[afro-nets] Remembering Rwanda

[Patrick Burnett <patrick@fahamu.org.za>]

Remembering Rwanda
------------------

FROM: Pambazuka News
http://www.pambazuka.org

EDITORIAL CONTENTS LIST

1. WHY WE MUST NEVER FORGET THE RWANDAN GENOCIDE

Why should the world bother to remember the Rwandan genocide?
Isn't it something we should rather seek to forget? GERALD
CAPLAN outlines the powerful case for why the genocide should
not be forgotten at any cost, looking at the collective respon-
sibility of humanity and the complicity of the West in turning a
blind eye to the 100 days of massacre that took place in 1994.

http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=21165

2. TOWARDS JUSTICE AND RECONCILIATION IN RWANDA: TAKING STOCK

"How can I forgive, when my livelihood was destroyed and I can-
not even pay for the schooling of my children," asks a widowed
Rwandan woman taking part in a reconciliation workshop. EUGENIA
ZORBAS looks at the progress towards reconciliation in Rwanda,
examining the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, gacaca
courts, issues of collective memory and the dangers of victor 's
justice.

http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=21166

3. SAFE SANCTUARY?: THE ROLE OF THE CHURCH IN GENOCIDE

Traditionally seen as places of sanctuary during times of tur-
moil, churches became the scene of some of the most haunting
massacres of the Rwandan genocide. CAMILLE KARANGWA charts the
complicity of the church in the time period up to and including
the 100 days of killings in 1994 and concludes that it would be
foolish not to acknowledge serious failings.

http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=21192

4. CHILDREN OF RWANDA: THE LEGACY OF GENOCIDE, THE FUTURE OF
RWANDA

In the language and logic of genocide, exterminating the "big
rats" also meant exterminating the "little rats". SARA RAKITA
examines the legacy of the genocide for Rwanda's children and
concludes that more can and must be done to help them.

http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=21167

5. A SEAT IN THE GRASS

LULEKA MANGQUKU, a South African woman, catches a bus through
Rwanda, attends a gacaca trial and contemplates the aftermath of
genocide. Drawing parallels with South Africa's 10 years of de-
mocracy celebrations, she asks the question: "Will confessions
and finger-pointing in open-air tribunals enable Rwandans, the
most Roman Catholic of Africans, to forgive 'until seventy times
seven?'"

http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=21168

6. WHY? HOW? SEARCHING FOR ANSWERS IN THE DIASPORA

Watching the genocide from their TV sets in the West, members of
the African Diaspora demanded answers to the why and the how of
what was taking place. But there can be no answers to this un-
speakable horror, says VINCENT GASANA, and the best that can be
done is to understand the circumstances surrounding the geno-
cide.

http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=21169

7. WHY DOES GENOCIDE 'HAPPEN'?

The immediate terror of genocide gives the impression that it is
an inexplicable mass crime of passion sparked by a single event,
such as the shooting down of the plane that killed the Rwandan
head of state in 1994. Nothing could be further from the truth,
states ROTIMI SANKORE. Genocide has clear economic, social and
political indicators that are identifiable long before the kill-
ing starts. The challenge is therefore to rid the world of the
injustices on which genocide is built.

http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=21207

8. MIRRORING RWANDA'S CHALLENGES: THE REFUGEE STORY

Millions of people scattered across the African continent and
the world in the aftermath of the genocide. Meeting the needs of
those returning has been a huge challenge that is not yet re-
solved. SARAH ERLICHMAN explains how the welfare of Rwanda's
refugees is integrally linked to the political and social-
economic future of the country.

http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=21170

9. FIVE DECADES OF FLEEING AND RETURNING PEOPLE

A decade after the genocide, the problem of Rwanda's refugees
persists. But while refugees may remain reluctant to return home
because of apprehension about unity and reconciliation, economic
problems and scarce land, the construction of a healthy society
in the country of a thousand hills will depend on a resolution
of the refugee crisis, writes VOLKER SCHIMMEL.

http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=21171

10. NEUTRALISING THE VOICES OF HATE: BROADCASTING AND GENOCIDE

Silencing the voices of hate does not involve draconian hate
speech laws or international military action. Rather, argues
RICHARD CARVER, the Rwandan experience shows that the solution
to hate speech is to entrench freedom of expression.

http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=21172

11. TEN LESSONS TO PREVENT GENOCIDE

In the ten years since the Rwandan genocide leaders of national
governments and international institutions have acknowledged the
shame of having failed to stop the slaughter of the Tutsi popu-
lation. At the 2004 Stockholm International Forum, "Preventing
Genocide: Threats and Responsibilities," many renewed their com-
mitment to halting any future genocide. Honouring that pledge
will require not just greater political will than seen in the
past but also developing a strategy built on the lessons of
1994. ALISON DES FORGES provides ten lessons for preventing
genocide.

http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=21173

* PLEASE SEND YOUR COMMENTS ON ANY OF THESE EDITORIALS TO
mailto:EDITOR@PAMBAZUKA.ORG

* Edited by Firoze Manji and Patrick Burnett. We would like to
extend our thanks to the contributors, who have freely given of
their time and energy.

* FEEL FREE TO FORWARD WIDELY!