite food: Rice with milk

Favorite animal: Cat

Favorite word: “Auntie”

Cause of death: Killed at Muhoro church

Fillette was 2 years old

Favorite toy: Doll

Favorite food: Rice and chips

Best friend: Her dad

She was described as a good girl

Cause of Death: Smashed against a wall

Thierry was 9 months old

He was killed in his mothers arms.

- While these are only a few of the thousands of children killed, they represent the lost and the ones that were never even found.

I wish you could meet the little ones I have come to know and love in the villages. I wish you could see the smiles on their faces. Hear their laughter. Listen to their cries when they fall and hold them when they need comforting.

Those children that were killed are just like the ones I got to know. They are just like the little ones in America. Created in the image of God.

So many times we read something sad, think about it for a minute, and move on. I pray you remember. Remember so this can never be repeated. 

Never Again.

"When they said 'Never Again' after the Holocaust, was it meant for some and not for others?"