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August 31, 2005
Genocide - Why?
A friend from the Landmark courses, Tessa, is off as part of her studies, to Rwanda shortly. She's been telling us of the plight, and organising various parties to raise money, and tell people what exactly happened there.
Last night, as I was flicking around the TV channels, I stumbled across a programme on BBC2 "Shaking Hands with the Devil". Looked interesting, so I sat down, cuppa in hand, and watched it.
The programme was a sort of biog on Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Roméo Dallaire, the UN commander of the Assistance Mission sent in to Rwanda in 1993. It went into graphic detail of the suffering and problems faced by all sides in what became a bloodbath. How the UN and the rest of the world failed the population of Rwanda. The genocide and it's beginnings. And how he felt on returning, 10 years later, to revisit the country.
Until last night I didn't really appreciate what the genocide really was. But on seeing that programme, it sickened me realising how something as horrific as that could happen in what is considered the modern age. And at the time the world seemed to be more concerned about one country and it's problems, and so willingly sacrificed another's 
They reckon that during the 100 day civil war in Rwanda near to 1,000,000 people were killed. And despite countless requests and agreements within the UN for support, the world just sat back and let it happen
I wish Tessa all the best in her endeavours, and if we could all take on a little of the challenge of making a difference, as she is, the world itself would become, I believe, a much more tolerant place as a whole.
Posted by alan at August 31, 2005 12:34 PM
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