Fulfilling our role on the world stage

Sen. Dallaire speaks his message

ADAM MCCORT

On Nov. 25, 2006, I had the honour of attending a lecture by former Lieutenant- General and now senator Romeo Dallaire. The message by Senator Dallaire is that being part of the 20 per cent of the world’s population living in developed nations, Canadians have an imperative responsibility in the 21st century.

The developed nations of the world failed in this mission (or more accurately, the mission was barely attempted) in 1994 when 800,000 men, women, and children, were murdered in a span of 100 days. So, why was this genocide permitted to happen, what were the conditions that made it possible and contributed towards it, and why did Dallaire’s desperate pleas for help go unanswered?

Essentially the Rwandan genocide was the mass, organized and systematic slaughter of Rwandans by Rwandans. European colonization of African nations has served to racially divide otherwise fairly united racially unconscious peoples on a massive scale. Specifically, the Belgian government, shortly after the First World War, began to implement preposterous measures to divide the Hutu and Tutsi peoples of Rwanda. Before colonization the Hutu and Tutsi lived with each other as relative equals.

During colonization, the colonial government, concerned with ethnic identification (a movement known as eugenics that came out of Europe) brought in scientists to measure sizes of skulls, noses, skin colour and other “differences” along with issuing ethnic identification cards. The colonial government determined that the Tutsi had Caucasian ancestry and were therefore superior to the Hutu, giving administrative power and privilege to the Tutsis. After the Second World War, taking notice of the plight of the Hutus, the Belgian government took measures to balance power and privilege and promote equality. This eventually led to a Hutu majority and the Tutsis, in turn, because of their loss of power, became intensely resentful of the Hutus.

Tutsis made an attempt on the life of Grégoire Kayibanda, leader of the largest Hutu political party at the time. Hutus responded with genocide, killing as many as 100,000 Tutsis. After this genocide, there was Tutsi diaspora into neighbouring countries, and for the next 30 years, the Tutsis slowly moved back into Rwanda and the ethnic tensions once again were elevating steadily. On April 6, 1994, Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana’s plane was shot down and the tensions erupted into widespread violence. Organized Hutu militia like the Interahamwe, with plans already fuelled by the spread of hate propaganda referring to the Tutsis as “Inyenzi,” cockroaches, gained power.

Despite a peace agreement, Dallaire predicted that a war, and genocide, would happen. Before the genocide ensued, Dallaire contacted the UN in New York with a request for approval for a plan to disarm the Hutus by raiding the militia’s arms caches. But the UN ordered him and his small force to stand down, tying

Dallaire has said that the sad reality is that the Western world answered the call of crisis in Yugoslavia because it represents white European security; whereas Rwanda is black and has nothing of interest, nothing there except people.

his hands. One of many “if only” moments that could have prevented so many deaths. Even heavily armed forces of various European nations entered Rwanda during the crisis but only to rescue their own citizens. The genocide ended in July 1994 when Tutsi rebels defeated the Hutu militia.

Dallaire has said that the sad reality is that the Western world answered the call of crisis in Yugoslavia because it represents white European security, whereas Rwanda is black and has nothing of interest, nothing there except people. He has also said, “I blame the American leadership, which includes the Pentagon, in projecting itself as the world policeman one day and a recluse the next.” Dallaire, in his book Shake Hands with the Devil, also blames himself, in that he failed to effectively communicate the gravity, complexity, and direness of the situation, to persuade military powers to lend their resources and support.

I am compelled to disagree. I believe, like many, that Dallaire did as much as humanly possible for the suffering masses in Rwanda with what he had at his disposal. He has since actively, tirelessly, and passionately told and retold the story of the atrocities in Rwanda and the apathy that allowed it to happen. Dallaire has said that what he did accomplish does not bring him much solace. But what he has done and continues to do (he is a senior fellow at Concordia University’s Montreal Institute for Genocide Studies and Human Rights Studies, focusing his attention on the present-day crisis in Darfur in the Sudan), I know must be bringing healing to many and opening up hearts and minds around the world.

Yet the developed world has not fully acknowledged its failure to act. Can it happen again? Very sadly, it is happening again. In the documentary Broken Promises: the United Nations at 60, it highlights the gap between the good intentions and ideals of its inception and the sad reality of its inefficiency and bureaucratic corruption. This was proved in Rwanda and continues to be demonstrated in Darfur. The UN has declined to label the soaring death toll genocide, on the grounds that genocidal intent seems to be lacking, making intervention seem not as immediately necessary.

The Sudanese government wants its sovereignty respected and the UN to stay out. But the Sudanese government has demonstrated its inability to exercise its sovereignty in a healthy manner. Developed nations like ours must continue to try to persuade the UN to step up and speak out, and in turn, developed nations must be prepared and willing to lend their support to preserve precious human lives.

The first step in standing up to this evil is learning about it and sharing that knowledge. As Dallaire said, “No matter how idealistic the aim sounds, this century must become the century of humanity, when we as human beings rise above creed, color, religion and national self-interest and put the good of humanity above the good of our own tribe for the sake of the children and our future.” We as Canadians must do more and can do more; the mission is far from over.

Adam McCort is a second-year student at the University of Manitoba.