Hook em Horns

We spent Monday with a group of folks from the University of Texas at Austin. As you know, UT has one of (if not THE finest) library systems in the world. All burnt orange pride aside; it really is an internationally recognized system.

A foundation has selected them to get a grant to help create a national archive here in Rwanda, especially documenting and recording the events of 1994. They are working with the group that founded and runs the various memorials here in Rwanda.

After a quick lunch with their group, we headed out to show them some of the country. We took them to two different memorials, both of which were once churches. The first church we visited was the site of 5000 deaths. The second saw between 10-25,000. Inside both churches are bone shelves where thousands of bodies are stored. All you want to do is look away. It is difficult to allow your eyes to run over each skull and see the fractures that were caused by violent and angry men. In the second church we were shown the still blood stained walls where infants were killed by beating them against the wall. All you want to do is look away.

All you want to do is look away. But if we do, if we look away, did it happen? If we look away, can it happen again?

I think this project the Longhorns are doing is very important. Maybe it will help the world not look away so often.