Qclass's Blog

In conclusion

qclass — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:16:03 +0000

I have learned so much about genocide and have been so inspired. I can’t imagine the pain that people who have been subjected to genocide have undergone. It was ironic that I was introduced to the African Methodist Children’s Choir while working on this project. I hope to remain in contact with this group and possibly attend a church mission trip to visit and assist these children this coming summer. I know that there are several organizations that provide help and support on several levels. Whether that means sending a check, buying a necklace made by a Rwandan genocide survivor, or even joining an organization, there is something for everyone, and I hope that everyone does something!

Definitons

qclass — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:10:52 +0000

Genocide:

noun; the deliberate and systematic extermination of a national, racial, political, or cultural group.

Janjaweed:

noun; a nomadic Arab tribal militia from the Darfur region of Western Sudan; typically armed with guns and riding on camels or horses; accused of ethnic cleansing of non-Arab people

*According to dictionary.com

Postings

qclass — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 23:32:48 +0000

soo these are the blogs i’ve posted comments/questions on..

http://salmeyer.wordpress.com/breaking-news/

http://ellberry.wordpress.com/2009/10/05/video-from-world-water-day-2008/#comments

http://alookbehindtheveil.wordpress.com/breaking-news/#comment-8

Voices of Rwanda

qclass — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 22:47:05 +0000

Voices of Rwanda is an organization that devotes itself to securing the memories and testimonies of the Rwandan genocide survivors. Voices of Rwanda was created in 2005 as a part-time project but is now operating as a full time organization in both Rwanda and the United States. Voices of Rwanda films not only the testimonies but also the personal stories so that people can better understand the context in which the genocide occurred and have a more personal connection to the tragedy. The organization explains that it is essential for them to obtain these stories as soon as possible because so many of the victims of the genocide were infected with HIV/AIDS and they deserve to have their lives recognized. If you’re interested in sending a donation to Voices of Rwanda, you can send a check to

Voices of Rwanda
PO Box 20257
Greeley Square Station
New York, NY 10001

There excerpts are provided on the website under the “Whose Voice” tab; they are more than worth checking out.

Quotes and Statistics on Rwandan Genocide

qclass — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 22:02:33 +0000

The following are a collection of quotes taken from About.com by Alistair Boddy-Evans . If people aren’t interested in, or don’t have the time to read specific stories, this post can give them a more broad idea of the topic in a shorter period of time.

“If the pictures of tens of thousands of human bodies being gnawed on by dogs do not wake us out of our apathy, I do not know what will.“
Undersecretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan in 1994, as quoted in The East Africa 18 March 1996.

“The horror of Rwanda is too high a price to pay for a very vaporous and whimsical notion of what constitutes inviolable territorial boundaries.“
Nigerian Nobel Literature Laureate Wole Soyinka, Los Angeles Times, 11 May 1994.

“The whole world failed Rwanda…“
Words attributed to UN staff members under Secretary-General Kofi Annan, reported by Philip Gourevitch in Annals of Diplomacy: The Genocide Fax, New Yorker, 11 May 1998.

“All notions of sovereignty with respect to Rwanda should be completely forgotten and we should just go in and stop the killing.“
Nigerian Nobel Literature Laureate Wole Soyinka, Los Angeles Times, 11 May 1994.

“In such countries, genocide is not too important…“
Words attributed to French President Francois Mitterand, reported by Philip Gourevitch in Reversing the Reversals of War, The New Yorker, 26 April 1999.

It is hard to believe that so many different countries and organizations were aware of the genocide occurring, yet the massacre continued for 100 days, and nearly 1 million lives. I just can’t wrap my head around the idea that so many thousands of people died every day, yet no country in the world did enough to stop the genocide.

The following statistics can be found on SURF: Survivors Fund.

Over the course of 100 days from April 6 to July 16 2004, an estimated 800,000 to 1 million Tutsis and some moderate Hutus were slaughtered in the Rwandan genocide. (A recent report has estimated the number to be close to 2 million.)

More than 6 men, women and children were murdered every minute of every hour of every day.
Between 250,000 and 500,000 women were raped during the 100 days of genocide. Up to 20,000 children were born to women as a result of rape.
More than 67% of the women raped were infected with HIV/AIDS
75,000 of survivors were orphaned as a result of the genocide.
40,000 survivors are still without shelter

Completely shocking.

Youtube

qclass — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 00:31:23 +0000

This is a video is about the man, Idelphonse Nizeyimana. Nizeyimana was one of the most wanted men until his recent arrest. He was responsible for hundreds of Tutsi deaths, including a queen, and supplied lots of material to Hutu militias. There is more information on this topic located in the Breaking News section.

Google Earth

qclass — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 00:14:22 +0000

More than doubled from the number announced in 2007, over 3,300 villages have been damaged or completely demolished in Darfur.

Google Earth has the ability not only to show photographs of these villages as they currently are, but also allows people to view how the villages looked before they were attacked. The technology also has the ability to identify the specific year in which a particular village was destroyed and has revealed that by 2005, over 2,000 villages throughout Darfur had been wiped out. Google Earth is currently working on a map that will divide villages into the years they were destroyed, as well as provide a “narrated flyover tour” of the Darfurian villages that have been attacked.

African Children’s Chior

qclass — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 21:17:26 +0000

I recently attended a performance by the African children’s choir. The youngest member was 5 while the oldest was only 11 years old. The choir is made up of 22 children from different countries in Africa including Rwanda, Sudan and Uganda. All of the children were orphaned and none of the choir members were siblings. The goal of the group was to tour America for 12 months in order to raise money for their educations. The children dressed up in traditional clothing, performed ritual dances backed up by drums and chanting, and of course, presented songs in English as well as other languages. It was incredible to hear the schedule that these children were keeping up; they had at least one, hour and a half performance five days a week. There was a break in the show and the children had an opportunity to share their stories, dreams, and thoughts on America and their homes. One child explained that he often had to sleep in the mud because bullets were shot through his hut every night, while another revealed that both of his parents died when he was only a few years old. It was inspiring to see how much these children just wanted to learn. They were willing to do anything to have the opportunities that children in America take for granted every day.

‘Genocide’ Legally Defined

qclass — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 20:06:46 +0000

I discovered that there are several instances in which genocide are considered to have taken place. There are two types of “elements” considered significant in terms of genocide: mental element and physical element. Mental element describe the intent to wipe out a group of people, while the physical element includes the actual act and operation of the killings (there are 5 specific acts). According to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide these five acts include: murdering or causing harm, of any kind, to a population, reducing the quality of life in order to bring annihilation of a group, attempting to stop generations from continuing by halting births or forcing children to change groups. I was not aware that genocide was considered anything other than the mass murders of a group. I also learned that genocide can occur within racial, religious, national and ethical groups.

Source: “Prevent Genocide Internation.” Prevent Genocide Internation, 11 Feb. 2004. Web. .

Welcome

qclass — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 18:08:11 +0000

This blog is focused on genocide and how a group is labeled as being a victim of genocide. It also includes several accounts of different genocides, trial products and the aftermath of genocide. The issue of genocide is relevant in today’s world and I think everyone should be able to have an informed opinion on the matter, and have the tools to make a difference.