At the painful start of a three-day visit to the country, Prince Charles saw rows of skulls from the victims of the 1994 massacre and heard the stories of the survivors. He visited the Nyamata Church Genocide Memorial, where more than 10,000 people were killed in two days. At the site, the remains of more than 45,000 people killed in the churchyard and the surrounding area between April 7 and May 14, 1994 are buried. After showing him a case containing the remains of a skull, Charles said, “This must never happen again, we will continue to remember.” Charles heard militiamen kill Tutsi men outside the church as they tried to protect their families before turning on the women and children inside. “They threw grenades inside and then shot and hacked many of them to death,” said Rachel Murekatete, the monument’s manager, who pointed to Charles and pointed to hundreds of holes in the church’s wooden roof caused by debris. In 1994, up to one million people died during 100 days of massacres in Rwanda, where members of the Tutsi community were killed by Hutu ethnic extremists. Earlier, Charles and Camilla toured the Kigali Genocide Memorial and showed them personal testimonials from families who offered photos of smiling children and listed moving personal details about their loved ones. The couple read carefully the comments about the young people who were murdered and Charles reacted by saying: “Terrible, it happens very often”. His wife replied, “What can people do to people?” Image: Charles walks in front of coffins during his visit to the Nyamata Church Genocide Memorial Genocide victims and perpetrators live side by side Later in the day, Charles, who met with Rwandan President Paul Kagame and his wife later in the day, hailed a reconciliation village as a “wonderful example to the rest of the world” after hearing survivors and perpetrators of the 1994 genocide live side by side. . He toured the village of Mbyo, built in 2005, where 384 Tutsi and Hutu live and work successfully. After hearing the stories of a Houthi and a Tutsi perpetrator whose entire family was killed, he said it was “full of admiration” that they were able to overcome the past, adding: “It must have been so difficult for me to forgive these terrible horrors. “It was extremely encouraging to hear how you now see the situation entirely as Rwanda, rather than as Tutsi and Hutu, and I think it is a great example for the rest of the world.” Among those who welcomed him to the village was Eric Muragua, a former footballer who narrowly escaped death during the genocide and who encouraged Charles to visit the Memorial and Reconciliation Village when they met in Scotland in April. Image: Karolos receives a basket as a gift during his visit to the reconciliation village Mybo Image: Karolos listens to a genocide victim (center) and a perpetrator who has received pardon (right) Charles is said to be criticizing the UK’s deportation plan to Rwanda The prince was clearly willing to focus on reconciliation efforts after reports surfaced during a tour of Rwanda that he might criticize the UK government’s plans to send migrants to the country. It is reported that he has privately stated that he is disappointed with the new immigration policy. Follow the Daily Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker It has been confirmed by Clarence House that Boris Johnson will be coming with Carlos for a cup of tea and a meeting on Friday morning, as the prime minister will also fly to Kigali for a meeting of Commonwealth heads of government.
