The Prince of Wales faced the horrors of the Rwandan genocide as he urged the world never to repeat the atrocities.
In a rough start to a three-day visit to the country, Prince Charles See the skulls of victims of the 1994 massacre and hear stories of survivors.
He visited the Nyamata Church Genocide Memorial, where more than 10,000 people were murdered in two days. Within the grounds, the remains of more than 45,000 people who perished in the church grounds and the wider area between April 7 and May 14, 1994 are buried.
After being shown a box of skulls, Charles said: “This should never happen again, we will continue to remember.”
Charles heard how the militiamen killed Tutsi men outside the church, who were trying to protect their families, before unmasking the women and children who were sheltering inside.
Rachel Murekatete, the memorial’s curator, who showed Charles around and pointed out hundreds of holes in the church’s wooden roof due to shrapnel from the explosions.
In 1994, up to a million people died in 100 days of carnage in Rwanda, where members of the Tutsi community were killed by ethnic Hutu extremists.
Before that, Charles and Camilla had toured the Kigali Genocide Memorial and was shown the personal testimonies of families who had donated photos of smiling children and listed touching personal details about those who died. their dear.
The pair read intently the comments about murdered children, and Charles responded by saying, “It’s horrible, it happens all too often.”
His wife replied, “What can man do to man?”
Charles walks past the coffins during his visit to the Nyamata . Church Genocide Memorial
Victims and perpetrators of genocide live side by side
Later, Charles, who on the day met Rwandan President Paul Kagame with his wife, hailed the reconciliation village as a “great example for the rest of the world” after hearing the survivors and perpetrators of the incident. How the 1994 genocide lived side by side.
He visited the village of Mbyo, built in 2005, where 384 Tutsis and Hutus successfully lived and worked together.
After hearing the story of a Hutu and a Tutsi perpetrator, the whole family was killed, he said he was “full of admiration” that they had overcome the past, adding: “It must have been very difficult. can only forgive these rather terrible horrors.
“It’s incredibly exciting to know that you now see the situation purely as Rwandans, instead of Tutsi and Hutu, and that’s a great example that I think for the rest of the world. “.
Among those who greeted him at the village was Eric Murangwa, a former football player who narrowly escaped death in the genocide, and who encouraged Charles to visit the memorial village and reconcile when they met. in Scotland in April.
Charles received a gift basket as a gift during his visit to the Mybo . reconciliation village
Charles listens to a genocide victim (center) and a pardoned perpetrator (right)
Charles is reportedly critical of the UK’s plan to deport Rwanda
The crown prince apparently wants to focus on reconciliation efforts after reports emerged during a tour of Rwanda in preparation for a tour of Rwanda that he may have criticized his government’s plan to send migrants to the country. British government.
Reports suggest that he has privately said that he Horrified by the new immigration policy.
Subscribe to the daily podcast onApple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Speaker
Clarence House has confirmed that Boris Johnson will join Charles for a cup of tea and caught up on Friday morning when the prime minister also flew to Kigali for a meeting of the heads of the commonwealth.
