After the Holocaust, the world had promised that they would “never again let anything like this happen.” In the spring of 1994, all hell broke loose as one million people died in the Rwandan Genocide. What happened to the promise to never let another genocide occur again Racism, competition of land between Hutu and Tutsi, and denying the situation in Rwanda as genocide, the killings occurred and continued for 100 long days. However, that all happened because of European colonization in Africa. Doc 1, by Gerard Prunier, states how the Belgians divided Rwanda people based on physical features. Doc 2, by Jared Diamond, shows the population density of Rwanda compared to the rest of the world. Lastly, Doc 3 was a press briefing explaining how and why the U.S. did not use the word ‘genocide’.
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It sent a chill down their spines when they heard how the Somalia extremists dragged the bodies of dead American soldiers through the streets. The Somalia Syndrome was a big reason in why the United States denied using the word genocide. It was denied out of fear; the last thing the U.S. wanted was an American soldier being dragged through the streets of Rwanda. “There is a reason for the selection of words that we have made.” [Doc.3] Indirectly, Ms. Shelley is saying that the U.S. or the UN will not call the killings in Rwanda a genocide. They were both fearful about what Rwanda would do if they interfered. The U.S. and UN were the only two forces at the time that could have stopped the genocide, but they did not out of fear. When the Rwanda Genocide ended 100 days later, nearly one million people were killed at the hands of army militias, friends, family, and neighbors alike. In a country with a population fewer than 8 million people, the number of people that died is overwhelming. The Rwandan Genocide evolved from European colonization. After colonizing racism, competition of land between the Hutu and Tutsi, and denial of genocide were reasons why the genocide began and continued. And to this day, the U.S., UN, and the rest of the world have felt the impact the Rwandan Genocide has put on
It sent a chill down their spines when they heard how the Somalia extremists dragged the bodies of dead American soldiers through the streets. The Somalia Syndrome was a big reason in why the United States denied using the word genocide. It was denied out of fear; the last thing the U.S. wanted was an American soldier being dragged through the streets of Rwanda. “There is a reason for the selection of words that we have made.” [Doc.3] Indirectly, Ms. Shelley is saying that the U.S. or the UN will not call the killings in Rwanda a genocide. They were both fearful about what Rwanda would do if they interfered. The U.S. and UN were the only two forces at the time that could have stopped the genocide, but they did not out of fear. When the Rwanda Genocide ended 100 days later, nearly one million people were killed at the hands of army militias, friends, family, and neighbors alike. In a country with a population fewer than 8 million people, the number of people that died is overwhelming. The Rwandan Genocide evolved from European colonization. After colonizing racism, competition of land between the Hutu and Tutsi, and denial of genocide were reasons why the genocide began and continued. And to this day, the U.S., UN, and the rest of the world have felt the impact the Rwandan Genocide has put on