Rwanda and the World
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Rwanda and the World
Remote to the United States and seemingly isolated form all of the world, Rwanda has fallen victim to perhaps one of the grossest atrocities experienced in human history. Rwanda and its civilians have faced multiple inflictions of depravity, hatred, and tragedy yet despite the magnitude of these tribulations, much of the world remains ignorant to the hardships endured by the Rwandan peoples and their continual struggle to restore their broken land. While racial tensions among the Rwandan civilians were the main cause for this terror, indifference concerning the Rwandan situation made genocide an almost inevitable outcome and should subsequently rest some guilt on all of those who were unconcerned or unwilling to prevent these crimes. Raphael Lemkin defined genocide as ?the destruction of a nation or an ethnic group,? however the confinement of such crimes within a nation should not suggest a lack of trepidation among the rest of the world. Contrary to some beliefs, what occurs within a separate political/national/cultural realm not only affects the people within that nation directly, but also inadvertently impacts the entire world. Therefore, it seems incredibly outrageous to learn that as carnage and death tormented a nation, nothing was being done to stop it. The inaction of the entire world brought upon the expense and loss of Rwandan civilization.
It wasn?t until just before the liberation of Rwanda from its Belgian rulers, (around the 1930?s), that the country first began to experience the tension which would soon engulf the entire nation. Much of this tension was instigated through European colonizers within Rwanda who, impressed with not only the physical continuances of these indigenous people, but also the remarkable intellectual capabilities of some of the Rwandans, separated the Rwandan peoples into two distinct groups; the Hutu and the Tutsi. Of the Rwandans who, according to the European explorers, were blessed with preferred appearance and superior intelligence, were praised and given the title of Tutsis. The Hutus, on the other hand were segregated based on any undesirable traits, such as poor education or lack of beauty. These superficial standards set forth the status quo, that bread resentment among the Hutus tribe and lead to the eventual demise of the Tutsi tribe, (Destexhe, 37-39).
The emancipation of Rwanda left the entire nation vulnerable to conflict. The nation was too poor and too under-educated to ensure a successful and secure country. The economy was far too unstable to provide a substantial existence for the population. As its civilians began to experience desperation, lingering resentment paved the way for political manipulation. The unquenchable thirst for domination encouraged racism within politics. Already angry with the fact that the Tutsi had been given ?special? treatment, the extremist group known as the Rwandan Patriotic Front, mainly composed of Hutus, began their offensive to oppress the Tutsi tribe. Hutus involved in politics found means to corrupt the political system, and encourage Tutsi inferiority. Radio waves were used as propaganda, and Hutus spoke openly about their hatred for the Tutsi tribe. Such slogans as, ?The grave is only half full. Who will help us fill it?? (Destexhe,30) rallied for outbreaks of violence