The Rwandan Genocide of 1994 brought a large death toll for
the country of Rwanda, especially the Tutsi tribe. Estimates of 800,000 people were
killed during the genocide (Konduza 2012). Most of
those were murdered and raped were Tutsi, others were Hutu who opposed the
violence. Many women were raped and 20,000 children were born as a result (Konduza 2012).
More than half of the women that were raped attained HIV. HIV and AIDS left
many children orphaned. These are the effects of sexualized violence used as a
weapon of war. Today, the country is trying to create national unity only to
prevent this from ever happening again. However, the genocide left
psychological effects that still create a dividing line between Hutus and
Tutsis. Many survivors today still live in fear that they are still being
targeted. They do not feel safe and Hutus and Tutsis still do not mix. Although
it has been 20 years, Rwanda is still healing from scars the left by the 1994
genocide.
References
Coleman, Isobel
2010 Rwanda: Road to recovery. Council on foreign relations. April 7. Electronic Document. http://www.cfr.org/rwanda/rwanda-road-recovery/p21853, accessed on March 26, 2014.
Konduza, David
2012 Zambia: Rwanda Genocide aftermath- survivors still
haunted. All Africa. May 3. Electronic Document. http://allafrica.com/stories/201205030661.html?page=5,
accessed on March 26, 2014.
Torgovnik, Jonathan
2011 Intended Consequences: Rwandan children born of rape. The Paley Center for Media. May1. Electronic Document. http://www.paleycenter.org/p-intended-consequences-rwandan-children-born-of-rape, accessed on March 26, 2014.
The Tutsi tribe were victims of war and violence. Although I have never experiences a tragedy like that, I have been victimized in some way. As a victim, you have the need to point fingers. However, in an anthropological perspective, this situation should be looked at with a relativistic perspective. Although most of those who partook in the violence were Hutu, that doesn't mean that all Hutu were bad. This is similar to the Holocaust. Class tension and colonialism sparked a lot of the violence that caused the Rwandan genocide. The genocide survivors can have the right to feel mistrust and fear and resentment. However, outsiders to the situation, such as I should have a unbiased perspective to this situation to prevent addition to the tension that already exists between the Hutus and Tutsi.
ReplyDeleteRight on cue, and very reflective. I appreciate your sharing that with us. Great work Krizia. Thank you for your very responsible work this semester!
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