I can't blog, I have way too much on my plate today. I will however post my cultural geography homework assignment. If you do not know about the genocide, you should. I had to answer three questions, those I will not regurgitate. My answers are fairly easy to discern I think, I hope.
We need to understand how this happens to keep it from happening again and again. I would say we have a long way to go considering the current state of unrest in Libya.
I hurt in my heart for the dead and I am praying in my head right now for their souls. And for those who murdered, I pray for you as well.
Peace be with you all....
1.) I was in my twenties during the genocide in Rwanda. I would dare say that I recall some of the press briefings from the film, and certainly recollect hearing of the unrest during the evening news. Admittedly however, I was largely unaware of what that genocide really entailed until the movie Hotel Rwanda was released and I watched the Hollywood version in horror and disbelief. How did I not know that violence of this nature and scope had taken 800, 000 lives? How did I not see these massacres on the news every night? How could I be an American and be so ignorant to this? I vividly remember feeling nauseous during a scene from the movie, abruptly leaving the couch to take a seat on the cool linoleum of the bathroom floor as I waited for my stomach to either settle or let go. Before viewing the frontline documentary in class, I had previously watched most of the film online and was deeply disturbed by what I observed. I found it even more profound the second time around which I attribute to a classroom setting and the reaction of my young classmates. I am positive that for at least some them, this was the first instance they were made aware of these atrocities. It is difficult to convey how much this situation bothered me emotionally, naturally the violence and death is disturbing to anyone with a soul intact. What resonates however with me personally, beyond the obvious sadness at loss of life and propensity for human violence, is that it’s simply unfeasible to grasp how this could have occurred. Specifically, how my government could sit idly by and scrabble about the definitions of the word genocide while the act occurred in an abandoned Nation left unaided to cope. Until this documentary I was unapprised to the extent of our government’s inaction. The down grading and word play concerning genocide exhibited in press briefings, along with constant deferral of responsibility by the United States and the United Nations due to the Somalia crisis, speaks volumes in context to my ignorance of the magnitude involved. However reprehensible the circumstances in Somalia may have been, the hesitancy demonstrated by our government and military seems unable to produce a parallel significant enough to warrant inaction.
2.) My focus in the film was Carl Wilkins the Adventist Missionary, head of ADRA (Adventist Development Relief Agency) and the sole American to remain in Rwanda after the evacuation. After sending his wife and kids to safety following the initial attacks, he chooses to remain with the Tutsis and Rwandan colleagues under safe guard in his home. After the preliminary attacks of the Hutu extremists, Wilkins ventures out during the daylight hours to help the wounded and aid in relief efforts. For me, some of the most moving excerpts from the documentary are when Wilkins describes his inability to abandon the country, explaining that when Rwanda needed help the most, everybody left. He states “It was the right thing to do” as was his desperate negotiation with Colonel Bagasora, pleading for the safety of an orphanage full with Tutsis children. This man’s bravery and commitment, like all the relief workers, is just exemplary and honorable.
3.) I am sure that everyone directly involved with this genocide (press, red cross, UN relief workers etc.) are haunted by the things that were witnessed; it is hard for me to imagine that a human being could ever truly recover from this kind of violence and terror. I am hopeful that for those who remained and did everything that they could, there is some much deserved solace in their activism. I would venture a guess that the truly haunted, would be those that were privy to the details of desperation, had authority and resources to help, but in Rwanda’s time of need did absolutely nothing. It was sickening to hear President Clinton regretfully admit that he believes (in hindsight) intervention from the Unites States could have possibly spared half of the lives lost. Madeline Albright and President Clinton are two easily accessible targets amongst a group of many American officials (Prudence Bushnell, Anthony Lake, Christine Shelly etc.) that I assume experience tremendous guilt regarding this entire situation. In addition to the United States Government, the United Nations failed terribly. Not only did the UN fail to preserve the promise and purpose of the convention following the holocaust, but also to uphold the agency’s principal philosophy. Less the individual UN workers such as General Dellaire, Captain Umabai and Gromo Alex, the organization was for all intents and purposes completely useless in the face of this genocide. This level of inaction is hard to understand for me, I cannot fathom how confusing it must have been for the UN workers waiting to receive support and resources from the home front. I would hope that the ghosts of Rwanda do not just visit those that are guilty of morally reprehensible behavior, it is my prayer that Valentina is visited by her family too and that those moments soothe her and grant much deserved peace.
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