May 28, 2013 - Class

 

At the beginning of class we talked about things we had noticed since we got here. Some people mentioned how cleaned and developed it was and how much security there is (security guards are outside everywhere and metal detectors at the entrance to the mall).  Somebody mentioned that there were condoms at the check-out line at the supermarket that had pictures of white women on them, and that’s the only place where white women were used in advertisements, which I found very interesting.

We started talking about how genocide begins and we talked about the hate propaganda and hate speech that was so prevalent before the killing started.  We related it to a topic that may seem trivial at first, but when you think about it, you can actually make a connection: the UNC/Duke rivalry.  People take the rivalry very seriously and truly passionate feelings exist between the two schools (especially in the triangle area). 

Students and fans at UNC openly admit to “hating” Duke and I think if you talked to any student on campus you would see how real that is – it spills outside of the sports arena and into everyday lives, especially in the Durham/CH area.  We talked about dehumanization, and how the victims of genocide are referred to as animals – “cockroaches” and “vermin” for example, and related it to people referring to Coach K as a “rat”.  Additionally, we talked about the words that UNC students use to refer to Duke students – “spoiled”, “entitled”, “Yankees”, “old money”, and related it to the hate rhetoric Hutu Power used against Tutsis (who were also seen as aristocratic). 

I, for one, will admit to truly hating Duke and everything they stand for and I know lots of other people who will say “I hate Duke” and mean it.  While some people may not exactly see or understand this connection, it certainly made me realize how feelings that start over something seemingly small could grow and become something far more serious, because true feelings are involved.

After our discussion we had a guest lecture by a Rwandan man, Jean Guy (who is now a US citizen – I can’t remember his last name).  He was arrested in 1990 (for voicing opinions not consistent with the governments, I think) and escaped prison before the genocide began.  He had family and friends who had been killed in 1994, and he was the first person to openly speak to us about it.  Personally, I was AMAZED with how at peace he was, and how he was able to forgive the perpetrators of the genocide. 

A big theme that has come up multiple times is how the Hutus and Tutsis are currently living together in Rwanda after such a violent and horrible experience.  The perpetrators of genocide are living, working and studying with their victims less than twenty years after it happened.  Imagine the Nazis and Jews living together in society after the Holocaust.  It’s unimaginable to me.  Even more astounding, is that these two groups of people are living in peace.  They talk to each other and occasionally even live down the street from or work with someone who murdered their family members, and acts of retaliation are not commonly heard.  I simply cannot fathom that.

Jean Guy talked about this issue.  He talked about how his uncle, aunt and 5 cousins were killed in the genocide.  His specific words were, “If I go and kill the man who killed my family, what I have done? Will other members of their family come to kill me?”  Someone also asked if judicial intervention (ex. Nuremburg) would help the victims as a sort of justice and catharsis and he responded, “What are you going to do?”  You can’t try every single person that murdered in 1994 because of the sheer mass of people that would be imprisoned.  And what would that help anyway? A lot of them didn’t want to kill, a lot were forced to, a lot could be considered brainwashed and a lot were downright guilty. 

One more thing we mentioned today that really made me stop and almost quit breathing was when our professor said something along the lines of “you’ve probably already met and spoken with perpetrators of genocide in the three days you’ve been here”.  When he said that, I think I actually realized that this is reality, not just some story I’ve read about over and over. 

I’ve probably shaken the same hand that used a lawn tool to murder an innocent person 20 years ago.  I still haven’t been able to wrap my head around the events of 1994, but that comment made me realize that I’m not just reading or studying about it.  I’m actually here, in the city and country where it happened, interacting with the actual people involved in it.

In my eyes, the only thing as unfathomable as the killing of over 1 million people in 3 months by their own friends and neighbors is the way Rwandans are going about their ordinary lives and interacting with each other in such a short amount of time after the genocide.  While I admire how many people have been able to offer up forgiveness, I cannot wrap my head around it, and honestly probably won’t ever be able to.