Evil and Its Symbols: The Rwandan Genocide - Term Paper Example

The Rwandan Genocide The Outline Introduction i. Defining Rwanda genocide The Rwanda genocide is one of the globalmost devastating ethnic mass slaughters that took place in 1994 involving the Tutsis and the Hutus ethnic groups. It took a period of 100 days with an estimated death of 500000-1000000 people. The genocide resulted from the culmination of the sparked ethnic tensions and competition between the majority Hutu who had assumed power during the rebellion of 1959-1962 and the minority Tutsi who had been in power for centuries ii. Organization of the genocide In coordination with the military, the killings primary responsibility rest with the two Hutu militias organized for the genocide purpose through political parties. The Tutsi after ending the peace agreement restarted an offensive attack defeating the army and ending up controlling the country. The modern Rwanda has set two public holidays in commemoration of the incident. The genocide was under the support and coordination of the national government, civil officials, the military and the mass media. iii. How the genocide ended It took a period of 100 days before the genocide ended with an estimated death of 500000-1000000 people. iv. Thesis Statement The Rwandan genocide resulted in material and human losses, social disorder and psychological trauma leaving the country paralyzed economically, socially and politically 2. The consequences of the Rwandan genocide i. Social Effects The genocide affected every social class with large segment of the population subjected to very traumatic events and losses ii. The Losses Over 97 percent of the genocide survivors had lost a close relative to the mass killings. Close to one million people lost their lives, 400,000 children included. iii. Reconciliation problems Both the Tutsi and the Hutu ethnic groups feel victimized through the genocide events and the subsequent migration. A government-oriented healing process would facilitate a decrease in the emotional barriers between the two ethnic groups. iv. Psychological consequences The victims of the genocide experienced posttraumatic stress disorder and chronic traumatic grief. 3. Conclusion The Rwandan genocide roots from historical revenge, hatred, external causes, monopolization of power, the killing of the then president and civil war. Introduction The Rwanda genocide is one of the global most devastating ethnic mass slaughters that took place in 1994 involving the Tutsis and the Hutus ethnic groups. It took a period of 100 days with an estimated death of 500000-1000000 people (Cohen 59). The genocide resulted from the culmination of the sparked ethnic tensions and competition between the majority Hutu who had assumed power during the rebellion of 1959-1962 and the minority Tutsi who had been in power for centuries. The assassination of the leader, Habyarimana sparked the violent reaction during which the majority Hutu carried out mass killings of the collaborators and traitors including the minority Tutsis. The members of the Hutu power also known as the Akazu planned the genocide, many of whom had top-level positions in the national government (Cohen 59). The genocide was under the support and coordination of the national government, civil officials, local military and the mass media. The Rwandan genocide resulted in material and human losses, social problems and psychological trauma leaving the country paralyzed economically, socially and politically. In coordination with the military, the killings primary responsibility rest with the two Hutu militias organized for the genocide purpose through political parties. The Tutsi after ending the peace agreement restarted an offensive attack defeating the army and ending up controlling the country. The modern Rwanda has set two public holidays in commemoration of the incident (Cohen 59). The Genocide Memorial Day marked on April 7 starts with Liberation Day marked on July 4 ending the commemoration. One of the most significant global consequences of the genocide is its context that served as the impetus to the establishment of the International Criminal Court to help fight war crimes and crimes against humanity (Cohen 59). The creation of the Rome statute facilitated the establishment of the ICC and later adopted on July 17 1998 in a diplomatic conference held in Rome. The Consequences of the Rwandan Genocide The Rwandan genocide affected every social class with large segment of the population subjected to very traumatic events and losses (Malvern 8). This caused prolonged social and psychological consequences, which hinder the country’s reconciliation process and the national unity. Some of the consequences of the genocide include: Losses Losses occurred with significance at different levels including physical, human and psychological with strong social repercussions. During 1995, survey carried revealed that 97 percent of the genocide survivors had lost a close relative to the mass killings. According to the data estimates released by the government, close to one million people lost their lives with 400,000 children (Malvern 8). Approximately 120,000 children orphaned ended up heading a significant number of households. The majority of the people who succumbed to the mass killings and the perpetrators were men. Consequently, the current general population of Rwanda is predominantly female with an estimation of 100 females per 84 males. The population aged between 24 and 29 is 67 males per 100 females. Women head the majority of the Rwandan households (Malvern 8). The Rwanda genocide also resulted to complete wipe out of some families especially the extended families. Two million of the Rwanda population fled to other neighboring countries especially the Hutu extremists. Many families displaced lost communication with relatives. Reconciliation problems Both the Tutsi and the Hutu ethnic groups feel victimized through the genocide events and the subsequent migration. The killing of the 800,000 Tutsis in the genocide and the Hutu killed in the extrajudicial killings and cases of reprisals in Rwanda have influenced the creation of a climate of mistrust (Zorbas 29). The counterinsurgency activities also led to the creation of a sense of mutual victimization. Despite of the modern Rwandan government’s commitments to enable the creation of ethnic unity and reconciliatory efforts, the genocide wounds still have deep roots in the society and healing is difficult for both sides. Since both Tutsis and Hutu ethnic groups have to share resources and live together, a government-oriented healing process would facilitate a decrease in the emotional barriers between the two ethnic groups (Zorbas 29). Despite of the reconciliation problems, the government has in the long run established trials through local social justice systems to bring out the truth behind the mass killings from the two ethnic group’s point of view. This helps in boosting set reconciliation processes. Psychological consequences Some of the psychological problems the victims of the Rwandan genocide experienced include posttraumatic stress disorder and chronic traumatic grief. Most of the victims especially children have been experiencing trauma-related nightmares. They mostly tend to avoid reminders of the genocide traumatic events (Spalding 14). This has been common with the victims who are unable to withstand the presence of soldiers since they witnessed some participating in the mass killings. The survey done in 1995 revealed of traumatic grief as a prevalent problem since most of the victims did not have the opportunity to bury or perform mourning rituals for their departed relatives (Spalding 14). How the Genocide Shattered Rwandan Community The Rwanda genocide shattered the community socially, politically and economically. Social structure of the community was destroyed through abuse of human rights and mass killings. Women and children were the subjects of sexual violence and abuses at a significant scale. Rape and other forms of abuse primarily directed against the Tutsi women were due to their ethnicity and gender (Spalding 14). This led to social isolation in the community, which is a stigma, connected to cases of rape. The genocide left a sheer number of children on their own with the government resources, which could have protected them from exploitation and abuse, destroyed. The violence paralyzed most of the community social institutions and structures including schools and churches shattering protective programs aimed at helping genocide women and children victims (Spalding 14). Most of the children experienced exploitation for their property and labor and denied the right to access education. The Rwandan genocide shattered the political development of the community. Military structures destroyed saw the majority participating in mass killings. Political activities banished remained inactive until when the war ended giving way for an organized coalition government based on the provisions of the constitution (Spalding 14). Altering the country’s political structure led to cases of unfairness based on race, religion and ethnicity. Despite of the political reforms and improved international assistance, the community continues to experience struggles in boosting political stability, investment and foster reconciliation. The genocide also left the country shattered socio-economically. It left the country to reintegrate millions of refugees and to put an effort in ending the case of insurgency among the process ex-soldiers Rwandan patriotic army and the militia fighters. The war paralyzed long-term development plans that had been established when the French left (Spalding 14). Prison population is also one of the problems that the community was left to cope with having accommodated many of the perpetrators after the war. Shattering a community is an act of evil in this context since it subjects the community to situations of underdevelopment politically, socially and economically. The community is left with an option to account for the victims from both sides fairly (Reist 2). Shattering the community through acts of war leaves the majority of the victims with mental problems because of the genocide scenes. The community also experiences poverty expansion with roads, education institutions, churches and buildings destroyed. This is an implication that most of the important privacy, identity and safe places fostering family and country unions are lost in the process. Women as victims of the evil acts are the most affected with 70 percent displaced and over 500,000 tortured, abused and raped. Over a quarter million of the Rwandese, children are orphans with some taking responsibility of their siblings while some live alone (Reist 2). The genocide scenes traumatized most of the children with some left to confront several social problems including poverty, education and diseases. The symbol that represents the evil of the Rwandan genocide is mass killings. Conclusion The colonies form the root of the graveness of the ethnic communities that participated in the genocide. The Rwandan genocide roots from historical revenge, hatred, external causes, monopolization of power, the killing of the then president and civil war. The genocide resulted to the mass killing of approximately one million people with the majority women and children. The genocide also caused an increment in poverty, rape cases which resulted to social isolation, the widespread of HIV and trauma with children being the cost of the war. Rwanda liberation was through the Rwandan Patriotic Front, which saw the end of 100 days genocide. The majority of the genocide criminals underwent prosecution with many facing jail terms. The country has been in a reconstruction process and post-war reconciliation to help reestablish the community structures. Works Cited "Rwanda Genocide Penalty Increased." The Independent: 29. May 21 2005. ProQuest. Web. 7 Dec. 2013 . Cohen, Jared. One Hundred Days of Silence: America and the Rwanda Genocide. Lanham, Md. [u.a.: Rowan & Littlefield, 2007. Print. Malvern, Linda. Conspiracy to Murder: The Rwandan Genocide. London [u.a.: Verso, 2006. Print. Reist, Margaret. "Rwanda Genocide Survivor: Remember." Lincoln Journal StarApr 24 2010. ProQuest. Web. 7 Dec. 2013 . Spalding, Frank. Genocide in Rwanda. New York, NY: Rosen Pub, 2009. Print. Zorbas, Eugenia. "RECONCILIATION IN POST-GENOCIDE RWANDA." African Journal of Legal Studies (Online) 1.1 (2004): 29. ProQuest. Web. 7 Dec. 2013. Read More