April 10, 2009
The Rwandan Genocide: Where were the tears in 1994?
April 7th marked the 15th anniversary of the start of the Rwandan Genocide, during which an estimated 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu were slaughtered, often with machetes, by the Hutu. The genocide that claimed nearly a million lives only lasted for 100 days – three months and a week. That’s 333 murders an hour.
This week the world commemorates the loss of the Rwandans during the genocide.
Planned Extermination
But, where was that same world 15 years ago when the blood was being shed? Canadian General Romeo Dallaire had been receiving intelligence, as early as January, that the Hutu were cultivating plans to “exterminate” the Tutsi. He valiantly tried to get the media and world leaders involved.
Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana’s presidential plane was shot down over Kigali airport on April 6, creating the catalyst that set the extermination plan and the genocide into motion. The plane crash and the death of the president incited the Hutu, who fully believed that the Tutsi were responsible for the crash, to seek out and kill Tutsi and moderate Hutu.
By mid-April, Dallaire wasn’t the only one crying genocide. Rwandan expert Alison Des Forges declared the massacres in Rwanda genocide as early as April 17, 1994.
Requests for Help Refused
Additionally, Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali was also adamantly declaring the Hutu massacres of the Tutsi in Rwanda constituted genocide, and in a May 26 press conference, he shared his frustration and disgust that the international community was simply standing back and allowing such atrocities to take place. Having campaigned to have 5,500 troops sent to Rwanda to stop the genocide, Boutros-Ghali was denied by the Western governments who refused to get involved.
At the time of the speech, 200,000 Rwandans had already been slaughtered. Yet, the world stood by and watched as another 600,000 Rwandans would be murdered.
Same Story, Different Genocides
Today, the world, including the same governments that refused to act a decade and a half ago, cries for the innocent victims of the Rwandan Genocide.
Where were the tears then? Where were the tears when hundreds of thousands could have been saved?
It’s easy to cry after the fact, but that’s just how it goes with genocide. After the Holocaust, during which time more than 11 million people were murdered by the Nazis, the world collectively promised “Never Again.” It has become a mantra of sorts, but the sad fact is it has happened again. And again. And again. And, guess what? The world reacts the same as it did during World War II and during the Rwandan Genocide.
In fact, genocide has been raging in Darfur since 2003. President Bush, in 2004, even called the murders in Darfur genocide, which was later confirmed by Secretary of the State Colin Powell.
Yet, what happened?
Nothing.
Sure, you’ll read occasional stories or see occasional news stories on the “atrocities” in Darfur because no one, except those fighting to give the people of Darfur a voice, calls it genocide anymore, even though that’s what it is. Politicians make promises, yet the murders still continue.
Why Don’t People Care About Genocide?
It’s frustrating. After spending two years immersed in studying genocide in graduate school, I began to understand how and why genocide happens. What I cannot understand is why people don’t care. Is it because genocide is the worst that humanity has to offer? That the sheer horror of such mass death – in gas chambers, on death marches through deserts in Turkey, from starvation in Ukraine, and from machetes in Rwanda – is simply too difficult for the mind to comprehend?
Or, is it because genocide is happening in faraway places that most people don’t even know about or think about? Are people too absorbed in their own lives to care? Will it only matter when genocide is on their doorstep or someone they love is involved?
The Answer is You and Me
More than 180 million people – men, women, and children – were murdered during genocides of the 20th century. Why is that acceptable to anyone? We can only stop genocide if we work together as individuals. It goes far beyond chanting “Never Again” and wearing Darfur t-shirts. It requires action, action that can be as simple as writing to local politicians, sending letters to the editor, joining organizations like Save Darfur, and becoming proactive. Being proactive doesn’t have to cost money: It only requires you to spend some time and to show compassion for others.
