Rwanda Genocide: Who Is to Blame?
The Genocide in Rwanda:
Who is to Blame?
By
Maria Chiara Billones Lucatello
February 3, 2010
International Relations
Mr. Conzemius
“A small boy of 11 years, was curled up in a ball of fresh flesh and blood, in his eyes was a glance of lost hope, abandonment, and defeat. He was without vision; A little girl at nine years of age, was pinned up against a tree…her legs apart, and she was covered in things even hell can’t imagine; excrement, urine and blood . . . in her mouth was cold fresh meat, cut with a machete, that of her father… near in a ditch with putrid water were four bodies, cut up in pieces, stacked up-their parents and older brothers.”
When most people think of Rwanda today, the first thing that comes to mind is the 1994 genocide. Certainly, there are many other things that define Rwanda and Rwandans however, understandably, the genocide remains the most clear and dominant aspect of Rwandan life. Three years before independence from Belgium, in 1959 the majority ethnic group, the Hutus, overthrew the ruling Tutsi king. Over the next couple of years, thousands of Tutsis were killed, and about 150,000 were driven into exile in neighboring countries. The children of these exiles later formed a rebel group, which we know now today as the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), who nonetheless, began a civil war in 1990. These wars, along with several political and economic turmoil and ongoing ethnic tensions, had resulted in the April 1994 genocide of roughly 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus. This genocide happened only a few years ago, and it is still impacting the lives of many people. How can such crime against humanity be abandoned by the world? Humans run away from fear of believing the truth, people can’t accept and consider what was happening in the small nation of Rwanda, leaders failed to stand forth and stop the brutal monstrosity of the Rwandan Genocide. After 100 days when the genocide had finally reached an end, we cannot help but questions, who is to
Who is to Blame?
By
Maria Chiara Billones Lucatello
February 3, 2010
International Relations
Mr. Conzemius
“A small boy of 11 years, was curled up in a ball of fresh flesh and blood, in his eyes was a glance of lost hope, abandonment, and defeat. He was without vision; A little girl at nine years of age, was pinned up against a tree…her legs apart, and she was covered in things even hell can’t imagine; excrement, urine and blood . . . in her mouth was cold fresh meat, cut with a machete, that of her father… near in a ditch with putrid water were four bodies, cut up in pieces, stacked up-their parents and older brothers.”
When most people think of Rwanda today, the first thing that comes to mind is the 1994 genocide. Certainly, there are many other things that define Rwanda and Rwandans however, understandably, the genocide remains the most clear and dominant aspect of Rwandan life. Three years before independence from Belgium, in 1959 the majority ethnic group, the Hutus, overthrew the ruling Tutsi king. Over the next couple of years, thousands of Tutsis were killed, and about 150,000 were driven into exile in neighboring countries. The children of these exiles later formed a rebel group, which we know now today as the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), who nonetheless, began a civil war in 1990. These wars, along with several political and economic turmoil and ongoing ethnic tensions, had resulted in the April 1994 genocide of roughly 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus. This genocide happened only a few years ago, and it is still impacting the lives of many people. How can such crime against humanity be abandoned by the world? Humans run away from fear of believing the truth, people can’t accept and consider what was happening in the small nation of Rwanda, leaders failed to stand forth and stop the brutal monstrosity of the Rwandan Genocide. After 100 days when the genocide had finally reached an end, we cannot help but questions, who is to
Cited: "United Nations Has Moral Duty To Act On Lessons Of Rwanda, Says Secretary-General In Message To Mark Fourteenth Anniversary Of 1994 Genocide." M2PressWIRE (2008): Newspaper Source. EBSCO. Web. 1 Feb. 2010. Santoro, Lara. "One for the law books: In Africa, a UN court prosecutes genocide. (cover story)." Christian Science Monitor 13 Mar. 1998: 1. Newspaper Source. EBSCO. Web. 1 Feb. 2010. "Inquiry finds UN failure to halt 1994 genocide." Welcome to the United Nations: It 's Your World. Web. 01 Feb. 2010. . "UN Failed To Prevent Genocide, Report Claims." UN Wire: Email News Covering the United Nations and the World. Web. 01 Feb. 2010.