REMEMBERING THE PAST

April 2004
		Two people who have survived periods of horrific genocide have teamed up to tell people about their experiences in the Holocaust and Rwanda's civil war, with the hope of preventing such acts from happening again. David Gewirtzman and Jacqueline Murekatete answer your questions.

Forum Introduction What is it within a society that causes genocide and what can one do? What locations and situations in the world currently hold the potential for genocide? What is it within you that keeps you from being bitter and what would you hope to instill in people to carry with them in their daily lives? Are you ever criticized by other Jews for drawing the connection between the Holocaust and the Rwandan genocide, as well as similar atrocities in the history of humanity? When you were in Poland, were you were able to contact the family who hid you and your family? Mr. Gewirtzman, it was about 50 years before you went back to Poland. Why so long? And Ms. Murekatete, how will you decide when to go back to Rwanda? Is there a book written about Rwanda, or are there materials to illustrate the similarities between the Rwanda experience and the Holocaust? How do you feel about the United States government's inaction in Rwanda? Have you shared your story with anyone in the U.S. government? What factors caused one tribe to rise up against another in Rwanda?	Red Beckley of Cobden, Ill., asks: What is it within a society that causes genocide? Individually, what can one do about the conditions in order to keep genocide from ever arising? David Gewirtzman responds: Genocide starts with the individual, an individual who is hateful. When the disease spreads and affects a large segment of society it tends to be taken advantage of by unscrupulous people who then use it for their own advantage. To stop or prevent genocides, we have to purge ourselves from hatred and only then teach others to do the same. Jacqueline Murekatete responds: This is indeed an essential question and answers to it vary. But I personally believe that discrimination, intolerance, unfounded fear and especially hatred are among some of the things that usually give rise to genocide. Genocides don't just arise out of nowhere. In the end, man's indifference and silence towards evil is what I think allows genocides to take place. The 1994 genocide in my country and other genocides that have taken place could have indeed been prevented. Warnings were sent out both before and during the genocides. What allowed the genocides to take place in the end was man's indifference and his refusal to act in the face of evil when he had the means to do so. Individually we can all do a part to prevent future genocides. For example, starting with ourselves and then in others we can seek to eradicate discrimination, racism, hatred and indifference, and we can promote tolerance. We must all acknowledge the fact that every human being has the right to live regardless of race, religion, political views, etc., and each of us must always be ready and must always feel the responsibility to act anytime we hear or see this right being violated. Until human beings acquire this type of mentality, I am convinced that what happened in Rwanda in 1994 is bound to happen again.