Ideebate Rwanda Reflection

iDebate Rwanda Reflection Paper I had heard and written about the events of the Rwandan Genocide prior to when iDebate Rwanda came to our class, and thus was well aware of the struggles during and after the genocide. Knowing about this massacre, it is amazing to see that the younger generation is finding a way to heal and grow through debate. The genocide itself was truly horrific, and around 800,000 people were killed in the short span of 100 days, mostly being Tutsi and Tutsi sympathizers who were Hutu. iDebate Rwanda is a group of students who are living in the generation whose parents were involved or alive during the genocide, and are finding ways to cope with understanding why such horrendous acts were committed by their community. This generation has to deal with the struggles of the effects of divisionism and how the ethnic divide between the people was ultimately harmful and spurred the genocide. It was actually Belgian internationals who created the two ethnic classes, Tutsis were taller, had lighter skin, and generally looked European, whereas the Hutu were the majority of Rwanda. After the assassination of president Juvenal Habyarimana, who made efforts to create peace between the two races, Hutu extremists took this opportunity to unite other Hutus through manipulative rhetoric in propaganda. During the genocide, little outside help was given, leaving the civilians in Rwanda vulnerable to the massive militias and weapons they brandished. Even after 20 …show more content…
The students also told us about themselves, and many of them had ambitions to attend colleges or universities in the future. Additionally, they gave their input on how living in a post genocide society has impacted them and how they personally cope with the horrors that happened in their country. The main emotions from many of this generation are