to declare the united nation to declare genocide an international crime. Genocide starts when the group of people of the nation starts to classify themselves into a particular group and they are against each other. The groups that classify themselves use a particular symbol to identify themselves. The two groups denies the humanity of each group, they deny the humanity of the other group. The act is organized by the state in which the group is exiting and the extremists drive the groups apart. The victim group is identified by the other group and separated out because their religion or ethnic identity. After all this, the act starts and becomes mass killing which is referred to as genocide.
The Rwanda genocide which involves the mass killing of the Tutsi by the Hutu who were the majority of the government in Rwanda claimed the life of so many people. Members of the Hutu community who were the main ethnic community in the East-central African nation who killed more than 800,000 people who were from the minority community of the Tutsi was the main part of the genocide. Many of the Rwandans were killed and many were displaced from their homes and they had to seek another place where they will have peace and stability. On 13th May, Friday evening, the militia attacked the people of the town with the clubs and machete. The militia started by attacking the shopkeepers. The police marked their identity by gunfire’s in town. People were terrified a lot and they were confused not knowing what to do and where to start from as the war as already started which was marked with the presence of the militia and gunfire’s in town.
People were terrified and they started looking for refuge in any place they felt that they were secure and they were away from the militia. Some people ran to the town hall where they believed that they will get protection from the local authorities. The mayor was against their stay in the town hall and told them that they will be killed even if they hide themselves in the bush. People moved from the town hall to the church where they believed that they will find refuge and be protected from the attackers. Three days after the attack we move to another church so as to try to move far away from the militia who are attacking them. My family and the neighbors moved to the church so as to get refuge and survive from the war. During the night, we slept according to the strength of the individuals in the church. The weak sleep inside the church while the weak slept outside the church so as to protect the weak.
During the day, the courageous members of the group looked for food in the surrounding fields so as to feed the weak and the others members in the church. When the militia attacked the church, the men defend the church by throwing stones to them. The stones were gathered by us women because death was close to us and we did not want to die at that moment hence we had to defend ourselves in any way. Most of the people in the church were calm and they did not know when they will die and they waited for it as they know that they will die any minute. The killers were killing people merciless and they killed everyone in the church including children. They used club to kill both the young and the old mercilessly. They entered the church and cut come of my neighbors alive and others on their feet this occurred during the second day of the massacre. They killed people without even seeing whom they were killing.
We thought by being in the church, we were in the house of God and the killers will fear and spare our lives which was opposite as they did not care about the issue but killed my neighbors and friends mercilessly. We stayed in the church for one week and after we confirmed that the militia has moved to another area after they had accomplished their mission by killing many people as they were directed by their organizers. I took my brother and we took off from the church to our home to see if it still exists. We were shocked when we reached home as our home was totally destroyed and there was nothing left for us to call home. Our entire house was looted by the militants and all our property burned down. We decided to go to my grandfather’s place so as to seek refuge from there as we did not have any other place to call home. When we reached at our grandfather’s place, the place was isolated and there was no any mark to show the existence of a human being in that place. We called our grandfathers name but there was no one to answer us. I almost fainted when we entered the house; our grandfather was lying on the ground lifelessly. He was killed with the militant and was there lying without anyone having the information of his death.
The humanitarian intervention was from the church and other nongovernmental organization used to help us as they bring food and clothing to us. The perpetrators were being driven with the group pressure and they motivate themselves to kill as many people as they can as they took it as an achievement. The rescuers were driven by compassionate and humanitarian factor. Most of the acts during the genocide were driven with self motivated interests and they wanted to accomplish their mission.
Most of our neighbors were killed and we did not have any place to go as our neighborhood was isolated and we had to go back to the church where the other group who survived the war were. We find refuge there and interact with the other people and discuss the war which took our friends, neighbors and places we called home and we were in the church as refugees in our own country. The genocide claimed the lives of many people from my community who were the minority. The Hutu killed the Tutsi merciless and make most of us orphans and without places to call home.
References
Genocide and Humanitarian Intervention in the Twentieth Century. (n.d.). Rwanda 1994. doi:10.1057/9781137022325.0011
Genocide Archive Rwanda. (n.d.). African Studies Companion Online. doi:10.1163/_afco_asc_3032
Longman, T. (n.d.). Christianity and Genocide in Rwanda. Christianity and Genocide in Rwanda, xv-xvi. doi:10.1017/cbo9780511642043.001
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