"One day we were neighbors, and the next day the massacre began." That's how the survivor of a tribal massacre described the shocking turn of events that led to the murder of 18 of her family members. Her tragic story cuts to the heart of humanity's inability to find lasting peace…

If it weren't for the sign outside the gate, the Catholic Church in Ntarama would seem little different from other churches in Rwanda.

But in April 1994 horrifying events occurred that turned this church into a genocide memorial site. The sign says in French, English and the local Kinyarwanda dialect that nearly 5,000 people were murdered on this site—many in a single day.

Pacifique Rutaganda and Dancille Nyirabazungu met us at the gate and explained that they were survivors of the attack at the church. Now they are state-appointed guides and caretakers of the site.

To try to understand how something like this could happen, I had already read some background on the events of 1994. Especially useful was Philip Gourevitch's 1998 book We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families.

Mr. Gourevitch explains how the two largest groups in Rwanda are the Hutu and the Tutsi tribes. Many researchers today believe that they did not actually begin as distinct ethnic tribes so much as economic entities. Under the precolonial Rwandan monarchy, the king was Tutsi and Tutsis were favored for government posts. But the barriers between the groups were porous. It was possible for a Hutu who succeeded financially to officially become a Tutsi.

When European colonial powers arrived, however, they hardened the division, going so far as to issue ethnic identification cards in 1934. Hardening the tribal divide meant the path to advancement was closed to Hutus, since the European colonizers employed Tutsis to rule the country and discriminated against the Hutus when it came to educational and career opportunities (pp. 56-57).

In 1959 violence broke out as organized groups of the majority Hutus attacked Tutsis. By 1961 the Europeans convened Hutu leaders, abolished the Rwandan (Tutsi) monarchy and declared Rwanda a republic. The Europeans then pulled out, declaring Rwanda independent in 1961 (pp. 60-61). The book details the unrest, propaganda and attacks that continued building through the 1990s.

On April 6, 1994, Rwandan (Hutu) President Habyarimana's plane was shot down. The Hutu Power movement immediately blamed the attack on the Tutsis, though it now seems more probable that he was eliminated by the Hutu Power movement itself.

The president's death provided a convenient and powerful rallying cry to attack all Tutsis in "self-defense." The violence broke out almost immediately throughout the country, as many Hutu villagers followed the call of their tribal leaders to kill all Tutsis.

This is where Dancille and Pacifique picked up their story. Pacifique said his family members knew from past experience that when the violence began they needed to find a safe place to hide. His father, who had survived the killings in 1959, told him, "Don't worry, my son, we will go to the church." Church buildings had been respected places of safety in 1959.

As the events of 1994 began, hundreds, then thousands of Tutsis from miles around took refuge in the Ntarama church and on the grounds.

But then, four buses of militia and soldiers of the presidential guard arrived. The refugees huddled in the church with the doors barred. Then it happened: Men armed with sledgehammers knocked holes in the walls and tossed in hand grenades, killing and maiming many and stunning the rest. Others then broke open the doors, whereupon militia and regular soldiers armed with rifles, clubs, machetes and even bows and arrows killed every man, woman and child they were able to find still alive inside.

Dancille and Pacifique were among the few who, in the confusion, survived by running out the back door. Dancille said, "When you are so panicked, you don't even think of your own children; you just run." She told me she lost her husband, her two children, her mother-in-law, father-in-law, two brothers-in-law and others—18 family members in all.

Dancille continued, "These people became like animals. The [Hutu Power] government was responsible for this: One day we were neighbors, and the next day the massacre began."

Dancille and Pacifique showed us around the church and grounds. The church had been left much as it was following the violence. As a testimony to the magnitude of the genocidal attack, the bones had not been removed and buried, but rather left on the floor. I was shown a mud-brick building with walls and metal roof blackened on the interior from fire. The people hiding inside had been burned alive.

The magnitude of what I was seeing and the obvious evidence of such cruel violence made the whole scene rather surreal. It didn't seem possible that this could really have happened, as if it all somehow came from another world. But sadly, it did indeed come from this world—the same one in which you and I live.

Summing up her thoughts on these atrocities, Dancille stated: "I hope this will never happen again. I hope people have learned their lesson." WNP