Rwanda: Report Claims 2 Million Killed in 1994 Genocide

In a report in The New Times (Kiglai) on October 4, it stated that the number of people killed in the 1994 Genocide of Tutsis totaled 1,952,078 people. This number was concluded upon after student members of the Student Genocide Survivors Organization researched 390 genocide memorial sites and cemeteries. Although that seems like a high number of people killed, it is more than likely that is a considerably larger number due to the fact that those victims who were thrown in rivers and lakes and those whose bodies were burnt to ashes were not accounted for. Jean de Dieu, President of the National Commission against Genocide state that the figures in the report are not yet official and his commission must verify the figures before regarding them as real. Also, a renown researcher of the Rwandan Genocide , Tom Ndahito, stated that the figures of lives lost in the Genocide is uncountable.

I posted this article because I believe that having an idea of how many lives were lost during the Genocide really helps you to understand the magnitude of this event in Rwanda. Knowing a figure of how many people were killed makes it easier to understand why people may have been so upset with the media if in fact some of the news put out did contribute to the loss of a friend or family member. We're not talking about the media may have said something that led to the death of one or two people, but something that nearly wiped out a group of people. Although must of us believe in the right to freedom of speech, something as huge as a genocide almost makes you question the pretenses of freedom of speech. If in the U.S. nearly 2 million people were wiped out we want our government to do all in its power for it to ever occur again, so it is possible the government is somewhat forced to use different measures in order to deter violence.

By Ashley Mannings