Left to Tell Reflection Paper

After reading “Left to Tell” and other materials this semester regarding the 1994 Rwanda Genocide, write a 3-page reflection paper summarizing your insights and feelings about this international tragedy. Your paper must be three full pages (900-1200 words), typed, double spaced, standard font (Arial or Times New Roman) no bigger than 12 point. Your reflection should consider the people, communities, governments, and international bodies involved in the genocide. Use the following guiding questions to help you.

1. Describe your personal reaction(s) reading “Left to Tell”.
   1. You may choose to answer this question in ANY way you like; it’s your reaction! However, if guidance is helpful, perhaps consider how reading Immaculee’s story changed 1) your general awareness of the genocide, 2) your assumptions about the people involved, and/or 3) your empathy for their experiences.
2. Consider the variety of topics we’ve discussed during this course (i.e., human rights, globalization, social justice, social and economic development, humanitarianism, sustainability, the United Nations, measuring social well-being, refugees, disaster relief, child labor, child soldiers, street children, global aging, violence against women, poverty, environmental degradation, etc.). Choose any two and apply them to the Rwandan Genocide. This is a chance for you to practice applying your developing international lens to a specific example and you should go beyond stating the obvious! Strive to offer thoughtful insight for the way you apply the topics you choose. You are free to apply the topics in relation to precipitating events leading up to the genocide, the various stages during the genocide, and/or the reconstruction of communities, government, and people’s well-being in the aftermath.
3. Consider the role of media in the Rwandan genocide.
   1. Discuss your thoughts about how local broadcasts were used within Rwanda to fuel the genocide? Include examples of propaganda in your response and reflect on the role of “fear”, “power/superiority”, and “division/marginalization” in these messages.
   2. What are your thoughts about the role of international media in communicating the conflict?
4. Who do you think is responsible for the genocide? Those who gave the orders? Those who carried out the orders? Those in Rwanda who failed to stop it? Those outside Rwanda who failed to stop it? What is your perception of how future threats of genocide should be handled?