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?	Jane Arney of Vista, Calif., asks: 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? Jacqueline Murekatete responds: The fact that the international community failed to act when they knew a genocide was going on and had the means to intervene but remained silent is something that angers me very much. Knowing that over a million of innocent men, women and children, my family included, would be alive today if the world had heeded the countless warnings which were sent both before and during the genocide and acted before it was too late, is something that is beyond disappointing to me. The pattern of indifference and silence which took place during the genocide in Rwanda though is also the same pattern that occurred during the Holocaust and other genocides that have taken place in our world. This heinous pattern is something that each of us must seek to eradicate if we are to bring about a world without genocides. The answer to your second question is no, I have not had the chance to speak to anyone within the U.S government who was there during the genocide. I have though spoken to several members of the United Nations who were in the U.N. during the genocide and all of them have acknowledged both the U.N.'s and the international community's failure in stopping the genocide when they could have done so. Frank Kundrat of St. Cloud, Minn., asks: To Jacqueline: What factors caused one tribe to rise up against another? Were there deep-seated differences from history, such as have been seen with other ethnic groups in close proximity (i.e., Bosnia), or was it incited by the government? Were the people of one tribe under pressure to kill those of another, or was it just human madness gone amok? Thank you for your consideration and God bless and keep both of you. Jacqueline Murekatete responds: The history of Hutus and Tutsis is a long history. Many online sources provide information on both ethnic groups especially beginning with imperialism, and I encourage you too look up the information. But just to be belief, there are some cultural differences as well as physical differences between Hutus and Tutsis. But they also do share a lot of characteristics including language and religion. After the Belgians helped the Hutus, who are the majority ethnic group in Rwanda, to overthrow the then ruling minority Tutsi monarchy in 1959, discrimination and killings of Tutsis began to take place. Many Tutsis were killed and many were forced to flee Rwanda in 1959, 1961,1963 and 1973. The 1994 genocide was the largest massacre of Tutsis -- today the Rwandan government estimate the number of those killed to be over a million. The 1994 genocide is also the only one which is acknowledged by the International community. Earlier killings of Tutsis in the years mentioned above went unnoticed. But in summary, there have always been Hutu extremists who hated Tutsis and whose goal was to rid Rwanda of all Tutsis. This goal was what they tried to accomplish in 1994. And yes, you are right in saying that the government was responsible for inciting Hutus throughout Rwanda to start killing their Tutsi neighbors. Beginning with April 6th, 1994 my family and I listened to Radio Rwanda, as the Hutu extremists called us cockroaches among other dehumanizing names. Tutsis are cockroaches, Tutsis are enemies of Rwanda, we must kill all Tutsis, the Hutu extremists daily preached on the radio. To say that the Hutu extremists in the government at that time incited the rest of the Hutus to kill their Tutsi neighbors though is not to say that the Hutus who listened to these messages of hate and went on to massacre their Tutsi neighbors are any less responsible. Those Hutus who killed in Rwanda did so out of their own free will, fueled by such things as their own hatred and greed. The government did not come to their doors and force them to go and kill their Tutsi neighbors. To excuse them by saying that the government told them to kill is therefore unacceptable. All of those Hutus who participated in the genocide should be held responsible for the innocent men, women and children who they mercilessly murdered.