Argumentative Essay On Unimaginable Terror

Throughout the 20th century, numerous acts of genocides have attempted to bring the complete elimination and devastation of large groups of people originating from various particular ethnicities. With these genocides occurring in many regions of the world, the perpetrators often organizing such crimes, have historically been larger and more powerful than the victims themselves. Often being the government and its military forces. However, the lack of international response associated with these genocides, further contributed to the devastating outcomes. On April 6,1994, the fastest killing spree of the century took place in Rwanda against the Tutsi minority population. With many warning signs having already been proclaimed prior to the start of the Rwandan genocide, I believe that with international interference, this bloodshed could have ultimately been prevented.

The Rwandan Genocide also is still an existing issue which killed one million people, mostly Tutis and some Hutu’s, continues to be one of the most tragic and memorable events in the contemporary society of Africa. Specifically for those who were involved. Lucie Niyigena, a 70 year old woman who managed to survive the genocide, is still forced to face her fear everyday living beside someone who could have potentially killed a member of her family. This is just one of the still existing hardships for those forced to live it. This problem has not been changed since historical times partly because modern society has chosen not to make the change.

The Rwandan Genocide also is still an existing issue which killed one million people, mostly Tutis and some Hutu’s, continues to be one of the most tragic and memorable events in the contemporary society of Africa. Specifically for those who were involved. Lucie Niyigena, a 70 year old woman who managed to survive the genocide, is still forced to face her fear everyday living beside someone who could have potentially killed a member of her family. This is just one of the still existing hardships for those forced to live it. This problem has not been changed since historical times partly because modern society has chosen not to make the change.

From June 7 to July of 1994, a kind of terrifying violence overcame small East-African country, Rwanda. Close to a million lost their lives in just a span of one hundred days. Neighbors killing neighbors, streets riddled with dead bodies and blood-thirsty rebels waiting to strike, and the near- extermination of an entire population became an everyday reality for helpless Rwandans. The same questions perplexed horrified people all around the world: What inspired such hate? And why did this hate suddenly lead to such a gruesome course of action? The assassination of Rwanda’s president may have been the final catalyst that began the genocide, but it was far from being the only catalyst. Rwanda’s colonial history resulted in a clear schism between

In 1994, one of the most brutal genocides of all time took place in the small country of Rwanda. Over the span of approximately 100 days, 800,000 Rwandans were killed—an average of 8,000 people per day— with Tutsis being the primary target. The staggering numbers called for international intervention, yet the action taken across the world was slim. Samantha Power’s “Bystanders to Genocide” reveals that the U.S.’s handling of the Rwandan genocide under the Clinton Administration was both minimalistic and ineffective. She discusses how the U.S. made full effort to pull out all Americans and then pulled back completely on aid, put their own interests above the needs of the Rwandans, and used the history of a similar situation in Somalia to validate their reluctance to take action. Power’s article presents a strong case for why the action, or lack of action, taken by the U.S. was a poor handling of the situation, but leaves the reader with little understanding of why these decisions were made. By examining the U.S.’s decisions in relation to the ideas that Dalai Lama discusses in “Beyond Religion”, the question of why can be answered. Through this lens one can see that the true reason behind their decisions is a lack of “genuine compassion”. This lacking becomes the basis of their decisions, and becomes a rational for standing by during the murder of 800,000 people.

Terry George’s Hotel Rwanda is a terrifying tale of genocide the world simply chose to ignore, dooming innocent civilians, the Tutsis in particular, to death. As heart breaking as it was to spend every second watching this horrible massacre unfold before my eyes, I couldn’t help feel angry. Angry at the world for turning away from these people when they needed our support the most, angry at myself for not having known this terrible tragedy that took place during these ‘civilized’ times, angry that harmless Tutsis died due to our ignorance and angry that we let their deaths occur on our hands.

The United States, as a leading world power that owes much of their foundation and rise to power to colonization, holds a responsibility to recognize and prevent acts of genocide. Outside countries cannot be excused for and must be held accountable for their actions during times of crisis, for their passive (and direct) endorsement of systematic annihilation as had happened during the Rwanda Genocide. Western countries especially cannot distance themselves from such issues, cannot claim “innocence” when it is their lack of action and indifference that allowed for such atrocities to occur.

The book ‘Leave none to tell the story: Genocide in Rwanda’ was published by the Human Rights Watch in June, 1999. It gives a detailed account of how events unfolded; arguing that the genocide did not just happen by accident; that it was a very carefully planned operation, throwing light on the failure of the international community to act quickly to stop the gross human rights violations and crimes against humanity; Allison recounted the many opportunities that could have been exploited to prevent or stop the massacre and

Destexhe, Alain. Rwanda and Genocide in the Twentieth Century. New York, New York: New York University Press: 1995

We have seen that the key question to understand the conflict in Rwanda is to remember that both Hutus and Tutsis are political identities imposed by the state. During 1994 some were killed because they 'looked like Tutsis' and others killed because 'they thought they would probably be Hutus'. Conflicts such as those in Rwanda, which result from the weakening of state power, which is responsible for preserving laws and guaranteeing justice, occur in the midst of failed states. This situation is the perfect incubator of generalized internal violence, both prior to conflicts and during and after them. It is in events like these where international humanitarian law plays a preponderant role. However, there are no safe ways to

Genocide is “the deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, ethnic, political, or cultural group”. In Rwanda for example, the Hutu-led government embraced a new program that called for the country’s Hutu people to murder anyone that was a Tutsi (Gourevitch, 6). This new policy of one ethnic group (Hutu) that was called upon to murder another ethnic group (Tutsi) occurred during April through June of 1994 and resulted in the genocide of approximately 800,000 innocent people that even included women and children of all ages. In this paper I will first analyze the origins/historical context regarding the discontent amongst the Hutu and Tutsi people as well as the historical context as to why major players in the international

The effects of the genocide are felt throughout Rwandan public policy as the current government is composed of many individuals responsible for ending the massacres. The genocide’s ripple effects are felt in all aspects of the nations including its foreign policy. This thesis attempts to explain how historical experiences coupled through the themes of abandonment, self-reliance and the promotion of security along with interpretations by government officials of how international order operates shapes how the Rwandan government interacts with the global community. This is not a new endeavour as many others write on aspects of Rwanda’s commitments whether on a positive issue such as high utilisation of foreign aid for economic, social and governance development or negative like the genocide guilt

As the twenty year anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda arrives, it is important to recognize the lack of action on the part of the international community, and to look toward a future where people have learned from the mistakes of the past. In some ways, each individual could ask themselves whether, if they saw a murder taking place, they would intervene. Would it depend on whether they had a weapon big enough, and whether they felt they knew the person being victimized? The Rwandan genocide reported almost 100000 brutal killings of a community within a country and it shocked the world. The genocide resulted in almost one million causalities within the space of 100 days which means 10000 killings a day. The most tragic aspect of the

At the core within the study of Rwanda, whether in terms of its people or its government’s public policy, are the continual affects of the 1994 genocide (also referred to as the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi). The genocide’s effects can be seen within the context of the nation’s foreign policy. Its study becomes problematic as the genocide’s role within the nation's international relations is misunderstood. For much of the last two decades, scholars interpret Rwanda’s foreign affairs in terms of the utilisation of the genocide guilt card. This concept defines Rwandan foreign policy in terms of guilting the international community for state interests. The effectiveness of the guilt stems from the shame by global states for not intervening

Beginning in 2008, I have traveled numerous times to the central African nation of Rwanda to perform a wide range of research on the country’s history, genocide and rebirth. While my studies on Rwanda began with a focus on better understanding the 1994 genocide, also referred to as the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, it grew and developed. Since my first visit to Rwanda, I have become passionate in better understanding Rwanda and the surrounding Great Lakes region, which includes the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Burundi, Central African Republic, Kenya and Tanzania. I want to continue my academic career at the Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, because of the unique opportunity