100 Days of Terror: Rwanda Genocide

What happens when a country is left to implode upon itself? For 100 days the country of Rwanda, Africa suffered through a dreadful tribal war between two ethnic groups known as Hutus and the Tutsis, nearly 800,000 (although the number is actual number is higher), people were murdered, raped, and tortured. For three months starting around April 6, 1994, until July 16, 1994, the Hutus majority tribe systemically tried to wipe out the Tutsis minority, in revenge for killing for the then country's president who was Hutus. The already strained relationship between the two dominating tribes existed, because of how they were ethnically identified, and socially and culturally viewed. Both tribes have the same nationality (Rwandan), but how their class system was structured, created a strong dislike between the two tribes. The Tutsis (the have) were the aristocratic class and the Hutus (the have nots) were their servants and were of the agricultural class, this created a strong hatred for the Hutus against the Tutsis. The following genocide on the Tutsis and Hutus moderates that ensued was an act of racism at its worst. For many days violence, chaos, fear, death, and terror are only some of the adjectives that can be used to describe what the Tutsis’ victims probably felt doing the Hutu's campaign of butchery, on average 8,000 Rwandans were killed daily.

Other countries were reluctant or chose not get involved in Rwanda’s civil war. President Bill Clinton of the United States showed no interest in stopping the genocide and stood by as the death toll rose into the hundreds of thousands. The United States' lapse in judgment to intercede in the Rwandan genocide claims of not knowing of the severity of the situation or simply didn’t care by pulling out all their government and non-government officials. The United State successful blocked all types of reinforcements and would not provide their much-needed technology to jam radio broadcasts that announced the Hutus' daily door-to-door kill list. The United State simply failed Rwanda. Other notable figures such as Canadian army major general Romeo Dallaire commander of the then UN Assistance Mission in Rwanda operated on minimum UN funding, military backing, and resource seeking to protect and help save Rwandans as best he could. It was not until the Tutsi rebel group RPF (Rwandan Patriotic Front), led by now president Paul Kagame, put a stop to Hutu's rampage and regain government control, unfortunately, tens of thousands of Hutus were killed to do so.

Since the genocide and under President Kagame's leadership, Rwanda has regained law and order. The creation of Mr. Kagame’s administration’s programs has forced victims (survivors) and offenders (perpetrators) to work alongside each other in what is known as a national reconciliation program. Every citizen must participate in the community service program each month or risk being arrested; this form of social control asserted by the government has made President Kagame a controversial figure. He is viewed as a repressive authoritarian leader, who won’t allow citizens to identify from which tribe they belong or speak freely or critically against the government. Rebuilding Rwanda seems to be the only objective, a sentiment vocalized by every citizen (perpetrators and survivors).

The United States has since apologized for their denial, lack of support given, and action taken during Rwanda’s civil war. Americans were appalled when the film Hotel Rwanda was released in the United States which depicted only some of the horrors that were inflicted by the Hutus on the Tutsis, many Americans were shocked to know how such an atrocity had occurred and no one bothered to help the embattled nation come to a quicker resolution that would have saved thousands of lives. Forgiveness is the country's only hope for rebuilding and it is with this attitude in which forges a new future.