The 1994 Rwandan genocide is being remembered in Italy, writes Samia Nkrumah from Rome A week-long event entitled "Italy for Rwanda" concluded last week in Rome to mark the tenth anniversary of the 1994 Rwandan genocide that claimed the lives of 800,000 Tutsis and 150,000 Hutus in one of Africa's most horrifying conflicts. The conflict left around three million displaced and injured, and continues to present a threat to the security and stability of neighbouring African countries. Two functions in particular dominated the event. The first is a powerful six-hour play, Rwanda 94 by Belgian director Jacques Delcuvellerie, that shed light on many aspects of the conflict including its origins, legacies, reconciliation, and not least the individual suffering of victims of the genocide. At the heart of the play is the unforgettable and terrifying testimony of one survivor, Yolande Mukagasane, who for the first 40 minutes tells the audience how she lost her husband and her four children but managed to stay alive with the help of a Hutu neighbour. With great dignity, despite the occasional moments when overcome by tears of grief, Yolande's direct and intimate account is horrifying without being melodramatic. Other real life Rwandan survivors and Belgian actors carried forward the action backed by contemporary music and African melodies. Another highlight was an encounter with Lieutenant General Roméo Dallaire, former force commander of the UN's Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) in 1993-94. Dallaire went into Rwanda in 1993 with the assumption that the peacekeeping force under his command would facilitate the Arusha peace accord, but instead became a witness to the unspeakable horrors of the mass slaughters. If Rwanda 94 was unsettling rather than entertaining, Dallaire's testimony was candid and relentless in its criticism of the major powers dominating the Security Council that failed to heed his early warnings and avert the mass killings. The failure of the UN's mission stands in stark contrast to Dallaire's and his force's perseverance, that enabled them to save thousands of Rwandan lives despite limited resources and men and negligible negotiating skills. His full account is found in his book, Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda (Random House, 2003). "The Rwandan genocide was the defeat of the humanity of the powerful states that refused to come to the aid of people in need," Dallaire said. The retired general had urgently called for an additional 2000 peacekeeping force to support his 3000 men, which, in his opinion, was sufficient to avert the killings at their outset. Instead his force was cut down to 500 men. Concurrent events at the time worked against Rwanda. Ten Belgian soldiers protecting the former Rwandan president were killed together with the president and her husband. Around 19 American soldiers had lost their lives in Somalia in that year. All the while, the ex-Yugoslavia was disintegrating into war. Dallaire's contention is that the world powers will only get involved if national or economic interests are at stake. Rwanda held no strategic or economic value. It is a small African country with few resources. Most importantly, Dallaire further suggests that this negligence is only a symptom of a racist attitude that affects international public opinion and influences decision-making. In fact, Dallaire's "cri de coeur" is not simply a faultfinding exercise, but in drawing on the lessons of 1994, it is a call for a reform at a level that goes beyond political and bureaucratic changes at the UN. Racism exists and while it is not articulated it ultimately influences many decisions. "Some humans are considered less human than others. Humans have been priorities. Africans don't count." More people were killed and injured and displaced in 100 days in Rwanda than in the whole eight years of the war in Yugoslavia and yet till today there are still peacekeepers in the Balkans. Even the manner in which the conflict in Rwanda was reported in the media reflects the low priority it was given. First, the media got involved only after the killings started, ignoring earlier evidence of growing tension. Surveys on major networks in the US alone, like ABC, CBS and NBC showed that more airtime was devoted to the trial of OJ Simpson and ice- skating champion Tonya Harding attempt to injure her opponents' knee than to the events in Rwanda in 1994. At the height of the massacres, the conflict was portrayed as a "tribal conflict" first and foremost. This stereotyping boosted justifications for non- interference. In reality, the two warring groups, the Tutsis and the Hutus share the same language and the same culture. Dividing lines were drawn at different periods of the history of Rwanda between the Tutsis and Hutus and exploited for extreme political or ideological aims. As brought out in the play, Rwanda 94, stereotypes have tended to identify Tutsis as patrons, rulers, and "less black", while Hutus as clients, subordinates, and more "Negroid". An individual could change identity working up the social ladder. Before Rwanda's independence, identity cards showed the ethnic identity of the holder. Poverty and fears over already limited basic needs further stoked the fires of rivalry and tension at different points in Rwanda's history as evidenced from the earlier massacres in Rwanda itself and in neighbouring countries. Ten years on, there is tension associated with the reconciliation process in Rwanda. On a recent visit to Rwanda, Dallaire notes that the growing infrastructure and rebuilding of many sectors is positive. The Tutsi-led government is introducing a decree that omits reference to a person's ethnic group. Yet the different groups emerging from the conflict are finding it hard to integrate. There are the Tutsi survivors who are regarded by many as possible collaborators in the genocide. There is, the mostly wealthy Tutsi Diaspora, many of whom are returning home. There are the poor and still homeless Tutsi victims and survivors, many women and children, who are still without homes. There are the Hutus just released from prison having served time for collaborating in the genocide, and who are claiming back their homes. Meanwhile, there is fear of the potential threat from extremists behind the 1994 massacres, some of whom are still at large in Europe, neighbouring countries, or in Rwanda's peripheries. One other consequence of the genocide is the decline of the Catholic Church, which was discredited due to the collaboration of certain priests and nuns with the perpetrators. Emerging evangelistic groups and a rise in Islam are filling up the vacuum. The international tribunal currently trying the top leaders of the genocide has been criticised for running expenses to the tune of $1 billion, money that could have gone into development sectors instead. But Dallaire argues that even if it takes decades, a tribunal is a far better way of dealing with extremists than war or counter killings. Dallaire who believes that the war in Afghanistan and Iraq were catastrophic decisions explained, "The world today is far less secure than at the height of the nuclear standoff during the Cold War because today there are no more rules since Afghanistan and Iraq. Aggressive actions and heavy- handedness based on self-interest has weakened the capacity of world powers to resolve present day conflicts and stop humanitarian crises." Dallaire, who is currently advising the Canadian government on campaigns highlighting the ill- effects of war on children, including the phenomenon of child soldiers, further argues that it is time for middle powers such like Canada, Germany, Italy and Japan, to step in. With more flexibility and without imperial designs they are better suited at manoeuvring complex situations in hot spots.
