Thursday, October 20

Good morning! Before we finish watching Hotel Rwanda, you will need to complete the following blog post -

Blog Title: How was the Rwandan genocide carried out?
Assignment: Read the following section & answer the questions.

1) How long did the Rwandan genocide last?
2) Approximately how many people were killed during this time?
3) What were the Interhamwe? What did this word mean?
4) What made the general Hutu civilians (the non-trained group) believe they had to kill Tutsis?
5) What happened to Hutus who refused to kill or protected Tutsis?
6) What role did radio play in the genocide?
7) What role did the US play in this genocide? How do you think they should have responded?

The Rwandan Genocide lasted for one hundred days. Nearly one million people were killed in this time. Machetes and clubs were the most widely used weapons. Thousands of Tutsis and moderate Hutus were hacked to death each day by Hutus, many of them friends, neighbors, and relatives. Civilian death squads called Interhamwe, or “those who fight together” had trained prior to the start of the genocide and were responsible for the largest massacres. The majority of other Hutus were given machetes and incited over the radio to kill. Told that the Tutsis would destroy Rwanda and kill all of the Hutus, the Hutus were made to believe that they had to kill the Tutsis first. Hutus who refused to kill or attempted to hide Tutsis were killed as well. The largest massacres occurred in areas where Tutsis had gathered together for protection, such as churches, schools, and abandoned UN posts.

Radio played an integral role in the genocide. A nation crazed with fear and desperation heard repeated broadcasts labeling the Tutsi as “cockroaches” and “devils.” Loudspeakers in the streets disclosed names and locations of Tutsis on the run. The United States, the only country in the world with the technical ability to jam this hate radio, refused, stating that it was too expensive and would be against people’s right to free speech.