What happened in Rwanda?

The sculpture in this photo depicts the agony of some of the victims. 800, 000 people were brutally killed during the 100 days of the Rwandan genocide. To learn what happened, watch a BBC Online slide show, Rwanda's 100 days of genocide. It tells the story in images and audio.

To learn more, go to The History Place and read Genocide in the 20th century - Rwanda 1994 – 800,000 deaths. If you are not sure where Rwanda is, click on the small map to see a larger one. To examine the causes of the genocide, read the BBC Online article, Rwanda: How the genocide happened.
 
Photo by Sue Nichols, University Relations, Michigan State University
(Used with permission)

Your viewpoint:
Do you think the genocide in Rwanda could have been prevented? Explain why or why not.

Comments

[Sun Ah Lim]

Taking action quickly is very important. If the western governments had acted quickly to stop genocide, at least, a loss of lives would have been reduced though genocide in Rwanda could not have been prevented.

[Sun Ah Lim]

I think that survivors who were emotionally scarred can overcome if they do not lose hope, as was the case with Gemima Mukashyaka. The survivors need social support to overcome their experiences.

[Seo, InJi]

I think if western government intervened in the genocide in Rwanda, the number of victims might have been less. In this case Hutus were too strong, so Tutsis couldn’t protect themselves. Therefore, if other countries had concentrated on the incident of Rwanda and helped Rwandans, many people could have survived.

[Mi Hye Ahn]

I think that Rwanda didn't have the power to put an end to the genocide. Therefore, they needed the help of other countries, but they didn't get any help from other country. So, if many countries had helped to end the genocide in Rwanda, the genocide could have ended early, and many people would not have been killed.

[Sujeong Hong]

The genocide in Rwanda should have been prevented. About 800,000 Rwandans were killed in only 100 days. If governments that have power had helped them stop killing each other, at least the number of victims would have decreased.

[Lee, Eun Hyun]

The genocide in Rwanda could have been prevented. I think if the western governments had intervened, the Rwanda genocide would have ended earlier and fewer innocent people would have died. Not only the western governments but also other countries didn't intervene because they didn't want to fight. If they had been concerned about Rwanda genocide, it could have been prevented.

[Yong Jin Lee]

The genocide in Rwanda could have been prevented if the western governments had intervened. However, the western governments refused to intervene because they gained nothing from it, rather they lost soldiers. It was an absolutely wrong decision. If they had intervened they could have saved many people who died for no reason.

[Sung Hwi Chung]

During the Rwandan genocide, more than 1 million people died. It was a huge genocide, but the U.N. argued that it was a rebellion. Whatever it was-- a rebellion or genocide-- they prevented world peace. Also, they sent troops to the Korean War. I don't know what the difference is between the Korean War and the Rwandan genocide.

[Lim Ju Hee]

In my opinion, the genocide in Rwanda could have been prevented. Rwanda’s government was not powerful during the war, so it was hard for it to settle the genocide by itself; that is, other countries’ intervention really was necessary. If the western governments had listened to Dallaire and then sent more troops to Rwanda, many Rwandans could have been saved.

[Eunjin Kim]

In my eyes, the genocide could have been prevented because it was not a genocide at first. It was only a small ethnic conflict when the war which happened in Rwanda broke out. Noone, however, was concerned about the war. If the western government had sent some troops at that time, the genocide could have been prevented.

[Jordan Dempsay]

Rwanda is proper bo! Respect!

[Lauren Bremeur]

I'm doing a history project on this, and it is very hard for me to read some of these things. I had no idea that this ever happened until I was assigned to research it. Which is sad, because if no one teaches the youth about these terrible things, some stupid idiot is going to go create anther act of genocide in the future. This is very sad.

[Yao Zhong]

Rwandan Genocide - The systematic killing and mass murder of Tutsis and Hutu moderates by Hutu extremists.

It was primarily the cause of ethnic conflict due to the favor and aristocracy of Tutsis back in the colonial days of Africa. In the course of 100 days, 800,000 were killed, hacked to death by machetes.

UN forces did little, only to stand by when this all happened. They could have used military force which was the only effective way to stop an ongoing massacre. The Rwandan Genocide became a controversy, sparking further debate about the responsibility of the United Nations.

To this day, I still haven't got a clue why UN forces haven't intervened earlier.

[Rwanda 1994]

This is the saddest thing I have ever seen in my life. Yet it seems no one has learnt from it or the genocides before it. Why do we keep making the same mistakes? 'One can not be a expert in other people's experiences...we can only be an expert in what we have lived.' This genocide could have been prevented all together and would of been if the Rwandans had had something the UN wanted but they didn't. Learn from our mistakes and never let this happen again.