#1.) Review what Dawes says about General Dallaire in the chapter titled Genocide and how he describes Dallaire’s reaction both in the moment and now in the years afterward to the genocide and the part that he played. What are your reactions in general and more specifically through the lens of the Dunant/Nightingale philosophical debate?
In this chapter titled, Genocide, Dawes delves into deeply personal stories and testimonies of the Rwandan genocide. The chapter covers the timeline of the Rwandan genocide and how Tutsi and the Hutu’s tribal rivalry resulted in the fasted and largest killing of the twentieth century. It follows several different accounts of this harrowing tragedy that barely made it to the surface of media during the killings. One of the unique things Dawes does in the chapter is uncovering how Westernized the reactions are after finding out about these accounts. He notes how one author wrote a love story between a Rwandan woman and French-Canadian man fall in love only to have her captured and raped during the period of the genocide and then eventually killed by her captives after being mutilated. The book was praised and the reactions to those who actually experienced and knew the atrocities that were committed during the genocide were not to be used to craft love stories. From the Dunant perspective on how to tell the story of such magnitude Dawes states, Rwanda, the Balkans, and elsewhere, have catalogued the many ways stories designed to shake us out of our self-absorption and apathy can fail” (Dawes pg. 10). There is a multitude of literature available on the genocide of Rwanda and along with this, media sources were relaying information to major news centers and governments. Despite efforts to voice the alarming amount of deaths and mutilations going on through ethnic cleanings, there were no actions taken by governments or NGO’s to assist the Rwandans in desperate need. However, on the other side of the argument if it weren’t for the attempts of those in Rwanda recording what they experienced and attempting to relay it to anyone who could make a change to their current situation. Even though the Hutu were attempting to silence the people in Rwanda through killing those involved in media and new outlets the stories that the survivors possess is unmistakably invaluable towards those affected and carrying out the story of what happened.
General Dallaire was stationed in Rwanda by the Canadian military to protect and report upon what was happening. His experiences during the time deployed under the United Nations as a peacekeeping force during January of 1994 still haunt him to this day. In an interview on his expierences, Dallaire states,” The impact of the trauma of Rwanda had physically affected my brain and had put me in a state where there was no capability left of any desire for life, any desire to even consider life. I was even debating whether I should exist as I held on my shoulders, and still today, the belief that as commander of the mission in Rwanda I had failed the Rwandans” (USHMM). General Dallaire in the midst of the over 800,000 killings committed by the Hutu’s in less than a year, his warnings and pleas for help were ignored by national governments across the globe. In his hearings with the ICTR to sentence the Hutu’s involved for war crimes and genocide, Lawyer Peter Erlinger attacks him in cross-examination simply trying to state that this was a war due to the Hutu and Tutsi’s involvement as political parties. However, the Hutu’s overthrew the government through warfare and installed themselves into power making them not an official political party with no division of votes or government for the Tutsi. However, despite Daillare’s and so many other survivors horrible experiences outlined in the chapter, Dallaire has committed himself to battle media oppression of this matter and serving as a voice to those in need and affected. Even though he still battles with the regrets of yesterday and fear of tomorrow, Daillare transformed into J.’s perspective through all 4 m’s. Upon his initial deployment from the UN, he is simply tasked with keeping communication lines open and help those in need not knowing of the dangers ahead and resembling the missionary phase. As soon as the killings begin and he is attempting to battle the Hutu’s he shifts into the mercenary phase followed by his initial departure and recovery from what he experienced shifting him into the misfit stage. For six or seven years he could not think about Rwanda and spent most of his time in therapy however through his books and interviews has transformed into a voice for Rwanda and the need there finally putting him into the mystic phase.
Works Cited:
“A Good Man in Hell: General Roméo Dallaire and the Rwanda Genocide.” United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 2002, www.ushmm.org/confront-genocide/speakers-and-events/all-speakers-and-events/a-good-man-in-hell-general-romeo-dallaire-and-the-rwanda-genocide.
Dawes, James. That the World May Know Bearing Witness to Atrocity. Harvard University Press, 2007.
Philg. “Florence Nightingale Opposed the Red Cross.” Philip Greenspun’s Weblog, 5 Nov. 2010, philip.greenspun.com/blog/2010/11/05/florence-nightingale-opposed-the-red-cross/.
One Comment
That is really disturbing that an author would use such a horrific and dark time in human history to write a love story and sell it…it is like they are profiting off the lives of the Rwandans killed in the genocide. Although we have discussed this humanitarian crisis and the global response to it at length, it continues to sadden and perplex me that the world merely sat by and watched as thousands were killed. I truly pity Daillare because he did what he could and what he thought was right to try and prevent the tragedy but was unsuccessful.