Could the genocide have been prevented?

The 1999 BBC article, Rwanda slaughter 'could have been prevented,' addresses the question of whether or not intervention by the U.N. and several western governments could have prevented the killings in Rwanda.

The United States, Belgium, France, and the United Nations were all warned of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda; however, none of them chose to intervene. During the ninety days of slaughter, over half a million people were killed, but no one acted to stop the killings.

Photo by Donald Miller (Used with permission.) See more photos of Rwanda
in his Photo Gallery.

This Canadian Press article, Dallaire in Rwanda for first time since genocide reports how Dallaire repeatedly told the UN that he needed more troops and a change in his orders to allow those in his command to use force to stop the genocide, but the U.N. did not listen. If the U.N. had sent more troops and changed his orders, Dallaire is confident he could have prevented the killings.

Your thoughts:
Judging from what you have read, do you think the slaughter in Rwanda could have been prevented if the U.N. had listened to Dallaire? Could he have made a difference?

Comments

[Lim Ju Hee]

In my opinion, the slaughter in Rwanda could have been prevented. General Romeo Dallaire warned several times of the 1994 systematic killing, but support forces were never sent. If some countries had listened to Dallaire's warning, many people could have been saved and they might not have lost their family.

[Mi Hye Ahn]

In 1994, there was a civil war in Rwanda. At that time, Rwanda didn't have a powerful government, so they separated into two groups which were the Hutus and the Tutsis. They had fought each other such a long time that many people had been killed. Therefore, if Rwanda had had a powerful government, they would not have developed a civil war and many people would not have died.

[Yong Jin Lee]

If the western governments had sent more troops to Rwanda, they could have saved more people. However, they decided not to send because they did not want to intervene. A million people died with no reason because of one wrong decison.

[Demba]

If the western governments had listened to Dallaire, many lives could have been saved. Dallaire was really familiar with Rwanda, so the government could have listenned to him. Finally, many people died because of their indifference.

[Eunjin Kim]

In my opinion, the slaughter in Rwanda could have been prevented. If Dallaire's warnings had been accepted by the western governments, they could have helped a lot of Rwandans, and the genocide could have been settled.

[Sung Hwi Chung]

If the U.N. had helped Rwanda during the genocide, they could have prevented slaughter. During the genocide, about 800,000 people were murdered and many people died of poverty. Therefore, a million people died in Rwanda. It was a really huge trouble to their country.

[Seo InJi]

Absolutely. Problems such as genocide are hard for people to solve through their own efforts. In the case of the Rwandans, the Hutus were too strong so the Tutsis couldn’t prevent it. If the U.N. had listened to Dallaire, he could have helped the Rwandans, and many victims could have survived.

[Sujeong Hong]

If Americans had not been interested in saving money, they could have intervened and saved many lives. Because the genocide happened between people of the same race, Rwandans could not control themselves. However, many other countries turned their face away from this crucial incident.

[Lee, Eun Hyun]

Many people in Rwanda were killed because of many countries' apathy. The French could have saved more lives. And if other countries had intervened, the slaughter in Rwanda could have been prevented.

[Heidi Farrow]

No question, the world could have stopped 1994. Dallaire is considered a hero by many Rwandans even though the world refused to listen. Why does death mean so little to us when it happens in Africa? Basic humanity was forgotten during the genocide and the world later said 'Never again'.. Then Darfur... And what are we, the west, doing? Nothing. Like in Rwanda, we are closing our eyes and turing our backs. It makes me ashamed to be British!