Shake Hands With the Devil. This documentary sticks with you -- the idea that human life could be valued so little by so many is shocking. One hopes that the global community can learn from horrific events, but sadly we seem to repeat them too often.
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.
I think that the fault of this genicide was people not being educated enough. If people knew this would of never happend. It is also the UN's fault for sending them in the first place. You cant help a country when everyone is at war. You maise well round up people and shoot them if you were going to do that. Dallaire had no chance of helping people even if he was properly funded.
ReplyDeleteFrom Dallas
I believe that what happened in Rwanda was an extremely terrible thing. The fact that the UN wanted to have no part in the conflict, and that they didn't care if a genocide was coming is appalling. Its good however that at least one person attempted to help, even though it was ultimately a failure. Romeo Dallaire was trying to make a difference,but was shut down by the UN and in doing so. It made the UN peacekeeping system a joke.
ReplyDeleteOne of the most shocking things from the documentary, in my eyes, was the role the catholic church played in the Rwandan Genocide. Its something i would be interested in further investigating to see if they really could've completely prevented the mass murders that took place in 1994. I think it happened because of lack of respect. The whole reason it happened was because the Hutu's were led to believe the Tutsi's were stealing they land and resources, even though the Tutsi's were the minority. It could've been prevented if outside variables stepped into the circle of tension such as world powers or the catholic church. The realization that what was happening was a sin, could've been enough to stop the Genocide. Romeo Dallaire was an amazing man. He mad a huge impacted on the situation. Although it was preventable by the time he got there, he saved thousands of lives and refused to abandon the helpless people of Rwanda even when ordered out by the UN.
ReplyDeleteThe Rwanda Genocide is surely a tragedy and it's sad on how the UN acted towards it and didn't treat how they should have by sending in more peacekeepers to stop the slaughter of Tutsi. I'm suprised that Dallaire was so determined to help the people of Rwanda that he would defy the UN orders to retreat from the area and comeback after everything calmed down, most commanders would have followed orders and backed down even if they didn't like it but Dallaire was sure he could help and save lives even if it risked his own life and if he survived the UN could have gotten him into trouble. More lives could have been saved if the UN actually cared about it.
ReplyDelete- Ryan M
I think that the genocide would be preventable by education. i also think the UN should have done something at least to protect civilians
ReplyDeletei believe this happened because of the economical and political events, the Hutus were looking for someone to blame the poor living conditions and lack of wealth. The Tutsis were the perfect people to blame, they controlled many government positions and generally lived better. With the Hutu controlling almost 80% of the population it wasn't hard to almost completely erase the Tutsi population. This could have been avoided by simply supplying more UN troops, general Romeo Dellaire wasn't properly supplied with troops, vehicles, food, water and weapons. If this ever happens again the world community needs to intervene right away. I think Romeo Dellaire did everything he was supposed to and more, he is a true hero
ReplyDeleteCaelan
I think the genocide could be prevent if Belgium did not leave one group controlling the country, making a plan and a integration between the different groups living in the country. In my opinion what can prevent it form happen again is the education, show to everybody how bad the situation can be when one group try eradicate a minority, and with the leaders of the most powerful countries stopping thinking just about the money and starting thinking about the people.
ReplyDeleteThis film was highly traumatizing; it stuck with me throughout the whole day. I think the war was inevitable, but it could've been handled and controlled way better than it was. I mostly blame the world's governments and the UN for not acting on this genocide, and for completely ignoring that it was even taking place. Even after this war was over, other countries did not show support; the 10 year anniversary for example. I believe Dallaire did everything he could, and that people need to stop criticizing his leadership.
ReplyDeleteThis event occurred because a Tutsi group decided to shoot down the Presidents' plane which resulted in him dying. The president was Hutu so all the Hutus' got enraged and decided that they wanted to kill the Tutsi. With every little problem coming up everyone decided to blame the Tutsi because they were the smaller group (about 15%). The Catholic church could prevent all this if they said that going against or bullying the Tutsis was a sin everything would of stopped. I think Dallaire was a good man who stayed back to save people when he was told that he had to leave.
ReplyDeleteSeth
ReplyDeleteShake hands with the Devil was a very interesting documentary to me. It’s the same repetition of history that we see all the time with any genocide. People always want to choose a scapegoat. The genocide could’ve been prevented if the UN became more involved and there were more meetings that were able to be set up. It could also be prevented in other places if people had more power to choose their leaders. I personally believe Dallaire was a great general and one of the greatest Canadians that have lived.
This movie was a bit disturbing to see, it shows how a group of Hutu can be manipulated by a higher power(government) into hurting another innocent group called the Tutsi without question. The use of intimidation and the continuous use of lies in radio to control people and to make those same people kill their brothers, sisters, wives, husbands and neighbors just because they are opposing the opinion of killing or are part of the group being killed is upsetting because it is realistic and it can happen and though it is preventable, people in power will do it to get rid of anything standing in their way to stay in power.
ReplyDeleteRomeo Dallaire is a brave and amazing person, and he shouldn't be blaming himself for what happened in the Rwandan genocide because he did all he could do even without the help of the UN and the other higher power countries.
The genocide that happened in Rwanda was truly terrible. I couldn’t even imagine living with the memory of this event. This documentary really taught me a lot about the genocide. I think Dallaire was a true hero to the victims of Rwanda. I think he is an inspiration to people around the world, and should aspire to have his bravery and courage. It is misfortunate that the other countries and the United Nations turned their heads away from Rwanda in their time of need. I think future genocides could be prevented if supporting counties stick to being peace keepers and not give up on the third world countries. I will definitely never forget this film, as it will stick in my mind for a long time. –Emily E
ReplyDeleteMeagan. H
ReplyDeleteI think it happened because the Hutu wanted someone to blame for their economic problems and they went to the lower class people to pin their problems on, they thought the only way to resolve this was by murdering anyone who was Tutsi or anyone who believed they should not be murdered even including people who were Hutu. I think what would have prevented it was sending in more troops to control the problem , it would have ended it a lot earlier and also setting up more bases to protect the Tutsi people. I think it could be prevented in the future by creating more laws against it and for the people to have more power about who is leading their country. I think Dallaire is a great leader and a great Canadian.
Gemma Hansen
ReplyDeleteThis documentary depicted the events of the Rwandan genocide extremely well. Especially when I have never learned about the events until grade 11. I believe this is a direct example of that this event could have been prevented if the world was educated on current events. I believe that governments and media outlets around the world have a duty to report events that are happening in third world countries. There has been extreme fighting today in Congo, and I haven't seen anything on it in the 5 oclock news. Why is that? Maybe it's because we believe that third world countries need to figure it out on their own. Romeo Dallaire was one of very few that genuinely cared about the events in Rwanda, and he felt the duty as a human to help the citizens. He risked his own life to save thousands of people, even though he later had to deal with PTSD and depression. I think Dallaire is a true hero, as well as a true human being. He put his own well being on the line, just to save people he didn't even know.
What happened there was a horrible thing, I think what happened was because the hulu people had their perspectives on the Tutsi people and the hulu people were having problems and almost every person does something stupif when they're having problems. The hulu people acted out by killing many people and blaming the Tutsi people for everything that was wrong, I think Dallaire was a good person for him trying so hard to help the Tutsi people, and showing many people that he would do anything to help them
ReplyDeleteI Think this happened because the Hutu felt they had revenge on Tutsi for the actions they made. If they would have been more civil about it then it wouldn't have gone so far that children to parents were getting killed from left to right and nobody had a care in the world as to what was happening during this genocide. If people made peace with each other and realize that their lives are just as precious as there's then they would have that mindset towards knowing that killing isn't going to solve the problem, just make it worse. I think Dallaire is one of the most amazing people on this earth to be able to stand up for what he think is right and for the people is a big step especially since he didn't have a crew behind him to help, he was the only one who believed that there was an end to this and he proved himself right. He helped many families and took a role that nobody else did or would have had the courage to do. - Shalane Knudsen
ReplyDeleteWhat a day to be Canadian
ReplyDeleteJuly 1st 1867
On July 1st 1867, celebrations occurred nationwide as confederation passed and Canada became an independent country. With the uniting of Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, the dominion of Canada was created, all thanks to the doing of Sir John A. MacDonald. Obtaining the right to confederation was a long and difficult process. In September 1864, Canadians proposed the idea of confederation at the Charlettown conference; 2 years later delegates from Canada attended another conference in London, England in order to further discuss the plans of confederation. The future fathers of confederation all joined this conference. Queen Victoria approved the British North America act on March 21, 1867 and was put into place on the first of July, thus creating Canada day.