Thirty years after Rwanda, some thoughts on genocide [Note: Content Warning - links to reports on genocide, sexual assault, other extreme human rights abuses. Reader discretion is advised]

Note: CONTENT WARNING - some of this content is about upsetting, disturbing or triggering events & attitudes. Seek competent help - including professional - if you need it. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that linked articles may contains names and/or images of deceased people. READER CAUTION IS RECOMMENDED! For anyone distressed by anything in this post, or for any other reason considering seeking support, resources are available in Australia here, here, and here. In other nations, you will have to do an Internet search using terms such as “mental health support - <your nation>” (which, for instance, may lead to this, this, and this, in the USA, or this, this, and this, in France [biased towards English-language - my apologies]), or perhaps try https://www.befrienders.org/. 

Note: in my “from the news” posts, quotes are shown italicised and blue, my comments are in a different shade of blue, and “good” items are shown in green. I have loosely grouped the posts where such seemed reasonable, but that is subjective (i.e., my opinion - others are free to disagree), and challenging, as some posts belong in multiple “groups”.

The thirtieth anniversary of what is generally termed the Rwandan genocide starts today - and, as one would expect, there has been quite a bit of writing (commentary) as a result, and I have linked below to some of that commentary (and other articles) that I consider worth a look, but I wish to highlight two articles in particular. 

Before I do that, however, it should be noted that, had the world intervened effectively, the instability that has wracked central Africa since then (including a revenge genocide) would likely have been prevented - and Rwanda, and possibly other nations, would have been stronger democracies. 

I have written about this topic - and especially the problem of indifference/not caring/inaction - previously, and some key links are also posted below. 

I also want to particularly emphasise the significance of Samantha  Power’s “A Problem from Hell” (William Collins (2010); ISBN 9780008359386; Apple, Harper Collins, Amazon), which was written by the then-journalist Samantha Power in response to her experiences of the genocide (sanitised to “ethnic cleansing” as a device to avoid having to do anything) during the break up of Yugoslavia. 

And on the Rwandan (and Yugoslav) genocides, in my opinion an excellent book, especially on the problems, is “The lion, the fox and the eagle : a story of generals and justice in Rwanda and Yugoslavia” by Carol Off (Vintage Canada, 2010, eISBN: 978-0-307-37077-8; Penguin, Apple, Kobo, Amazon). 

Now, the two articles that inspired this post are: 

• “After the genocide: what scientists are learning from Rwanda”   https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00997-7   “Thirty years after the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, Nature met with researchers who are gaining insights that could help to prevent other atrocities and enable healing.”   

• “President Macron says France and its allies ‘could have stopped’ the 1994 Rwanda genocide”   https://apnews.com/article/france-macron-rwanda-genocide-responsibility-anniversary-17d4414fa511b563b6c87045803c2eb9  
  

Although the emphasis on “elevating the voices of survivors” is excellent and important - provided it is noted that seeing justice done is still vital for the wellbeing of survivors, the academic work reported by “Nature” is, in my opinion, weak. 

It ignores the work that has already been done in this area, and fails to address the vitally important issue of taking action to stop genocides that are happening - especially as they are happening.

The work on the stages of genocide, the books by Samantha Power and Carol Off mentioned above, and the work of activists on the current events in Gaza (which are informally accepted as genocide, but no ruling has been made by the ICJ on that) are, in my opinion, far more useful than the work reported. 

In the long term, the work reported may improve medical support for victims of genocides, but that is a narrow focus on something the researchers can manage, NOT looking at what is most important. From the article: 

“Some scholars say that studying genocides can yield many benefits, but that stopping them from happening is ultimately a political matter decided by nations and international bodies.”

Yes! 

And that is what activists such as myself are addressing - and political scientists could possibly have something useful to contribute to that aspect ... and maybe psychologists if they can find a way to prevent genocidaires from committing their evil ... 

And that is where I want to move on to the second article, which is basically confirming the obvious truth that so many people already knew about the Rwandan genocide: it could have been stopped (especially if the radio broadcasts had been shut down - see Carol Off's book).

It doesn’t right past wrongs, but it does far more towards preventing future genocides than all the work “Nature” reported.

My writing on this includes: 

• “On Gaza [Note: Content Warning - links to reports on violence/abuse/war. Reader discretion is advised]”   https://politicalmusingsofkayleen.blogspot.com/2024/04/on-gaza-note-content-warning-links-to.html   “This may have a larger impact than the images of starving children ... which, while understandable (sort of), is disappointing - why not commensurate outrage over the images of starving children? Is it easier to be outraged over something that is quick than something that takes time to effect evil? Or is the problem media bias in reporting?”   

• “Inconvenience (and the genocide of the Rohingya)”   https://politicalmusingsofkayleen.blogspot.com/2020/09/inconvenience.html   

• “The Timing/Timeliness of Interventions”   [Content Warning: I am going to discuss atrocities, and the below includes a disturbing quotation from a book, and discusses disturbing concepts]   https://politicalmusingsofkayleen.blogspot.com/2020/03/the-timingtimeliness-of-interventions.html   

• “A thought bubble: sovereignty vs. human rights”   https://politicalmusingsofkayleen.blogspot.com/2019/06/a-thought-bubble-sovereignty-vs-human.html   

• “The Crime of Indifference”   https://politicalmusingsofkayleen.blogspot.com/2019/01/the-crime-of-indifference.html   
  

Those thirtieth anniversary news and other links I mentioned are: 

• “The Rwanda Genocide”   https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-rwanda-genocide   “Genocides have continued to occur since the Holocaust. This was the case, for example, in Rwanda in 1994. Over a period of 100 days, from April to July 1994, as many as one million people, mostly Tutsis, were massacred. This occurred when an extremist-led Hutu government launched a plan to wipe out Rwanda’s entire Tutsi minority and any others who opposed its policies.”   See also   “Rwanda”   https://www.ushmm.org/genocide-prevention/countries/rwanda   “In 1994, between 500,000 and one million Rwandans were massacred in a genocide when the Hutu extremist-led government launched a plan to wipe out the country’s entire Tutsi minority and any others who opposed their policies. Learn more about what happened and what the international community could have done to prevent it.”   “What have we learned about the risk factors and warning signs of genocide?”   https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/question/what-have-we-learned-about-the-risk-factors-and-warning-signs-of-genocide   

• “Rwanda genocide of 1994”   https://www.britannica.com/event/Rwanda-genocide-of-1994   and   “Genocide and aftermath”   https://www.britannica.com/place/Rwanda/Genocide-and-aftermath   

• “ Outreach Programme on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda and the United Nations”   https://www.un.org/en/preventgenocide/rwanda/historical-background.shtml   “...   more than one million people are estimated to have perished and an estimated 150,000 to 250,000 women were also raped.   ...   Aftermath of the Genocide - 1996 War Between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo:   Government officials, soldiers and militia who had participated in the genocide fled to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), then known as Zaire, taking with them 1.4 million civilians, most of them Hutu who had been told that the RPF would kill them. Thousands died of water-borne diseases. The camps were also used by former Rwandan government soldiers to re-arm and stage invasions into Rwanda.   The attacks were one of the factors leading to the war between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo that took place in 1996. Former Rwandan forces continue to operate in the DRC alongside Congolese militia and other armed groups. They continue to target civilian populations and cause deaths, injury and harm.”   

• “Rwandan genocide, 30 years on: Omitting women’s memories encourages incomplete understanding of violence”   https://theconversation.com/rwandan-genocide-30-years-on-omitting-womens-memories-encourages-incomplete-understanding-of-violence-224630   

• “More than half a million people killed in 100 days: how the 1994 Rwanda genocide unfolded”   https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/feb/26/more-than-half-a-million-people-killed-in-100-days-how-the-1994-rwanda-genocide-unfolded-ntwnfb   
• “Rwanda’s president decries ‘failure’ of international community 30 years after genocide”   https://www.france24.com/en/africa/20240407-rwanda-marks-the-30th-anniversary-of-the-genocide-against-the-tutsis   
  

• “Three decades after Rwanda’s genocide, the past is ever-present”   https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2024/03/25/three-decades-after-rwandas-genocide-the-past-is-ever-present   

• “Rwanda: Genocide Archives Released”   https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/04/02/rwanda-genocide-archives-released   “30 Years On, Accelerate Justice Efforts”   

• “Thirty Years After Rwanda’s Genocide: Where the Country Stands Today”   https://www.cfr.org/in-brief/thirty-years-after-rwandas-genocide-where-country-stands-today   “After the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, the country has made tremendous strides toward peace and development. But critics say these have come at the cost of political freedoms.”   

• “Rwanda: blood on their hands – archive, 1994”   https://www.theguardian.com/world/from-the-archive-blog/2021/may/04/rwanda-massacre-blood-on-their-hands-1994   “3 December 1994: When will those responsible for the massacre in Rwanda be brought to justice? As investigators close in, the ex-ministers who ordered the slaughter are living in a hotel across the border in Zaire, desperately trying to rewrite the history of genocide”   

• “Rwanda: 30 years on, justice for genocide crimes more urgent than ever”   https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/04/rwanda-30-years-on-justice-for-genocide-crimes-more-urgent-than-ever/  
  

• “Thirty years after Rwanda, genocide is still a problem from hell”   https://www.economist.com/international/2024/04/03/thirty-years-after-rwanda-genocide-is-still-a-problem-from-hell   “Mass killings are at their highest level in two decades”   

• “Rwandan genocide”   https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rwandan_genocide&oldid=1209187474   
  

 

Assumptions / basis 

In writing this, I have assumed / started from the following: 

• this blog states quite clearly that it is about political and human rights matters, including lived experience of problems, and thus I will assume readers are reasonable people who have noted the content warning in the post header;

Possible flaws 

Where I can, I will try to highlight possible flaws / issues you should consider:

• there may be flawed logical arguments in the above: to find out more about such flaws and thinking generally, I recommend Brendan  Myers’ free online course “Clear and Present Thinking”; 
  
• I could be wrong - so keep your thinking caps on, and make up your own minds for yourself.
  

 

If they are of any use of interest, the activism information links from my former news posts are available in this post. 

 

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Remember: we need to be more human being rather than human doing, and all misgendering is an act of active transphobia/transmisia that puts trans+ lives at risk & accept that all insistence on the use of “trans” as a descriptor comes with commensurate use of “cis” as a descriptor to prevent “othering”.

Copyright © Kayleen White 2016-2024     NO AI   I do not consent to any machine learning aka Artificial Intelligence (AI), generative AI, large language model, machine learning, chatbot, or other automated analysis, generative process, or replication program to reproduce, mimic, remix, summarise, or otherwise  replicate any part of this post or other posts on this blog via any means. Typo’s may be inserrted deliberately to demonstrate this is not an AI product.     Otherwise, fair and reasonable use is accepted under Creative Commons 4.0 on an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike basis   https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/