While you're abroad, the entire population of Miami and Boston will be massacred

Nearly a million people, the same amount of people that populate the cities of Miami and Boston combined, were killed as a result of genocide ten years ago to this date. In 1994, the international community, despite its knowledge of the Rwandan genocide, allowed 800,000 people to die. The U.N. General Assembly swore, in 1994 that they would "never again," allow genocide. Genocide, defined as the purposeful and systematic extermination of a national, racial or political, or cultural group, was committed in Rwanda yet the international community stood by watching.

Was it because Rwanda was in Africa, and thus didn't count as a "real" genocide? Rwanda does count, so why was the recognized genocide allowed to continue when the international community has sworn to prevent it? What exactly had they meant when they said "never again"? Let's first take a look at a brief history of Rwanda, so that we can better assess the negligence of international community.

Occupied by Belgium, during the colonial period, Rwandans were separated into three ethnic groups. The Belgians, who governed Rwanda during the colonial period, decided to entrust a minority group called the Tutsi, whom they viewed as "more white looking" (and therefore more intelligent and trustworthy), with a privileged position in society. The Tutsi, unlike the other two groups, were offered a western education, and thus held all positions of authority in Rwanda.

In 1960, the Hutu group rebelled against the Tutsi leadership, frustrated by the more then a century of living as second-class citizens. Through the leadership of several presidents, the Hutu gained power and privilege, but Rwanda was not at rest. In 1990 a Tutsi-led rebel army called the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), invaded Rwanda and tried to take back power. A three-year civil war ensued, and ended in a cease-fire, and the signing of the Arusha Accord which mandated a Transitional Government (where political leadership was to be shared by the Hutu and Tutsi).

The Arusha Accord, however, satisfied neither group's interests, and Rwanda's political problems continued. In 1993 The U.N. Security Council authorized the Rwanda mission (UNAMIR) to assist in implementing the Arusha Accord. In November of that year, UNAMIR forces arrived in Rwanda. Soon after his arrival, General Dallaire, commander of the UNAMIR forces, would become aware of a detailed plan by Hutu extremists to exterminate the Tutsi's. Dallaire sent an urgent message to the U.N. reporting the extremists' plan, along with his own plan to confiscate Hutu militia arms caches, but was told not to get involved.

A month later, in February, a series of violence broke out, which assassinated targeted members of both parties in southern Rwanda and Kigali, it's capital. At this same time, Hutu extremists begin to compile death lists, create anti-Tutsi propaganda, and import tens of thousands of machetes. On April 6, the Hutu Rwandan President Habyarimara's plane was shot down, giving Hutu extremists the spark they needed to begin the genocide.

Torn apart by group identity, normal people murdered their sleeping neighbors, children killed their teachers, and safety checkpoints turned into slaughter points. Radio broadcasts announced the names and locations of those to be murdered; yet even if a Tutsi or political moderate heard their name read, they had no escape. The United States did not want to enter into another Somalia-like situation, and insisted that the killings were the result of a civil war. It refused to get involved, and did not organize one high-level meeting in Washington, even though it was a recognized genocide occurring in Rwanda!

Despite Dallaire's request for more troops, UNAMIR ordered the withdrawal of almost all the U.N. troops. With only 270 troops Dallaire's brave men would attempt to protect fortresses of Tutsi people even though they often stood unarmed, starving, and exhausted. The Rwandan Patriotic Front was able to overthrow Hutu extremists in mid-July, however 800,000 people had already been murdered. Today, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), tries suspected perpetrators of the genocide, but the genocide has been largely forgotten.

Samantha Powers, author of "A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide (2003)," believes that there is progress being made as a result of the genocide, but stated in a panel discussion at Harvard last week, that if this conflict were to reoccur, it would produce the same results. Although there was recently a conference held by the Swedish government to discuss exactly what was meant by "never again," in the 1948 Genocide Convention, only sixty states attended, and the United States sent a relatively low-level delegation.

Do you consider genocide a low-level concern? Rwanda is in the past, but genocide is not gone forever. It is crucial that the general population is able to recognize genocide, and stand united against it! Wednesday, April 7, was National Rwanda Day. By spreading the knowledge of Rwanda, you can prevent it from happening again. The following is a great website that the BBC put together about Rwanda. Hope to see you there: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/africa/2004/rwanda/default.stm

"The beginning of knowledge is the discovery of something we do not understand." --Frank Herbert

Veronica Adamson is a freshman with an undeclared major.