UNIT 4 GENOCIDE AND PEACE BUILDING
Text 1: Practices leading to genocide
During the process to genocide some special practices reinforce the divisions.
Based on different studies, the practices are as follows:
Social categorisation is the first practice that perpetrators think about in
the planning process of genocide. People are classified into “us and them”
by ethnicity, race, religion, or nationality: Germans and Jews, Hutu and Tutsi.
In Rwanda, during the colonisation, researchers measured for instance the
people’s height and the length of their noses. And then everyone was classified
as Tutsi, Hutu or Twa. Identity cards were issued to each individual mentioning
their ethnicity. It may not be deduced that this policy was meant to incite Hutu
to commit genocide against the Tutsi, but this permanent line put between the
groups and the implications related to that, largely and undeniably contributed
to the antagonism combined with other things, led to the 1994 genocide against
the Tutsi.
Discrimination is another practice leading to genocide. The social categorisation
which gives the basis for defining groups may be followed by the exclusion of
some groups, intensified by the injustice in the allocation of resources as well as
the injustice on how the participation in decision making process is distributed.
Since these practices of discrimination against some targeted groups are either
done by state leaders or supported by them, they grow and lead to other phases
that may lead to genocide.
Dehumanisation is an important phase in the process that leads to genocide
because ideologically, the perpetrators claim to purify the society as a
justification. So, the ideology grows deeper to convincing one group that another
deserves nothing but death and this is a legitimization to kill. The availability of
the dehumanising ideology is important in the process leading to genocide but
may not be enough to cause genocide if it is not followed by other actions. This
genocidal ideology “dehumanises” members of the victim group and justifies
violence against them. Victims are not considered as belonging to the same
human race as the oppressors. The targeted group is often likened to a disease,
microbes, cockroaches, infections or a cancer in the body. That is what explains
why during the genocide, bodies of victims are often mutilated to express this
denial of humanity.
For the dehumanisation to have its effect, it needs propaganda to spread out
the hate ideology done either by leaders themselves or the authorised groups
who are supported by them. This is an important phase in the whole process
because it helps the elite members of the eliminating group to disseminate the
dehumanising ideology and to bring other members of that group to believe in
that hatred. It becomes a motivating factor to take part actively in the killings. A
prominent example of the hate media in Rwanda during the 1990s is the famous
Kangura newspaper as well as the Radio “Television Libre des Mille Collines”
(RTLM).
Next to propaganda is the preparation phase. This is when some acts liable of
making genocide are performed. They include writing lists of victims, creation
and training of militia, purchase and distribution of arms to be used. This is
directly followed by the massacre of the targeted group members. In many cases,
genocide is always preceded by killings targeting a given group or individuals
belonging to that group in different places. Genocide may also be preceded by
killings of moderate people because, of not supporting the extermination of the
targeted group.
The last but one practice is extermination or genocide itself. This is the phase
when the genocide is executed. It is when the intent to destroy the targeted
group can be seen from what is happening on the ground. When killings are
sponsored by the state, the armed forces often work with militias to kill like the
Interahamwe did in Rwanda during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. The
main actors were: the interim government, local administration, security forces,
militia, the media, civil society organizations (churches included), the population
and the international community.
The final phase in this process is denial and impunity. During and after genocide,
the perpetrators always find a way of denying their crime. They try to justify the
killings, and to blame the victims, claiming that their own behaviours brought
about the killings. In Rwanda, killers alleged that Tutsi were helping rebels of
RPF, and they used this to justify the mass killing of innocent Tutsi. The denial of
genocide is not only the destruction of the truth about the genocide by negating
or minimising it, it is also a potential cause of its repetition
(Adapted from History for Rwandan schools, book 6, East African Publishers Ltd).
•• Comprehension questions :
1. Explain social categorisation as a practice leading to genocide.
2. Discuss discrimination as a phase that leads to genocide.
3. How do genocide perpetrators use dehumanisation in the process that
results in genocide?
4. Assess the role of propaganda before and during genocide.
5. Analyse the preparation phase in the process leading to genocide.
6. Rephrase what happens during genocide as described in the second
last paragraph.
7. With reference to the final paragraph, criticize the use of denial andimpunity by genocide perpetrators.
Text: Genocides in the world
It is worth noting that the occurrence of genocide is not limited to Rwanda.
There have been other cases of genocide in different parts of the world that
occurred in different times. Some of the cases of genocide that happened in the
20th Century are as follows:
The Nama Herero Genocide was not recognised for unknown reasons by the
United Nations Organisation. However, many authors and specialists in the
study of genocides qualify it as a pure act of genocide committed against the
Nama and the Herero in 1907. When the Germans arrived in South-West Africa
(Namibia) in 1880, they found the area populated by certain groups of people
such as the Nama (Namaqua) who were about 20,000 in number by then.
Another group of people was the Herero who were about 75,000 in number.
Their occupation was cattle herding. These people violently resisted occupation
of their land and establishment of the German rule. The German commander
who led the conquest, vowed to meet any resistance from the natives with
‘uncompromising brutality’. He vowed to wipe out the natives completely in
15 year time. The Germans took the Herero native land forcefully and planned
to build a railway across their territory. Led by their leader, Samuel Maharero
in January 1904, the Herero attacked white-owned farms and murdered 123
German settlers and traders sparing only women, children and missionaries.
Later, the commander of German Forces, General Lothar von Trotha organised
his ground army and they surrounded the living areas and the livestock pastures
of the Herero. They only left a small opening through which the Herero could
escape to the Omaheke desert. The Germans attacked and killed 5,000
people and wounded 20,000 others. They captured water sources and forced
the survivors to flee to the desert. They followed the survivors to the desert
and massacred them. They also poisoned water sources in the desert. On
2nd October of the same year, General Trotha released an extermination order
forcing the Herero people to leave the land. The Herero escaped to the desert
where the Germans had already poisoned the water wells. When the Nama saw
what had happened to the Herero, they also fled. Those who remained behind
were collected into camps where they were tortured and forced to provide
labour. Most of them died of diseases such as small pox and typhoid in the
camps. About 80% of the Herero and 50% of the Nama people were wiped out.
The Holocaust is a genocide that occurred in Germany and its occupied
territories. It targeted Jews of whom approximately 6,000,000 were killed by
Adolf Hitler and his Nazi regime. Apart from the Jews, non-Jews were also killed
including millions of Polish Gentiles, Russians, Ukrainians and prisoners of other
nationalities. This has been one of the largest genocides in history. About twothirds
of the Jews who lived in Europe were killed in the Holocaust. Laws were
passed in Germany that excluded Jews from the civil society, more specifically
the Nuremberg Laws of 1935. Concentration camps were established where
Jews were murdered in large numbers. Jews were collected from various parts
of Germany occupied territories in 1939 and were transported in cargo trains
to the famous concentration or extermination camps. Most of them, however,
died along the way. Those who survived the journey by train were killed in gas
chambers.
The 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda is another human tragedy.
Events leading to the planning and execution of this genocide date back to 1959.
Its cause was the history of a long process of violence, hatred, injustice and
ethnic divisions in the first and second republics of Rwanda. Massacre against
the Tutsi had happened in 1959 as a result of similar reasons to those ones that
caused the 1994 Genocide-manipulated ethnic rivalries between the Hutu and
the Tutsi.There was an ethnic and political violence which was characterised by
a period of violence from 1959 to 1961 targeting the Tutsi and Hutu members
of UNAR (Union nationale rwandaise). This violence saw the country transition
from a Belgian colony with a Tutsi monopoly to an independent Hutu dominated
republic. A Hutu elite group was formed to counter the Tutsi policy and transfer
power from the Tutsi to the Hutu. From November 1959, a series of riots by the
Hutu took place. The riots entailed arson attacks on Tutsi homes. The violence
forced about 336,000 Tutsi to exile in the neighbouring countries where they
lived as refugees.
The Tutsi exiles organised themselves into an armed group to fight their way back
into their country. Afterwards, there were no active threats posed by the Tutsi
refugees to the Hutu-controlled government in Rwanda. It was until the early
1990s when the Tutsi refugees regrouped again into a strong force and formed
the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a movement which they used to force the
Rwanda government into a political negotiation. However the negotiations failed
as Hutu extremists were not willing to share the power.
Using the death of President Juvenal Habyarimana in an airplane crash on April
6th, 1994 as a pretext, they executed their long term plan of killing the Tutsi
in the 1994 Genocide at the end of which more than one million Tutsi were
massacred. The 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi did not take a long time to
be recognised by United Nations Organisation. The Security Council created
the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) by the Resolution 955 of
November 8th, 1994. Based in Arusha, the ICTR was established to deal with
the prosecution of the Rwandans responsible for the 1994 Genocide against
Tutsi.
(Extract from History for Rwandan schools, Book four, East African Publishers
Rwanda Ltd, p. 20-24)
•• Comprehension questions :
1. Examine the root cause of the Herero genocide.
2. Discuss the extent of cruelty in the execution process of the Herero
genocide.
3. Evaluate the atrocities in the execution of the holocaust.
4. Discuss the cause and events that led to the 1994 genocide against the
Tutsi.
5. Analyse the course of events starting from the early 1990s to the outbreakof the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi.
Definition of the concept “ideology”
An ideology is an organised collection of ideas. The word ideology was used in the
late 18th century to define a “science of ideas”. An ideology is a comprehensive
vision, or a set of ideas proposed by the dominant class to all members of a
society. The main purpose behind an ideology is to introduce change in society
through a normative thought process. Ideologies tend to be abstract thoughts
applied to reality and, thus, make this concept unique to politics. Ideologies
are very common in the world of politics and have been used; for example, to
provide guidance and to persuade.
Genocide denial is an attempt to deny or minimise statements of the scale
and severity of an incidence of genocide for instance the denial of the 1994
genocide against Tutsi and the holocaust. Where there is near universal
agreement that genocide occurred, genocide denial is usually considered as a
form of illegitimate historical revisionism. However, in circumstances where the
generally accepted facts do not clearly support the occurrence of genocide,
the use of the term may be an argument by those who argue that genocide
occurred.
There are some ways used to deny the 1994 Genocide Against Tutsi, like the
minimization of genocide in any behavior exhibited publicly and internationally
in order to reduce the weight or consequences of the genocide against Tutsi,
minimizing how the genocide was committed, altering the truth about the
Genocide Against the Tutsi in order to hide the truth from the people, etc.
All these forms of the genocide denial were fought and the international
community finally accepted that in Rwanda genocide had been committed
against the Tutsi in 1994. Testimonies given and confessions made by the
prisoners at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the respect of
international conventions, adoption of the good governance and anti-corruption
principles, establishment of related institutions, and the punishment of the crime
of genocide ideology played a great role in fighting against genocide ideology.
•• Comprehension questions :
1. Define the term ideology referring to the passage.
2. Appreciate the purpose of ideology in the society referring to the first
paragraph of the passage.
3. Explain how 1994 genocide against Tusti was denied.
4. Justify the effort engaged by the government of Rwanda to fight againstgenocide denial.
Text: Prevention of genocide
Genocide is not something that happens overnight or without warning. Genocide
requires organization and constitutes in fact a deliberate strategy and one that
has been mostly carried out by governments or groups controlling the state
apparatus. Understanding the way genocide occurs and learning to recognise
signs that could lead to genocide are important in making sure that such horrors
do not happen again.
Since genocide is a process, prevention of genocide would mean to tackle it
at a very early stage. The prevention at the primary level consists of measures
aiming at creating an environment that reduces the risk of its escalation. At this
phase the aim is to put in place measures that may pre-empt the start of the
harm. This means preventive measures that may avoid the occurrence of the
harm by tackling its root causes. Prevention will therefore include the adoption
of measures that not only prohibit the harm but also put in place mechanisms
that ensure the prevention of that harm.
On international level, the focus in upstream prevention is determining which
countries are at risk. This is mainly done using risk assessments which are quite
accurate predictors. Numerous models have been developed, each looking
at different factors such as differences in identity, difficult conditions due to
economic problems, sharing of available resources, democracy and respect of
human rights. Among other things to consider when assessing and addressing
the risk of genocide is looking at structural and institutional frameworks in the
country including domestic legislation, an independent judiciary and an effective
police force to protect people. The United Nations must take appropriate
measures to stop the situation from evolving into genocide. When the primary
preventive measures are unsuccessful, then the need to take other measures
may arise.
Prevention of genocide at this secondary level is necessary in two situations.
First, in case a state has not adopted measures at the primary level and secondly,
in case the measures adopted before did not prevent the risks of genocide from
developing. The secondary prevention takes place when genocide is already
taking place. At this level, many genocidal actions are observed, such as hatred,
intolerance, racism, ethnic cleansing, torture, sexual violence, disappearances,
dehumanising and public discourse. The main focus is to end the genocide
before it progresses further and claims more lives. Measures tailored to the
situation are taken in order to prevent the risk from materialising or the situation
from becoming worse. This level of prevention may involve military intervention
of some sort.
When the measures at the secondary level fail or have never been taken and
the mass killings start, measures at the tertiary level are needed in order to
respond to this final phase of the genocide. Tertiary prevention focuses on
avoiding Genocide in future by rebuilding, restoring the community and dealing
with all the consequences to repair the damage caused. Important measures
are needed to put an end to the harm.
According to the international humanitarian law, the international community has
the obligation to intervene once all signs are clear enough to prove that genocide
is happening. Rwanda is an example of the failure of international community to
intervene. In 1994, with the presence of UN peace keepers, it was possible to
stop the genocide against the Tutsi, but because of various politico-diplomatic
reasons, these peace keepers were obliged to go back to their countries and let
Tutsi die in the hands of the perpetrators.
Tertiary prevention takes place during and after the genocide has ended. Its
focus is on preventing genocide in the future, thus re-building and restoring
the community. In other words, the tertiary prevention level also deals with all
consequences in order not only to repair the damage but also to avoid the
reoccurrence of the harm.
In a nutshell, it is important to say that prevention is a continuous process
which involves several actions at different levels which involve the individuals,
government, and international community (Adapted from History, senior 6,
2019, REB).
•• Comprehension questions :
1. Why is it important to understand the way genocide occurs?
2. Explain the way genocide can be prevented at the primary level.
3. Analyse the measures taken at the primary level to prevent genocide.
4. How can genocide be prevented at the international level?
5. Analyse the role the United Nations should play in preventing genocide.
6. What are the two situations in which prevention of genocide is necessary
at the secondary level?
7. When does the secondary prevention of genocide take place?
8. Appraise the main focus of the secondary prevention of genocide.
9. When are measures of genocide prevention needed at the tertiary level?
10. Assess the objective of genocide prevention at the tertiary level.
11. When should the international community intervene in genocide
prevention?12. Evaluate the need for tertiary prevention after the genocide has ended.
Strengthening community-level peace building in Rwanda
The genocide in Rwanda destroyed the social fabric in the country. Postgenocide
Rwanda has been marked by efforts to rebuild the social fabric which
was destroyed during the terrible events of 1994. To coordinate efforts of
reconciliation, the government established the National Unity and Reconciliation
Commission (NURC) in 1999. The NURC is a permanent body, protected by
the constitution with a mandate to promote national unity and reconciliation
in post-genocide Rwanda. To decentralise its work and avoid a top-down
approach, the NURC established “forums for reconciliation” in all of Rwanda’s
30 districts. A reconciliation forum can be here understood as a gathering of
people from all parts of society with the purpose of promoting reconciliatory
initiatives, especially at the community level. The forums were intended to bring
together many different people in reconciliation and encourage local people to
own the process of reconciliation.
In addition, the establishment of the forums was expected to contribute
to improving coordination and avoid duplication of reconciliation efforts in
Rwanda, strengthening capacities of partners in reconciliation, and establishing
mechanisms of sharing information and resolving conflicts.
The forums are composed of representatives drawn from many different
sectors of community life. These representatives can include NGOs, religious
leaders, young people, and the military, to name but a few. The district forum is
coordinated by a committee of 10 -14 people elected by the members.
Those involved in the district forums have described it as a helpful mechanism to
coordinate reconciliation related activities in the community. They have also found
forum meetings a space for open and critical dialogue, which is a compulsory
element of the process towards genuine reconciliation and sustainable social
cohesion
(Adapted from https://www.peaceinsight.org/blog/2015/06/strengthening-community-levelpeacebuilding-
rwanda/).
•• Comprehension questions :
1. Describe the role of national unity and reconciliation commission in
Rwanda.
2. What was the rational of its establishment?
3. Explain the mechanisms of decentralizing its works as described in thepassage.
4.6. Language structure
I. The use of the simple past
•• Notes
The simple past is a verb tense which is used to show that a completed action
took place at a specific time in the past. The simple past is also frequently used
to talk about past habits and generalizations. The simple past is formed using
the verb + ed/d for regular verbs. In addition, there are many verbs with irregular
past forms. Those are called irregular verbs.
•• Examples
1. The Herero attacked white-owned farms.
2. The RPF soldiers saved tens of thousands from annihilation.
3. The genocide against the Tutsi took place between 7th of April and 4th
July 1994.
4. The Cambodian genocide resulted in the deaths of approximately 2
million people.
5. Germans murdered more than six million Jews in the holocaust under
Hitler’s regime.
•• Language practice : Put the verb into the correct form, positive or
negative :
1. It was warm, so I …….. off my coat, (take)
2. The film wasn’t very good. I …….. enjoy it much, (enjoy)
3. I knew Sarah was busy, so I…………..her. (disturb)
4. We were very tired, so we………the party early, (leave)
5. The bed was very uncomfortable. I……………….well. (Sleep)
6. The window was open and a bird………….into the room, (fly)
7. The hotel wasn’t very expensive. It……….much to stay there, (cost)
8. I was in a hurry, so I………….time to phone you. (have)
9. It was hard carrying the bags. They…………….very heavy, (be)
II. Subordinating conjunctions :
Subordinating conjunctions are conjunctions that are used at the beginning of
subordinate clauses. They do the job of showing the relationship between the
two clauses (main clause and subordinate clause). Some examples of these
conjunctions are: although, after, before, because, how, if, once, since, so that,
until, unless, when, etc.
•• Examples
1. Many Jews were kept in gas chambers until they died.
2. Rwanda is a developed country although it suffered from genocide.
3. The Herero were placed in concentration camps before daily executions
took place
4. The RPF soldiers are praised, because they saved tens of thousands
from annihilation.
5. The International Criminal Tribunal for was established by UN, after
understanding the need for justice.
•• Language practice : Combine each pair of ideas with the words in
parentheses:
1. May cell phone doesn’t work. The battery is dead. (because)
2. It is important to wear a hat on cold days. we lose sixty percent of our
body heat through our head. (Since)
3. Bill couldn’t pick us up after the concert. His car wouldn’t start. ( therefore)
4. the other passangers will get on the bus soon. We’ll leave.( as soon as)
5. I left the room. I turned off the lights. (after)
6. I left the room. I turned off the lights. (before)
7. suki feels nervous. She bites her nails. (whenever)
8. the frying pan caught on fire. I was making dinner.(while)
III. Phrasal preposition :
A phrasal preposition is two or more words functioning as a preposition. Below
are some of the most common phrasal prepositions in English : according to,
apart from, because of, in addition to, in reference to, in regard to, instead of, in
spite of, due to, in the event of, thanks to, for the sake of, in reference with, in
terms of, etc.
•• Examples :
1. Many victims die because of trauma after genocide.
2. We should prevent and fight genocide for the sake of our lives.
3. Tens of thousands of lives were saved thanks to the RPF army intervention.
4. Genocide is a crime because thousands of people are savagely murdered
in spite of their innocence.
5. The international community withdrew its troop instead of taking action to
end the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi.
•• Language practice : Choose the right phrasal preposition to fill the
following sentences
1. …….his hard work, he failed the test (by means of, in spite of, because
of)
2. ………….doctors, smoking can cause cancer. (In accordance with,
according to, on behalf of)
3. I am standing here……….my colleagues (instead of, by means of, on
behalf of)
78
4. The trains arrived late…….heavy rains. (On behalf of, in spite of, because
of)
5. I stayed in bed all day….going to work. (In addition to, in spite of, instead
of)
6. Thoughts are conveyed…………words. (On account of, by means of, by
virtue of)
7. Ghandi gave up his legal practice…….his country. (By virtue of, for the
sake of, on behalf)
8. I would like to have a lemon juice…………coffee. (Instead, instead of, in
spite of)
9. ………….his own family, he has to support his brothers. (In addition to,
instead of, in spite of)
10. There is a school ………..my house. (front of, in front, in front of)
4. 7. Spelling and pronunciation
I. Writing sentences with homophones : Write a sentence using each word in
the pairs below (Check a dictionary to make sure you are using and spelling
each word correctly):
1. Stationary and stationery 2. plain and plane 3. miner and minor 4. Site and
cite
5. past and passed 6. break and brake 7. Principle and principal 8. Learn and
lean
II. Phonetic transcription: practice writing the phonetic transcription of thefollowing identify where the stress is placed
