“The United States doesn’t have friends; it has interests.”
That from a US official speaking to a Rwandan human rights activist.
That was the line most governments used while sitting idly by during one of the worst genocides of the 20th century.
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“Ghosts of Rwanda” is a Frontline documentary created by PBS to assess the situation in Rwanda 10 years after 800,000 ethnic Tutsis were massacred by Hutu extremists. And the manner of death (usually by machete) was gruesome.
The film shows then-US President Bill Clinton explaining why the US shied away from getting involved in Rwanda, noting it was too soon after the debacle in Somalia for the US to go adventuring in other parts of Africa.
And then-Ambassador to the United Nations Madeleine Albright also is quoted saying she was not aware of the severity of the situation on the ground in Rwanda.
The head of the Red Cross in Rwanda, however, asserts everyone knew what was happening but chose to turn away.
And the UN commander on the ground gives testimony to how he felt with his attempts to help thwarted by the Security Council at every turn.
So he had to improvise with a few soldiers and did his best to protect those who were being slaughtered.
It may have been that politics could not catch up with events because they happened so quickly in Rwanda.
Maybe so. Or maybe that’s what those who did nothing will say to convince themselves there was nothing they could do.
“Ghosts of Rwanda” is now available on DVD.
Murphy can be reached at [email protected]
