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treating the Tutsi more favorably than the Hutu, which
built animosity among the Hutu against the Tutsi that
ultimately led to the genocide many years later.
At the Kigali Genocide Museum, one particularly
powerful exhibit displayed photographs of the victims —
at their wedding, eating lunch together, playing sports, and
smiling. It was moving because it provided a glimpse into
the stories of the victims and underscores that they were
once living human beings who enjoyed life and the same
niceties of living that we often take for granted. Many of the
photos I have taken on my own phone, of events in my own
life, are similar to the photos depicted in the exhibit.
Clockwise from top L: Trip leader Matthew Bender with a
genocide survivor at a reconciliation village; students laid a
wreath of roses on the site of a mass grave at Kigali Genocide
Memorial; scene on the road from Akagera to Kigali;
residents of a reconciliation village in Rwanda; meeting
with leaders from the Peace & Love Proclaimers, an NGO
focused on genocide prevention among Rwandan youth;
and Rwandan children at NP Arts Center, where the TCNJ
group took a dance class.
