A Failure to Act - Rwanda
This post is different in that you will respond to questions based upon what you have seen in the movie. You can simply answer in same number format that is presented here if that is easier for you.
The picture above is a collection of weapons that were collected at the border after the genocide was over. The genocide in Rwanda left many hundreds of thousands of Tutsi and moderate Hutu's dead. The reasons why genocide happens is complicated and confusing. Based upon what we watched so far in class, please respond to the following:
1. How did the radical Hutu's incite racist, genocidal actions among their followers (Give multiple examples)?
2. Why is control of the Radio Station so important to the Hutu movement?
3. The leader of the Rwandan government army during the genocide reminds a U.S. State Department official that Rwanda has no oil and no natural resources. Why did he say this?
3. The leader of the Rwandan government army during the genocide reminds a U.S. State Department official that Rwanda has no oil and no natural resources. Why did he say this?
1. The Hutu militia played a big role in this. The gathering and training of young Hutu's and dispensary of weapons made genocidal actions possible. There was also many negative chants going on about the Tutsis. The radio also helped spread Hutu ideas and interest.
ReplyDelete2. The radio station is the Hutus most popular means of communication. Without the radio, stray radical Hutus that support the movement would be lost, and not know what to do.
3. At that time, the countries that were interested in Rwanda were primarily interested in Rwanda's oil and natural resources supply. The general wanted to question America's intentions and see if America was going to engage in war.
1. The Hutus being the majority have access to a lot of people and resources. The Hutus began by dehumanizing the Tutsis by calling them roaches and other demeaning things. To tell the difference between the groups it was required to carry an ID card.
ReplyDelete2. Having control of the radio station is very important because the Hutus use it to communicate their ideas through the country. It supports and encourages other Hutus to support the "Genocide".
3. He said this to see if America would do the moral thing which our government is laid upon.
1. The Hutus had a majority in Rwanda which means that they had access to a larger number of people for an army/militia. The training camps, the radio station propaganda, and the racial slurs aimed at the Tutsis such as "cockroach" were used to incite Hutu followers into a racist movement.
ReplyDelete2. The radio station is important to the Hutu movement because it is their main form of propaganda and recruitment. It also provides a way for the Hutus to find wanted people or kill other groups that are in hiding.
3. The African man said this because he believes the US only interferes in other countries when it has something to gain, such as oil in the Middle East.
1. The Hutus began to have a large hate for the tutsi when belgium took the tutsi, (the minority) and gave them power over the hutu. They had to be separated with their ID cards that said if they were Hutu and Tutsi. The Hutu being the majority gave them the man power to over through the Tutsi. With the power they knew they could have extremists began to infuse dehumanizing views into the people of Rwanda. The radio stations were a huge part in the genocide.
ReplyDelete2. The Huts used the radio station to dehumanize the tutsi, organize the hutu extremists, grow the grow, and signal when killings should be made.
3. He reminds them of these facts so that the US knows there would not be a great reward in helping out the people of the country. The US acts of helping the tutsi, would have to acts after in our favor. It would only be for our moral sanctity.
1. Because the Hutu had majority in Rwanda they controlled radio stations and media where they made racial slurs such as calling the Tutsi "Cockroaches". The Hutu often said they were going to "Exterminate" the Tutsi.
ReplyDelete2.Control of the radio stations were important because it made it easy to dehumanize the Tutsi and get their message out. They also use it for organization purposes.
3.He said this to remind the US Rwanda has nothing that this country needs. He wanted to see if the US would help because it was the right thing to do, not because there would be a reward.
1. From what I can tell, there is the constant background "noise" coming from the radio. It seems they are constantly feeding listeners the violent and racist ideologies that feed the genocides fire.
ReplyDelete2. The radio is sort of like a widespread speech. It gives the station the ability to constantly remind and feed these people motivation and reason to the cause.
3. It is unfortunate, but if the country did have oil, I feel there could have been a stronger possibility that the US would have intervened. If there was oil, that would have been an actual benefit to the US.
1. The Hutus did so by spreading anti-Tutsi sentiments around Rwanda (largely through propaganda), and by organizing a large, strong militia that was dedicated to the cause of genocide.
ReplyDelete2. The radio station was the Hutu's means of spreading their anti-Tutsi sentiments. The radio itself was propaganda and was also a powerful tool for organization. The radio station had a very large influence on public opinion.
3. Because at this point in time, the US had a reputation for only getting involved in situations internationally that would benefit the US. The Hutus wanted to remind the US that they would gain nothing by intervening.
1. The Rwandan military trained young men how to use dangerous weapons against the Tutsis. The Hutus demanded to see ID cards from everyone to find out if they were Tutsi so they could kill them. The Hutus also referred to the Tutsis as cockroaches, vermin, and insects which is known as dehumanizing. Dehumanizing a group a of people is one of the first steps of genocide.
ReplyDelete2. The radio station played a major role in the genocide. It was mainly for propaganda, and for hating on the tutsis. The radio station also gave listeners motivation for the genocide.
3. The leader of the Rwandan military government says this so that the US does not get involved/interfere in the genocide.
1. The Hutu's categorized the Tutsi's as cockroaches and other dehumanizing names. They also creates a strong militia that many Hutu's wanted to be apart of.
ReplyDelete2. The radio station was a huge factor in the radical spread of the genocide. Radio is (most of the time) a well respected source for information. Listeners would listen to the hateful words spoken and begin to get rallied up. It was also used for organization of the wide spread followers.
3. The leader of the Rwandan government said this to inform the U.S. that there is no benefit to them for getting involved. They would purely be doing it based upon their own morals.
1. The Hutu's went after the Tutsi's and generally would call them cockroaches. Other than shooting, the Hutu's used machetes to kill the Tutusi's.
ReplyDelete2. The radio station was a hate radio towards the Tutsi. On the radio, they encouraged Hutus to go after the Tutsi.
3. The U>S didn't want to get involved when it came to these actions. As long as they didn't say these killings was a genocide, they didn't have to intervene. The leader saying that was in hope that the US would intervene.