A Uniquely Horrific Genocide

The Rwandan genocide lasted 100 days and over 800,000 people were killed. This was one of the most effective genocides in all of history. What made this massacre uniquely horrific was that it was neighbor killing neighbor and sometimes friend killing friend. I cannot imagine what this would be like. The Hutu extremists not only killed the Tutsies, they did it in the most inhumane ways imaginable. In the cities and most populated areas machetes, clubs, and grenades were used. In the more rural areas, silverware, screwdrivers, and other weapons were used as well. Many people were chopped to pieces and left to die. Since the Hutus and Tutsies were often intermingled, many families were split. In Jean Hatzfeld's book, Life Laid Bare: The Survivors in Rwanda Speak, one boy tells of a Hutu husband who killed his Hutu wife for helping a Tutsi boy (14).
Women and children were literally hacked to pieces in front of churches, in their houses, and in marshes (where they tried to escape). Many people tried to take refuge in the churches but the Hutus would throw grenades inside and blow the people up. It is appalling that people were massacred inside or infront of churches because these were seen as holy places or places of refuge. The Hutus were so eager and focused on exterminating the Tutsies that they violated places of refuge and killed thousands of people there.

(Picture below: Tutsi survivor; Picture above: bones collected from massacred Tutsies)

Each survivor has a different way of coping with their situation. Some Tutsies say, as quoted in the book Life Laid Bare: The Survivors in Rwanda Speak, that "'life has broken down,' whereas for others, it has 'stopped,' and still others say it 'absolutely must go on'" (Hatzfeld 4). Many of these people do not know who to trust or if they will ever trust again. Who can blame them? For some of them, their lives have become lonely, some live in constant fear, some live in an emptiness, and some live with a determination to live on and honor the ones who died. In Life Laid Bare: The Survivors in Rwanda Speak, a young boy named Cassius Niyonsaba was one of these determined individuals. When he visits the church where his family was killed he remembers his loved ones and is at peace and decides to push on. Characters like this boy inspire me to make a difference and to help those in need.

Sources:
A Problem From Hell: America and the Age of Genocide
Life Laid Bar: The Survivors in Rwanda Speak
http://www.themwambafamilyfoundation.org/mediac/400_0/media/genocide_rwanda11.jpg
http://www.hrw.org/photos/2003/rwanda/images/1.jpg
http://www.usafricaonline.com/genocide.rwanda11.jpg
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_Oxld2yxa-pM/RxfNBz1HCnI/AAAAAAAAE9I/s_1HDxXcv1I/P1010249.JPG