The genocide that took place the year 1994 in Rwanda was one of the darkest events of humanity. Hostile tribal interactions had been an ordinary part of Rwanda's culture for many generations, and it was a well known fact that the Hutus did not like the Tutsis and visa versa. The catastrophe happened when this aversion finally reached its peak and exploded into merciless violence. A plane carrying the Rwandan President, a Hutu, was shot down and a complete massacre of Tutsis and moderate Hutus immediately followed. Men were hacked to death, women were raped, and their homes were destroyed. This genocide was brutal and heartless and, it created problems such as gender imbalances that would affect Rwandans for decades. Through the devastating ordeal, able countries did little to help bring the giant manslaughter to an end. As the happenings and aftereffects of this horrible holocaust are evaluated, it becomes evident that under different circumstances or with different decisions the tribal disputes would have ended differently.
On April 6, 1994, a surface-to-air missile was shot at the French Mystere-Falcon jet as it was preparing to land in Kigali. Aboard the jet were the Rwandan President, Junenal Habyarimana and the Hutu president of Burundi, Cypien Ntaryamira. Neither president survived the crash. While this was an assassination, it was also a reason and a signal to begin mass murder. The assassination ended up being only the first of many killings that became part of the Rwandan genocide. Since the Hutus blamed the Tutsis for the assassination, Habyarimana and Ntaryamira's murder was the excuse they needed to finally destroy the Tutsis. The murder sent the signal to all Hutus to begin this destruction. The murder also sent a signal to all Tutsis to prepare for an attack.
Government leaders had been forming militias called interahamwe, meaning "those who stand together" or "those who attack together". Consequently, when the Rwandan president's plane was shot down, an army was already organized and prepared to attack. It took less than 24 hours for the militias to get road blocks up around the country. By the time killing started, the interahamwe were 30,000 strong with representatives in every neighborhood. While some militia members were able to get AK-47 assault rifles, grenades and especially machetes were the main weapons used against the Tutsis. Preplanning greatly helped the Hutus take quick action against the Tutsis. The immediate start of the genocide guaranteed a fair amount of damage before any help would have the chance to rescue the Tutsis.
The killing was absolutely devastating. On the roadside, Tutsis were separated from the Hutus and chopped to death. Even taller Hutus that resembled a Tutsi were executed. The militia was organized into shifts since killing with a machete was exhausting. At the end of the day, Hutus cut the Achilles tendon on Tutsis that weren't as mutilated. If it could be afforded, victims would often offer to pay to die from a bullet rather than a machete. The government radio encouraged Tutsis to assemble in churches, schools, and stadiums for places of refuge. These gatherings put large groups of Tutsis in a single place where they could be easily slaughtered. The radio greatly aided a mass slaughter. Also, death-squads in Kilgali went to individual neighborhoods targeting Tutsis from a prepared list. Even moderate Hutus were targeted and murdered. For example, the prime minister, Agathe Uwilingiyimana was a moderate Hutu that was destroyed. The Belgian soldiers that were guarding him were arrested, disarmed, tortured, and murdered. Unfortunately this encouraged Belgium to vacate the rest of their troops from Rwanda. Within two weeks, a quarter of a million Tutsis and moderate Hutus were destroyed.
For the most part males were the main target. While grown men could be considered the main target, younger boys were also greatly killed off. A much greater percentage of women survived the genocide; however, towards the end women and children were also no longer spared from death. Throughout the genocide women still greatly suffered. Besides having their husbands, fathers, brothers, and sons murdered, they too physically suffered from the Hutus, mostly from rape and mutilation. Men from the militia would also force women into sexual slavery where they were held hostage and threatened with death if they didn't submit to the Hutus. About two-thirds of the raped women were found to be Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) positive. By the end of the genocide, many children will have lost their father to a machete and their mother to Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), and they themselves may even die from AIDS if the virus was passed to them from their mother. Perhaps if AIDS wasn't already such a problem before the genocide it wouldn't have been as widely distributed by rape.
Who was directly involved in this giant manslaughter? Like most genocides, males were the primary participants; however, women and children also played an important role in the terrorist extermination. Because authorities offered material incentives to genocide participants, many poor, young men were anxious to get involved. Sixty percent of Rwandans under the age of twenty years had little hope of acquiring the land needed to establish a household or getting the jobs necessary to provide for a family. When food, drink, intoxicants, pieces of military uniforms, and small amounts of cash were offered to these hungry, unemployed men, they were willing to learn what was asked of them and begin the necessary training. These young men provided most of the early interahamwe recruits. Also, since the interahamwe recruits were generally amongst the poorest Rwandan males, the genocide was more of a blessing for them. They could take their anger out on society, or the Tutsi part of society by robbing, killing, and raping Tutsis while getting drunk for free on their intoxicants. It's important to realize that these men wouldn't have been mad at society if they weren't so poverty stricken, relying on the mercies of more well-off folk for their survival. If they had a fair chance to get a job and make a living for themselves, these militiamen would not have been upset about their poor conditions and might not have joined the interahamwe. Also, if these young men weren't deprived of simple life necessities, then they would be more willing to follow their moral values and not kill for a small amount of food or money. If there had been more job opportunities for men then these soldiers wouldn't have been mad at society and wouldn't have been forced to fight to stay alive.
Women and young girls also had a large role in the mass slaughter. They entered places of refuge and aided in the killing of Tutsis and finish off the already wounded by hacking them to death. It was also the job of the women and girls to strip the dead and barely dead, taking all their jewelry, money, and clothes. Some women told killers where Tutsis were hiding. Women even provided the petrol used to burn Tutsis alive. Also, nurses at the CHK Hospital in Kigali and Burare's University Hospital gave the militia lists of Tutsi patients, colleagues, and refugees to be killed. Women could be considered the "cheerleaders" of the genocide. While the men attacked, raped, and robbed, the women finished off the attacked, stripped Tutsis of their material possessions, and uncovered many hiding Tutsis.
Men and women were involved with the man slaughter in different ways but who was responsible for the genocide? Several contributions directly and indirectly led to this dreadful slaughter. First, a Hutu extremist named Theoneste Bagosora led a small group of Rwandan government officials that made and executed the genocidal strategy. Bagosora was a retired army Colonel and currently was an acting defense minister when Habyarimana was killed. After the assassination, Bagosora organized both the genocide and a temporary government to support it. Another key figure in organizing the genocide was the wife of the murdered Rwandan president, Mme Agathe Habyarimana. She was one of the few women to play a key role in planning and performing the genocide. Also, these Rwandan leaders were able to create a very strong centralized government which played a huge role in enforcing the genocide. Since the government was totalitarian and powerful, it could effectively brainwash the Hutus into believing the Tutsis were the source of all their problems. Also, the strong government could force its subjects to follow any order, including the order of mass destruction. Those who refused to kill were often killed themselves; so many were forced to become murderers or be murdered. If the government was less strong and totalitarian then the people would have been more involved in the government. The Hutus would have known the Tutsis weren't the root of all their problems and they could have resisted the governments rule. If the government was less powerful, the Hutu people could have decided not to participate in the genocide or even fight against it. With a less authoritative government, the massive manslaughter might not have been massive or even existent.
The interaction, or lack of interaction with foreign governments also could be partly to blame for the Rwandan genocide. While other countries weren't responsible for initiating or performing the genocide, they were aware of the immoral and unjust activities in Rwanda and didn't effectively take action against the violence. International leaders avoided the word "genocide" hoping that if the term was avoided, so would their obligation to help fight the crime. Belgium, the U.S., France, and the U.N. all could have used national troops or/and United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) to stop the killing and save lives but all failed to effectively do so. UNAMIR was a relief mission started by the U.N. to help implement the Arusha Accords. In 1993, the Arusha Accords were signed in hope of easing tensions between the Hutu dominated government and the Tutsi rebels centered in the Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF). These four countries could have disabled the slaughter but instead focused on evacuating their own citizens from the violent area and on the issues most important to their own country. Belgium wanted to evacuate its peacekeepers with the least amount of dishonor. The U.S. avoided committing any resources to a conflict unrelated to its own concerns. France was interested in protecting its client and area of French speaking influence. The U.N. was concerned with preventing another problem in peacekeeping operations. What is important is the fact that these countries had the ability to stop the mass murder in Rwanda but didn't because of the precedence of their own self interests.
When the genocide broke out, the Tutsi-led RPF attacked the Rwandan capital, Kigali(,) and crushed the Rwandan government resistance. This brought the genocide to a halt in different areas of the country. The RPF forces in Kigali also fought against the Hutus and protected many citizens during the giant man slaughter. On July 4, 1994, the RPF completely took over Kigali and the genocide finally ended on July 18. Fearing Tutsi retaliation, two million Hutu refugees fled to neighboring Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). Thousands of the refugees died in epidemics of cholera and dysentery. At the close of the genocide, children were asked to bring back their family members hiding in fields and bushes so they could be transported to a safer location in the east. On the way to this location, RPF soldiers reportedly killed Hutus and threw their bodies in bathrooms or in heaps at a reservoir. They also killed many young Hutus at a market place and tied up many others. All throughout Rwanda, Tutsis were seeking retribution for the massacre Hutus made earlier. In the end, between 25, 000 and 45,000 Hutus were killed. However, according to the first major census taken in February 2002 to learn the total number of people killed in the genocide, 1,074,017 people were murdered. This is about one-seventh of the total Rwandan population. Tutsis accounted for 94 percent of the slaughtered.
While the genocide ended July 1994, people weren't charged for crimes related with the genocide until September 1998. Jean-Paul Akayesu, a former mayor of the Rwandan town Taba was the first to receive a sentence from the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) for involvement with the genocide. A day later the former Hutu prime minister, Jean Kambanda was sentenced to life in prison. Thirty-two other Hutu officials are still awaiting trial. Also, around 120,000 people were jailed for participation in the genocide. Because of the vicious and unsanitary conditions of the jails thousands eventually died. As of April 2000, roughly 2,500 people had been tried and about 300 of them received the death sentence. Although it took a few years for genocide participants to receive their consequences, most ended up in jail or suffering death.
While damage from the genocide will be a constant part of Rwanda for generations, many still wish to rouse another mass killing. Rwanda's economy continues to suffer and its recovery will be anything but quick. Fixing the country's lack of roads, bridges, and telephone lines will greatly help with communication and transportation but will take a fair amount of time and money. Also, education is suffering which makes solving economical problems more difficult, especially for the future. A lack of schools, learning materials, and teachers contribute to this problem. Unfortunately, many of Rwanda's teachers died in the genocide so finding educated people to teach the younger population will be more difficult. With problems overwhelming Rwanda, there are still Hutu and Tutsi extremists that believe the only solution is to completely exterminate the other group. Progress is more difficult without a united country, but this division still seems more preferable than another mass slaughter.
Another predicament resulting from the genocide is the unbalanced gender population. In the holocaust, a majority of the killed was male. Now, a meager 20 percent of the population is adult males. This means most women are not only suffering from being raped and physically handicapped, but they are also husbandless. Unfortunately, with fewer men, these physically and emotionally suffering women now also carry the burden of producing the nation's food. While polygamy isn't permitted in Rwanda, it is a suggested solution for unbalanced gender ratios. There is a great deal of rivalry between women over potential husbands which is causing much controversy. Also, a practice called kwinjira, or sharing men, has become quite common and furthers the spreading of AIDS. The World Bank ranked Rwanda as the third poorest country. Thus, it is no surprise that a man will do what he can to get land, food, money, or other material possessions. A well-off woman may give a man such materials and in return he may give her the AIDS virus. Consequently, as men are "shared" more women contract the fatal AIDS virus, passing it on to other men as well as their future children.
In conclusion, the 1994 Rwandan genocide was a tragic event with long lasting effects. If only the issues of unemployment, a strong central government, and a lack of international aid could have been dealt with proactively the genocide may never have occurred. Today there are still heated tribal disputes and extremists keenly looking for the day when another great genocide will destroy the other tribe's population. Learning from the past, jobs should be made available to help rid poverty and boost the economy. The government has already been rearranged to include both Hutus and Tutsis but the government should be kept in check by the people of both tribes. Lastly, countries should respond if another mass murder breaks out. Able countries should always be willing to help keep peace in struggling counties. While the Rwandan genocide was disastrous, much can be learned to prevent genocide from occurring again.
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