Mass Grave at the Kigali Memorial Centre, Kigali - RwandaIt is hard to believe that today marks 15 years since all hell broke loose in Rwanda culminating in the brutal murder of 800,000 people in the space of 100 days. At the time, the international community seemed not to notice or care. Fifteen years later, the world seems more aware about what went on thanks to films such as Hotel Rwanda and Sometimes in April or books such as Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda. However, these were all too late for the victims of the genocide. This got me thinking. Has the world really learned any hard lessons from Rwanda? This morning on the BBC I heard a song by a Rwandan singer and the Ugandan girl group Blue 3 called "Never Again". Are there any guarantees that a genocide will not go almost unnoticed by the world EVER again?
I would recommend a virtual tour of the Kigali Memorial Centre online to learn about the genocide and read some of the harrowing stories from survivors.
I would recommend a virtual tour of the Kigali Memorial Centre online to learn about the genocide and read some of the harrowing stories from survivors.
10 comments:
if there was anything that hit me today it was this!
i'm finding it more and more difficult to understand why after all these long years of man and woman's existence man and woman are still murdering men and women!
i can only hope and pray that it never comes again!
meanwhile too, let us just cherish our roots. they can only be our roots whilst we respect others! RESPECT I BELIEVE IS THE WORD. i've be 100 times better off if i'm just respected that people pretending to LOVE ME.
now i miss Lucky Dube more! i'm gonna play his song! tears are welling up in my eyes!
peace!
Yes, Abena.
The lessons of the Rwandan genocide should be taught to students in High Schools all over the world so that the generations coming will learn a thing or two about the dangers of ethnic hatred, xenophobia and racism.
It is inevitable that as the world population grows, resources become scarce and the environment deteriorates tensions will become commonplace.
Conflict resolution practictioners will become some of the most sought-after specialists in the near future because of the above scenario.
The way that things look now, unfortunately I don't think it's guaranteed that it won't go unnoticed again..it's going on today and nobody's doing anything about it. The world leaders seem to be selectivly choosing who to help and who to pretend they don't know are suffering.
great job on this post.
Indeed Novisi, your words are touching and ring true. Speaking of the late great Lucky Dube, I was shocked to hear his killers stated that they thought he was a Nigerian. Shocked because they somehow felt that this provided some sort of explanation as to why they carried out such a heinous crime. It is a sad world we live in indeed.
You are so right Posekyere, there is a need to teach children young about tolerance.
Also, there is a lot debate about the role of limited resources in sparking off genocide....particularly in Rwanda. I still can't come to grips with the idea of neighbours turning against neighbours, friends turning against friends.
I totally agree with you Adaeze, world leaders selectively choosing whose conflict warrants intervention went on then and is still going on now. The whole geo-political world balance has to really be tipped!!
Thanks Omo Oba...I had written volumes about it but then later decided, the least said the better..
Thanks you for your thought provoking post..:)
"If there is to be peace in the world,
There must be peace in the nations.
If there is to be peace in the nations,
There must be peace in the cities.
If there is to be peace in the cities,
There must be peace between neighbors.
If there is to be peace between neighbors,
There must be peace in the home.
If there is to be peace in the home,
There must be peace in the heart"
Lao Tzu
Beautiful one Here, There...absolutely touching and true.
Post a Comment