Many innocent lives were taken during the genocide in Rwanda in 1994. Philip Gourevitch’s “After the Genocide” explains why the genocide that occurred in Rwanda should not be written as just a slaughtering of people but should also show the pain it left behind in its wake. Gourevitch’s essay entails the stories of the people he interviewed when he went to Rwanda. These stories express what people went through during the genocide, the loss they saw, the mass killings they tried to hide from, and pain that was left in the wake of the genocide. Empowered with bloodthirst the Hutus sought out to eliminate the Tutsi population. The acts of terror committed by the Hutus can be seen on the streets and classroom, with cadavers covering the floor,
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The genocide was meticulously planned by the Hutu’s with the influence and money. Even though the big financiers don’t do their own killing, people looked up to them as they were of higher socio-economic standing. In Rwanda “everyone obeys authority,” and the Hutu Power took advantage of this. As the people were not well educated it was easy to manipulate them. First, weeks before the massacre even took place there was propaganda on the radio and newspapers where people openly talked about committing mass genocide against the Tutsis population. The Hutu Power knew “mass violence too, must be organized; it does not occur aimlessly.” Second, to ensure an effective massacre the Hutu Power set up militias training camps as “great and sustained destruction requires great ambition.” With the Hutu Power ready to strike, in their final step, they armed the public and showing them how to behave, which led to the genocide that exterminated an entire subpopulation of more than a million men, woman, and children. The circumstances and the big financiers turned civil and good people into murderers and looters. Someone who was not a killer was forced and pushed to kill, as the men behind the genocide did not want any opposition later. Once they had gotten the taste of blood, they no longer needed to be externally motivated to kill, the killing had turned into a game, driving them for more. The Hutus population had been robbed of their humanity by the people with socio-economic standing. With the effects comparable to a neutron bomb, even though the structures stood in place, the people who made those houses homes had perished from the
The genocide was meticulously planned by the Hutu’s with the influence and money. Even though the big financiers don’t do their own killing, people looked up to them as they were of higher socio-economic standing. In Rwanda “everyone obeys authority,” and the Hutu Power took advantage of this. As the people were not well educated it was easy to manipulate them. First, weeks before the massacre even took place there was propaganda on the radio and newspapers where people openly talked about committing mass genocide against the Tutsis population. The Hutu Power knew “mass violence too, must be organized; it does not occur aimlessly.” Second, to ensure an effective massacre the Hutu Power set up militias training camps as “great and sustained destruction requires great ambition.” With the Hutu Power ready to strike, in their final step, they armed the public and showing them how to behave, which led to the genocide that exterminated an entire subpopulation of more than a million men, woman, and children. The circumstances and the big financiers turned civil and good people into murderers and looters. Someone who was not a killer was forced and pushed to kill, as the men behind the genocide did not want any opposition later. Once they had gotten the taste of blood, they no longer needed to be externally motivated to kill, the killing had turned into a game, driving them for more. The Hutus population had been robbed of their humanity by the people with socio-economic standing. With the effects comparable to a neutron bomb, even though the structures stood in place, the people who made those houses homes had perished from the