October 13, 1994: Vol26n6: Patterns of genocide in Rwanda likely to continue, Des Forges says

By CHRISTINE VIDAL
Reporter Editor
We let Rwanda happen, says Alison Des Forges.
	An internationally recognized expert on the crisis in Rwanda
and adjunct assistant professor of history at UB, Des Forges spoke at
the University Inn and Conference Center Oct. 7 as part of "UB at
Sunrise," a community breakfast series sponsored by UB.
	Despite the public attention that focused last summer on the
brutal atrocities occurring in the African nation, things are a long
way from returning to normal. And the patterns of genocide are likely
to continue, Des Forges says.
	She discussed the situation in Rwanda in front of a silent
crowd, telling of the deaths of friends and of unimaginable horrors.
	"Nowhere have I seen a mother with a baby on her back killing
another mother with a baby on her back," she says. But that is typical
of the conflict that has embroiled Rwanda.
	It is a situation that is "enormously complicated," she says,
one brought about by grinding poverty in a nation where the struggle
to survive becomes very bitter.
	Geographically about the size of the state of Connecticut,
Rwanda was described by Des Forges as overpopulated, its land
exhausted and lacking in any mineral resources. It is a nation where
one-third of its population is "permanently undernourished" and "where
in some houses the only piece of furniture is a simple wooden bench,"
she says.
	"In (the United States), if you lose the election you can
always go back to your law firm," Des Forges says. But in Rwanda, "the
(government) is the only avenue to wealth and power. If you lose the
election, all you can do is go back to the hillside."
	Composed of two ethnic groups, Tutsi and Hutu, the country has
suffered under centuries of tribal hatred and civil war, with the
Tutsi ruling for four centuries. But when that government was
overthrown by the Hutus, the new government began to try to rebuild
solidarity among the tribe by discriminating against the Tutsi. That
discrimination soon amplified, and a campaign of mini-massacres began,
Des Forges said.
Rwandan tradition of each citizen of-
	fering one day of service each month to his or her country
turned unspeakably ugly as the new government encouraged Hutus to turn
against their neighbors. "Their work for that month was to go out and
kill as many Tutsi as they could," Des Forges said.
	The "killing machine" also included Rwandan radio, she said,
which was used to broadcast messages that were "explicit and
vitriolic," to teach all Rwandans that the Tutsi were evil and rich,
and should be killed.
	"Rwanda has the distinction of being a place where genocide
was made a cottage industry," Des Forges said.
	"In the end you have perhaps 100,000 people who have killed,
and you have perhaps a million people who have been killed."
	The carnage did not end with the assassination of Rwandan
President Juv
nal Habyarimana and the new Tutsi government that replaced the Hutu
one. And the world has done nothing to stop Rwanda's genocide, Des
Forges said.
	"The reaction of the rest of the world was astonishment,
horror and rapid retreat. The United States led that retreat," she
said. "Because the American public had no interest, the American
government had no interest."
	The massive outflow in July of two million refugees into Zaire
caught the world's attention, but will not stop the killings, Des
Forges said. "The humanitarian response has saved the lives of many
people, but also has allowed the genocidal (Hutu) officials to begin
to plot a new campaign," she said. "The Rwandan army is re-forming in
Zaire. It is being resupplied with weapons and is preparing to attack
again."
	United Nations intervention is essential to ending the unrest,
but although help has been promised, none has yet been seen in Rwanda.
"Things are a long way from returning to normal and what I find
particularly disturbing is the patterns of genocide that continue,"
Des Forges said.