Shake Hands With the Devil.
Good reference on the genocide (read this if you still have questions after watching the documentary): http://www.unitedhumanrights.org/genocide/genocide_in_rwanda.htm
Having just watched the documentary based on the book, and discussed a bit of the background to the Rwandan Genocide of 1994, what do you think?
Why do you think it happened? What might have prevented it? What could prevent it from happening again somewhere else? What do you think of Dallaire?
Leave a comment with your thoughts.
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DeleteI think it happened because their cultural differences, and from previous tension. It could of been prevented by the church like said in the movie by saying its a sin to kill,which it is and the whole genocide wouldnt of happened. To prevent it from happening somewhere else the UN could stop them and all the countries would defend the race by being attacked. Dallaire is a very courageous man who put his own life on the line for others, and he should be recognized more for what he did saving thousands of lives. I think he shouldnt feel the guilt that he has because he did all that he could have done and he didnt make it worse or anything just helped make it a little better.
ReplyDeleteI think it happened due to misunderstanding and from the tension between the two ethnic groups. Perhaps if they were closer and not given false information, it would not have happened. To prevent it from happening elsewhere I think people need to be educated in what happened in Rwanda. To prevent something from happening, they need to see the signs and stop them before it goes downhill.
ReplyDeleteI think Dallaire was a great man and a brave hero. Although the mission failed, he still fought to protect as many people as he could. Some people still make negative comments about him but he's a good man in my book.
I think it happened because of the years of suppressing and labeling them as different from their ruling country. Eventually they hated each other enough for the Hutus to try to kill all of the Tutsis. It might have been prevented if they tried to get them to live together instead of labeling them as different and furthering their segregation in their minds. To prevent this from happening we need to make sure all the cultures are listened to and have a voice to say what they want, and then be decided on diplomatically. I think Dallaire is a hero, and a really brave man. I think that he could have prevented a lot more killing if his superiors would have listened to him in the beginning. He also should be less down on himself for it happening and be glad that he was able to help the people he helped.
ReplyDeleteThe Rwanda Genocide was a very gruesome past to human history. It was very preventable, but sadly no other country wanted to get their hands dirty and help. Romeo Dallaire to me is a hero not only for saving thousands of people, he stood up for what he believed was right. Even though he wasn't able to stop the Rwanda Genocide, he tried everything he could. I think if the UN would have supported Romeo Dallaire and the church that had the power to say it was a sin to God. The whole Rwanda Genocide would have never happened. I think all of this happened because of Belgium coming down to Rwanda and taking their materials. Then when they were done, Belgium left no government body or any army to maintain order. In my opinion this can be prevented many ways in the future by having the UN doing what they are made to do.
ReplyDeleteI think it happened because of the false information that was given to them and their cultural differences. I agree with what they said in the movie, if the church said killing was a sin, this could of been avoided. learning from other people mistakes can help it from not happening somewhere else. we just need to look out for the signs and when we think it is starting to happen somewhere else, we can go stop it before it spirals out of control. Dallaire is an incredible man. He never gave up hope and stayed when no one else did. he did his best. He kept his team on track and he should not be guilty at all. He did a good job in Rwanda even though the mission failed. Some people say bad stuff about him but I think what he did was amazing, he could of just went home and leave but he stayed. even at times he felt like giving up he didn't give up. Dallaire should be proud of all the people he did protect instead of the people he didn't.
ReplyDeleteBased on what I obtained from the video, the hutu's and tutsi's had some conflict because of their different cultural backgrounds. I feel that the genocide could have easily been avoided, and that the hutu's went overboard. the tutsi's were a threat to the hutu's, that is why they wanted to gut out the tutsi population. However, it backfired because many hutu's were also killed in the genocide. If the hutu's and tutsi's could have came to an agreement, neither group would have felt threatened and it would have relived a lot of the negative tension. To stop this from happening somewhere else, the UN would need support from the stronger countries. Like the video stated, Africa is a black country, with little economic value, so stronger countries thought of the Rwanda genocide as a useless waste of time. If something like this were to happen in the US or Canada, there would be more support from other countries. Romeo Dallaire had a huge impact on the peace bringing in Rwanda. It is hard to see success from your own eyes, and Romeo was his biggest critic. He had a big job to do, and although his mission failed, he will still be known as an important figure of the Rwanda genocide. Dallaire should be forever recognized for his selfless, heroic acts that saved the lives of thousands of people.
ReplyDeleteBased on the documentary on the Rwandan Genocide of 1994, I feel it was an awful and horrific that reflected on the gruesome past on human history. It was a very much could of been prevented, but no other country felt the need to help because they all pretended not to no anything about what was happening. To me Romeo Dallaire, a brave and heroic figure to do what he could of done humanly possible because he believed what was good, when others did not even help in the slightest way,General Romeo Dallaire, pleading for 2000 more peacekeepers to be added to his insufficiently equipped 3000 man force. The UN refused to do anything. If other countries were to come and support Dallaire the Rwanda Genocide would be prevented. I feel the cause of the genocide was when Belgium entered Rwanda and took all of their supplies. Throughout this documentary on the genocide, I feel that it could of been prevented if the UN would actually do something about it, which is why they were created.
ReplyDeleteBased on the documentary on the Rwandan Genocide of 1994, I feel it was an awful and horrific that reflected on the gruesome past on human history. It very much could of been prevented, but no other country felt the need to help because they all pretended not to no anything about what was happening. To me Romeo Dallaire, a brave and heroic figure to do what he could of done humanly possible because he believed what was good, when others did not even help in the slightest way,General Romeo Dallaire, pleading for 2000 more peacekeepers to be added to his insufficiently equipped 3000 man force. The UN refused to do anything. If other countries were to come and support Dallaire the Rwanda Genocide would be prevented. I feel the cause of the genocide was when Belgium entered Rwanda and took all of their supplies. Throughout this documentary on the genocide, I feel that it could of been prevented if the UN would actually do something about it, which is why they were created.
ReplyDeleteThe Rwanda Genocide was From April to July 1994, members of the Hutu ethnic murdered as many as 800,000 people and more. This happened in east-central African nation of Rwanda. When I watched this documentary in class I thought it was very sad and heartbreaking to see the people in pain in suffering, I hope there is peace everywhere and even in Rawanda today.
ReplyDeleteThis war in Rwanda happened because there are 2 different cultures in 1 small country. the Hutu have the majority (~85%) of people while the Tutsi have a minority (~14%). With a Tutsi president in control and the 2 cultures believing they are completely distinct from one another a war broke out for control and land. The Hutu elites deiced that they wanted control since they have more people.
ReplyDeleteThis conflict could have been prevented if the catholic church had intervened. Both cultures follow the catholic church giving them the power to stop it.
This type of conflict can be stopped if the UN actually dose it's job. If the UN goes in to a place to try and find a way to stop the war from happening then this wont happen again.
Dallaire is a good man. He helped save a lot of lives.
I think it happened because of the differences in the two ethnic groups. The hutu's wanted to wipe out all of the tutsi's because to them they were different and a big threat to their culture. The hutu's killed 800 000 tutsi's but their plan also back fired because about 100 000 hutu's were killed. It definitely could have been prevented if the Catholic Church tried to make peace between the 2 two ethnic groups and if they could have had more support from other countries. If the UN had more troops they could have saved more lives. It can be prevented in other countries if the government, the UN, or an army can stop it. Romeo Dallaire is a hero to me for what he did. He saved many lives and extended the UN for more support. I'm glad he got to go back to Rwanda 10 years after the genocide to see the reality of the country and for closure.
ReplyDeleteI think the cultural differences between the Hutu's and the Tutsi's played a large part in why the genocide happened. The Hutu's felt that the Tutsi's were a threat to their culture. Although 800 000 Tutsi's were murdered, a large number of Hutu's were murdered also. I think the Catholic Church could have helped prevent this from happening. Many people there are very religious and attend church regularly. If the church had tried to make peace with the Tutsi's and the Hutu's, their hatred for each other would not have been as strong. I also think that if other countries paid attention they could have saved so many more lives. In my opinion, if this had been happening in Canada or the US, many countries wouldn't even give it a second thought and would be sending in their troops to help as quickly as they could. I think it can be prevented in other countries if the UN is given more support by receiving more troops to help and create peace like they're supposed to. In my opinion, I think Romeo Dallaire is a hero. He didn't give up, even when things were becoming more dangerous and he had less support.
ReplyDeletei think the Rwanda genocide happened because of the differences between the Hutu's and Tutsi's and because of the ongoing conflict beginning in 1990 between the Hutu-led government and the people of Rwanda. The Hutu's wanted to murder all the Tutsi's because the Tutsi's were different kind of people and made them look like a different kind of culture. This genocide could have been prevented by the Catholic Church having a lot more support from other countries. If there was more support from more countries then peace keeping efforts and trying to control the killings would have been a lot easier. In a matter of just over 4 months, 500,000–1,000,000 Rwandan people were slaughtered.
ReplyDeleteBased on what I saw in the video we watched in class, I think that the Rwanda Genocide happened because the Tutsi's had more control over Rwanda, and the government was Tutsi ran with a Tutsi president, the Hutus felt that the Tutsi's were over running them, even though most of the population was Hutu. The two ethnic groups were once labeled by race, and I also think that, had a huge part in why the Hutus chose to murder 800,000 Rwandans. I think that this problem could have been resolved a lot sooner, or even prevented if the Catholic Church would have stepped in. If the church would have tried to make peace between the two groups before it started to spiral out of control, maybe their hate for one another would not have be so strong. I also think that the countries that Dallaire called on for help, could have done a lot more then sit around and do nothing. They didn't want to get involved, and they didn't think that it was as serious as Romeo was saying. The UN also should have done more, and done their Job. In my opinion Romeo Dallaire is a hero, and he does not deserve to feel the guilt that he does, because he couldn't do more for Rwanda because the UN and other countries didn't step up to their plate and do their jobs, those are the people who should feel the guilt about the genocide. And the expand on Amanda R, And Emma S's thoughts on if this type of issue were to go on in Canada or The U.S you bet other countries wouldn't give it another thought to come in as quickly as they could with their troops to help, and that's the way our society works.
ReplyDeleteThe Rwandan Genocide was one of the most brutal and preventable events in resent history. If more people had the determination of Romeo Dallaire then the genocide could have been stopped before it happened. To see, smell and hear the things that he did, most people including myself would start to lose who they really were. The thing I find to be the most surprising is that the UN knew what was going on, but they did the least amount they possibly could to help the Rwandan people. Their excuse of sorts was the civil war going on in Yugoslavia, the way Romeo Dallaire saw it was racism, whites over blacks and it was far more brutal in Rwanda then it was in Yugoslavia, nearly one million deaths to the 260,000 in Yugoslavia. I look at Dallaire as the man who cared, the man who wanted to put an end to the suffering and for the most part he did, he did all that he could do.
ReplyDeleteI think it happened because of a power play, The Hutus wanted to over run the Tutsi's and they had larger numbers so they had the upper hand. I also feel like religion has atleast a small part in the affair. I think if the countries Dallaire asked for help had come to aid that could have helped prevent the issue. I think Dallaire really tried his hardest to do everything he could for those people. Even if it didn't save all of those immediately affected he did help them later on down the road.
ReplyDeleteThis was a brutal unralenting battle. I think it happend because the Hutu and Tutsi already had passed tensions and what really sealed the deal was when the Hutus plane got shot down contianing their president inside. The hutus were feroius and started killing kids, parents, and all alike.The hutus already had more in numbers giving the advantage for the battle. The battle could have easily been prevented by simply getting facts and not taking it out on the tutsis. This could be prevented anywhere by just getting facts and not taking it out on innocent people or others for things in the past. Romeo Dallaire was a good leader, he fought with forces when they were out numbered and had hope. When Romeo was pinned down in his bunker with his squad he joyed people up and played some music and danced to go their mind off of the bombs abd war. He gave hope and was determined.
ReplyDeleteI think that the genocide is and was such a big stain on the reputation of so many people and the developed countries of the world in general. Developed countries and the UN were both fully capable of preventing this disgusting genocide and were aware that it was happening which makes the fact that mush more sickening. It took us a whole month to finally decide to take some kind of action against the Rwandan genocide. I think it happened for the same reason anything negative happens these days. For the pure need and want to be bigger and better than someone else and to make it known that you are better, then to discriminate and punish those "inferior" people to show your power, to prove that you really are better. Also a part of it was because their inspiration and hope, their leader was shot down so they assumed it was the Tutsi's and their defensive side came out and they reacted. If the world put their racist ways behind them and realized that even though these people are African and live in a developing country and have less than us, that they are still people and they still have souls and ideas just like us and that they are worth it and worth saving, we could have helped them so much more. If we actually wanted to help them and tried to help them we would have succeeded. A way to stop this from happening again is to just go help as much as we can. I might sound cheesy, but if we all work together we can solve any world problem and we can make this world peaceful and 100% free and equal everywhere. Dallaire was an amazing person and was striving for world peace and was literally one of the only people who cared about what was happening in Rwanda and actively tried to stop it. He's a great inspiration to many people and always tries to make the best of situations.
ReplyDeleteThe genocide in Rwanda was terrible to say the least and could have been prevented if the UN had listened to Dallaire if they had sent like 100 troops or so. They would have been able to set up more UN bases and protected more people. A medical drop would have been good even though the UN said they couldn’t have prevented it (total lie) they could have at least acted “human”
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