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St. Jean Catholic Church, Kibuye, Rwanda
I took my last picture (no. 4 on this list) standing at the St. Jean Catholic Church and Home Complex in Karongi District, Western Rwanda where one of the most gruesome massacres of the Genocide against the Tutsis occurred on April 17-18, 1994 (death toll in and around the church: 11,000).
I had heard of this and many massacres that occurred in churches where people had run for safety, but since people were able to break in and hurt the people inside, I always thought the churches were weakly-built up-country churches that could do little to keep people out. I was stunned by how solid and beautiful the St. Jean Church was and by its capacity. Today there stands a powerful memorial in front of the church. The signage on it reads “Never again” above a room displaying skulls of some who were killed here and “Jenoside Yakorewe Abatutsi Muri Mata 1994” (The genocide committed against the Tutsi in April 1994).