The Rwandan GENOCIDE should have been a wake-up call to the world, but instead it became one of its biggest embarrassments. “The Ghosts of Rwanda” was as raw as it was emotional and it really pulled at my heartstrings. I had studied a bit about the Rwandan genocide in school (it was not touched upon too much) and of course watched “Hotel Rwanda.” Watching a real documentary, however, was different and it affected me at an even deeper level.
It was hard to stop myself from pointing at nations, non-state actors, and institutions, and placing the blame for the GENOCIDE on them. Yes, GENOCIDE. I know the whole point of not using the word “genocide” to describe the “Rwandan conflict” was to not let the world see that nations had the moral obligation to get involved, but it was stupid to have tried to classify the incident as anything less. In “Ghosts of Rwanda,” all the speakers were blaming the United States, Europe, and the United Nations for not being more involved. It was not in their interests to get involved militarily and start trouble for themselves as well.
When is it right to judge a nation or an institution for not aiding people who are in desperation? Is it ever right? Is it politically correct? Who are we to judge anyway? It is so sad that we actually have to ask ourselves those types of questions. True, Rwanda is its own country and perhaps other nations expected it to sort out its own problems from the get-go, but the issue was that Rwanda was not able to. The Hutus had abducted the governmental power and were mercilessly slaughtering the Tutsis. How the world could look away and not do anything about it completely baffles me (how they can still do that regarding Darfur baffles me even more). I guess some people were really ignorant and others chose to pretend to be.
But should rich and powerful nations always be expected to fix the problems of others? No, not exactly. As Uncle Ben tells Peter in “Spider Man,” “With great power comes great responsibility,” those advanced and blessed nations should help those who have fallen get up. But they cannot always be there and should not be expected to be there either. For instance, if a European country is having electoral issues, the United States should not get involved. Such issues can be short-lived and can be sorted out by the nation. But unhindered massacres like that in Rwanda taking place should be stopped at all costs. I know that UN troops were there for peacekeeping and peaceguarding or whatever they want to call it, but they should have been making peace—they should have been enforcing peace and avoiding so many hundreds and thousands of assassinations.
No matter what anyone says, politics has everything to do with morality; and morally, the world should have done something about Rwanda. The worry of audience costs should not only be related to threats and violence, but also to ignorance and pretense. After World War II, everyone said they would never let the Holocaust happen again. Why then did one of the world’s bloodiest GENOCIDES take place in Rwanda? We are not living in a good world when someone can say and truly believe, “They deserve to live, but I do not—I know I am going to die.” No one has the right to determine whether an innocent person has the right to live or die or how s/he will die, for that matter.
It is with issues like this one that I wonder whether the study of International Relations is really useful all the time. Can Realists or Liberals or Constructivists really explain what went on? Can they explain why the world just let that disaster happen? No, not really, not well enough to give anyone even the most minimal sense of understanding or slight comfort. So what is the point? What is the point about talking about ethnic conflict and causes of war and the correlation of economics and politics if it will not help make the world a better place most of the time—if it will not stop almost a million people from being assassinated? It maddens me—and I am not the only person who is furious at events like the Rwandan GENOCIDE.
Hopefully, however, we will be able to make the world a better place (as cliché and as overused as that phrase sounds). We need to stop the carnage taking place in Darfur now and prevent anything even remotely similar from happening again. Instead of wasting time disagreeing about IR theories and arguing about which one is better, we should all put our differences aside, stand together, and fight for life and peace and justice.
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