Rwanda Genocide- What Lessons Can Be Learn By African Countries
Rwanda Genocide- What Lessons Can Be Learn By African Countries
Genocide refers to dehumanizing acts such as mass killings of people by ill-intentioned perpetrators. The history of genocides is defined by events such as the holocaust and the Rwanda killings. The Rwanda genocide took place in 1994 and lasted for 100 days. The mass killings began after a missile strike killed the sitting president. The Hutu-dominated government and a group of allied militia carried out a mass execution of 800000 Tutsi in the effort to eliminate the tribe (Beauchamp, 2020). In retaliation, the Tutsi’s killed over 100000 Hutus. Over 70 percent of the minority Tutsi were killed during the period. The genocide came to an end after the government-army led rebels were defeated. The focus of this paper is to examine the Rwanda genocide of 1994 and pick lessons that Africa can learn from it to better the future.
First, Africa learns that tribalism is lethal and threatens the existence of a nation. Primarily, tribalism perpetuated by the political class is even more dangerous. Thus African communities must reject politics of ethnicity and hatred fuelled by leaders who want to gain positions in government (Alvarez, 1999). Instead, they should focus on building a nation in which diversity becomes a strength and not a weakness. Further, countries with numerous tribes should foster mechanisms geared towards nationhood and backtrack from ethnic profiling of communities. Alternatively, all tribes irrespective of their numbers should be treated equally, and the resource sharing methods should favour all. That includes coming up with an all-inclusive governance model that allows all the communities to be well represented. In places where party systems are established, the candidate produced should be supported by all people irrespective of the ethnic background. Ultimately, the concept of tribalism in a nation should be wholly forgotten, and people should embrace symbols of national unity as opposed to their tribes.
Secondly, the value of human life needs to be safeguarded by all means. It is the responsibility of every government to protect the life of its people. That is a fundamental right that is enshrined in the constitutions of many African nations. The leaders should adhere to the provisions of the law that protect life and not relinquish it. However, governments on their own are inefficient in defending the presence of the people. The people need to rise to the occasion and work in collaboration with the government to safeguard the life of their fellow citizens. The Rwandese people had the opportunity to stand out and protect their fellow citizens by rejecting violence and hatred perpetrated by the political leaders at the time, but they failed. As a result, the country dived into a massacre that claimed the life of their families, relatives, and neighbours. Therefore, every African government needs to learn that life is sacred and lay down clear policies to preserve human life. Some of these should include measures to detect and manage ethnically-motivated conflicts. Problems that may have resulted in ethnic clashes in the past, such as conflict over resources, ought to be resolved amicably.
Moreover, it is obvious that war has detrimental economic ramifications. Rwanda, which is an already an impoverished nation, has struggled to recover from the economic slump. The countries agricultural sector, which is the backbone of the economy, was hard hit since the war clashed the farmer-spirit. Consequently, the small scale businesses went under, followed by financial institutions, energy, and education sectors. Even worse, international investors withdrew from the war-torn country. The recovery of the economy after the war has been slow and requires advanced strategies. The Rwanda government had to scale up its effort to make the economy thrives again. One of the interventions was to make subsidies to attract investors and make the farmers go back to their farms. Moreover, the government had to deal with the problem of a weakened currency that had lost its value. Thus the African government ought to take this vital lesson and ensure war or violence does not break out in their nations. That will require them to develop action plans to deal with early signs of war since the war has far-reaching consequences on the economy.
It should also be noted that war has many casualties. A large number of citizens of a warring country end up dying in war. Those who survive the war have a difficult time rebuilding their lives without their loved ones. Some hardly recover since they are traumatized, and after the war, they suffer from psychological conditions (Clark, 2009). Families systems are disrupted, and those left behind have to learn to live with the loss. In particular, children are the main casualties of war. Many are forced to lead an orphan life without basic needs, such as food. Additionally, a massive number of citizens free the country to other peaceful neighbouring countries. That adds to the already swelling number of refugees globally. For instance, Rwanda had over two million refugees who were displaced by the civil war. Today, some of them have not returned to their country. Since Africa is already dealing with a large number of refugees from war-torn nations, the leaders must prevent the outbreak of war in their countries.
The primary catalyst of war is the wrong motive. It doesn’t require sophisticated weapons to carry out mass killings in a nation. If the citizens have no values that bind them together, they can use even crude weapons to destroy their lives. In Rwanda, most of the killings were done by people using knives and traditional weapons. Surprisingly enough, it was neighbors who turned against themselves with machetes and knives and killed one another. Therefore, the African government must raise individuals with ethical values through education and moral institutions to restore the moral fabric of society.
African countries should also learn that it is time to rise and deal with its problems without expecting help from the western world. In particular, Africa must address the war crisis that faces the continent. In the case of the Rwanda genocide, the western nations took long to offer assistance primarily since they do have an interest in the nation. Thus, this move sends a message to the African leaders that they are the only ones in a position to deal with civil war engineered in the continent. The continent must come up with peaceful interventions to address the governance problems without having to go to war. Alternatively, the leaders should invest in education to deals with issues of tribalism right from an early age.
The perpetrators of the genocide should be allowed to heal and should not be condemned or dehumanized. Otherwise, dehumanizing them defeats the purpose of reconciling the nation (Caplan, 2006). Their voice ought to be heard and given the opportunity to reconsider their ways; they can contribute to the growth of the nation. Further, the perpetrators can provide an insider perspective of the events that acclimatized to the breakout of the genocide. That would help the policymakers in sealing the existing loopholes in the system. Additionally, since most of the perpetrators are army officers who have a lot of influence, it is important to give room for discussions and avoid having two army groups, which may worsen the situation.
It is also crucial to appreciate that genocide is caused by common men like us who are facing certain unfavorable conditions and not by psychopaths as some of us put it. Therefore, it is a crime that can occur in our midst. It all depends on how we manage the circumstances that we go through to ensure we are not hostile to others or perpetrate violence. Thus the African government should ensure that ordinary people who express sharp criticism or disagreement with others regarding matters of the tribe are counseled to avert violence.
It is important for Africa to learn that a nation can heal after the war and carry out reforms that make it a great nation. Rwanda is a good case study in this regard. President Kagame has managed to rebuild a nation that was once in chaos. His great effort has transformed society in diverse ways. In particular, investors are flooding the country since the country has a favorable business environment. Consequently, people have healed from the trauma since the government came up with the right interventions. Therefore, warring nations in Africa should learn from Rwanda and start rebuilding their economies.
It is also a lesson to Africa that the perpetrators of the crime should be held accountable for their actions. Killing is unlawful according to local and international standards. Thus the perpetrators should be tried according to the law, and the necessary penalty or imprisonment should be applied. The legal mechanism adopted should be thorough in addressing the crime to ensure that others with similar intentions learn from the experience. All the same, there are limits anchored in the law that should be respected. The perpetrators should not have their rights infringed on. Alternatively, if there is a reconciliation path that has been anchored in law, it can be pursued. Mechanisms such as the death penalty are not favorable for a nation healing from a massacre. Rather, the court systems should consider a combination of both the restorative justice model and retributive justice in dealing with perpetrators of violence whenever possible (Scheffer, 2004).
In conclusion, the Rwanda genocide was one of the most dehumanizing acts in history. It remains to be a painful experience for the Rwandese people who lost their families in the massacre. Approximately one million people were killed in the one hundred- day killings, and many were left homeless. The conflict was ethnically motivated as it led to the murder of about seventy percent of the Tutsi by the Hutus. Rebuilding the nation after such a conflict has been a great challenge for the sitting presidents. Therefore, there are many lessons that one can pick and learn from them to avert future conflicts. Among them is the need to eliminate tribalism and foster nationhood. African nations have a lot to learn from the 1994 Rwanda genocide.
References
Alvarez, J. E. (1999). Crimes of states/crimes of hate: lessons from Rwanda. Yale J. Int’l L., 24, 365.
Beauchamp, Z. (2020). What you need to know about the Rwandan genocide. Retrieved from https://www.vox.com/2014/4/10/5590646/rwandan-genocide-anniversary
Caplan, G. (2006). From Rwanda to Darfur: Lessons Learned?. Genocide in Darfur: Investigating the Atrocities in the Sudan, 171-179.
Clark, J. (2009). Learning from the past: three lessons from the Rwandan genocide. African Studies, 68(1), 1-28.
Scheffer, D. (2004). Lessons from the Rwandan Genocide. Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, 125-132.