Information Related to "Genocide Survivor: "I Hope We've Learned Our Lesson...""
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Genocide Survivor: "I Hope We've Learned Our Lesson..."by Joel Meeker"One day we were neighbors, and the next day the massacre began." That's how the survivor of a tribal massacre described the shocking turn of events that led to the murder of 18 of her family members. Her tragic story cuts to the heart of humanity's inability to find lasting peace… If it weren't for the sign outside the gate, the Catholic Church in Ntarama would seem little different from other churches in Rwanda. But in April 1994 horrifying events occurred that turned this church into a genocide memorial site. The sign says in French, English and the local Kinyarwanda dialect that nearly 5,000 people were murdered on this site—many in a single day. Pacifique Rutaganda and Dancille Nyirabazungu met us at the gate and explained that they were survivors of the attack at the church. Now they are state-appointed guides and caretakers of the site. To try to understand how something like this could happen, I had already read some background on the events of 1994. Especially useful was Philip Gourevitch's 1998 book We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families. Mr. Gourevitch explains how the two largest groups in Rwanda are the Hutu and the Tutsi tribes. Many researchers today believe that they did not actually begin as distinct ethnic tribes so much as economic entities. Under the precolonial Rwandan monarchy, the king was Tutsi and Tutsis were favored for government posts. But the barriers between the groups were porous. It was possible for a Hutu who succeeded financially to officially become a Tutsi. When European colonial powers arrived, however, they hardened the division, going so far as to issue ethnic identification cards in 1934. Hardening the tribal divide meant the path to advancement was closed to Hutus, since the European colonizers employed Tutsis to rule the country and discriminated against the Hutus when it came to educational and career opportunities (pp. 56-57). Read the full article at www.wnponline.org/wnp/wnp0708/wonderfulworld0708_survivor.htmRelated Information on UCG Sites:
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