Rwandan Genocide Analysis

In 1994 the people of Rwanda went through a horrific experience when one of the major ethnic groups known as the Hutus, slaughtered hundreds and thousands of the second major ethnic groups known as the Tutsis over the course of 100 horrific days. The genocide resulted in the loss of almost one million lives, partly due to a lack of outside intervention, but also the surprising unification of the Hutus & Tutsis. At the same time, it influenced the way the world (more specifically the UN) handles situations like the Rwandan Genocide. The Rwandan Genocide as stated occurred during the year of 1994, but the events that triggered it in the first place had been building up for quite some time, all the way back to 1918. During this year, the Treaty

Most importantly though, the Rwandan Genocide is talked about because it’s the quickest killing spree the world has ever seen, and even how it brought everybody together, through all the pain and sorrow. The Rwandan Genocide deals with the massacre of Tutsis from the Hutus over the course of 100 days in 1994 within Rwanda. Almost a million people died after ethnic tension over the years, and finally a plane crash killing political leaders, sent the Hutus into a fit of “revenge” and malice. The genocide inadvertently though, united the people of Rwanda post-genocide because of sorrows, guilt, and forgiveness that all the people could relate to and grow from. The Rwandan Genocide isn't very similar to other genocides history has seen before. Quoted from a 60 Minutes episode featuring a Rwandan survivor, Immaculee Ilibagiza, “It was extremely low-tech. No gas chambers here. Just machetes, spears, and knives. Wielded by Hutus…”. The Hutus also utilized radios to transmit information, like the location of Tutsis to murder, to new tactics etc. This genocide is known as the

After going some of their darkest times, the people of Rwanda learned that nothing good came out of the genocide; nothing got better. Despite all the horrors that they had been through, Rwandans didn’t disperse to new lands or try to finish what was started, instead, they rose from the ashes and became one united force. They forgave those who had done wrong. Immaculee is a prime example of this. She met one of the Hutus who had brutally murdered her family, and even attempted to kill her. “I flinched, letting out an involuntary gasp. Semana looked at me, stunned by my reaction and confused by the tears streaming down my face. He grabbed Felicien (the killer) by the shirt collar and hauled him to his feet. “What do you have to say to her? What do you have to say to Immaculee?” Felicien was sobbing. I could feel his shame. He looked up at me for only a moment, but our eyes met. I reached out, touched his hands lightly, and quietly said what I’d come to say. “I forgive you.””. Kindness like this in the aftermath ended up being much more common than one might suspect. Everybody was tired of the hurt, tired of the pain, so they did the only other thing they could think of… forgive. The Rwandan Genocide in all is such an empowering event because of how devastating it was. There was so much hate, anger, and grief that consumed these people to commit such saddening acts. The genocide serves in