The Disabled and the Rwanda Genocide: The untold story

On 7th April 2004 at Amahoro Stadium in Kigali, Rwanda, the international community did join Rwanda to commemorate the 10 th anniversary of the Rwanda holocaust popularly known as genocide.

As the world continues to reflect on the Rwanda genocide, many questions still linger. Did it have to happen? What drives humanity to such extreme and intense hatred? Who is to blame? The international community or Rwanda itself? But most important, are we sure that the Rwanda genocide is the last the world will witness? Are their other genocide episodes in the making, especially on the African continent? Let these questions be a subject of another piece.

Speaker after speaker at the 10 th commemoration talked at length about what happened and those that died. I may stand corrected, but I never heard anybody talk about what happened to those with disabilities. What they went through before, during and after the chilling and sickening killings. Of course the world and Africa in particular owes something to those who were innocently slaughtered. They didn't have to die!

Regarding disabled persons, who prepared them for the impending genocide? As the perpetrators of the mayhem schemed and conspired, did they bother to move disabled people to secure places? Did they think about the deaf who could not hear what they were planning...the blind who could not see ...and the physically challenged who could not run away, as hell broke loose? How did they expect these fellows to cope! Under that state of anarchy? By the way does anybody bother to ask these questions every time a conflict flares up in Africa? From Sudan to Ivory Coast. From Liberia to Sierra Leone. From Northern Uganda to DRC to Somalia. From religious conflicts in Nigeria to tribal and politically motivated clashes that dominate the African scene. If these questions do not make sense to us, where is our humanity, our values, and our morality? By the way what does the so called "human rights watchdogs" have to say on this? Do they consider this as part of their domain? Why haven't they said something about this? They stand condemned. And their definition of human rights needs reviewing. It is exclusive.

According to Mr. Theodore Simburudali, a commissioner with the Rwanda National Commission on Human Rights: "disabled people suffered intolerable horrors. They went through hell on earth. They are very few disabled who survived during the genocide. They were killed... and many maimed the more. Hundreds were abandoned".

Mr. Simburudali says that the case of the disabled demonstrates the highest degree of human bestially, brutality and intolerance. "I think the Rwanda genocide presents a lot of learning for Africa in particular, that indeed we can do better to prepare and protect the disadvantaged populations in war and war related situations. The Rwandan case should be a wake up call to all", he says.

According to the Commissioner, the Gatagara Centre for disabled persons situated 47 km from Kigali, once a thriving centre for rehabilitation and skills training, was attacked. All the disabled people in the centre were senselessly murdered in cold blood. The workshop and all the equipment at the centre were looted and others destroyed. The specialised manpower at the centre regardless of their ethnic background were butchered. As a matter of fact, Rwanda now suffers a huge deficit in terms of well trained men and women to support effective rehabilitation and specialised management of those with disabilities. This centre had been developed by Missionaries.

An equally important institution that was vandalised was the Ndira Centre for people with psychiatric and mental handicaps. The centre close to Kigali is another worse case scenario. Watching video cassettes of the disabled persons from this centre, helplessly looking for help during the slaughter, would leave you breathless.

This happened as the troops both foreign and local that could have helped, just watched as if they were watching a football game. As if they were on a picnic!!

Those disabled persons who did not die suffered trauma, rape, torture and other multiple disabilities. What is being done about this? What programmes have been put in place to rehabilitate and integrate them in to the mainstream of society?

What support is the international community giving Rwanda in this particular case? As the greatest victims of the genocide, how and to what extent are persons with disabilities involved in the peace and reconciliation processes and efforts going in Rwanda? Are they represented on the Rwandan Peace and Reconciliation Commission?

And how have these cases been handled by the traditional court systems in Rwanda, and the Arusha-based tribunal on Rwandan genocide. Disabled persons demand and deserve justice, fairness and an unambiguous assurance that what they went through would be a thing of the past. Never and never again should they be subjected to such sub- human indignity and degrading treatment...

It is time Africa and the international community respected certain protocols during conflicts and wars. Non-combatants and especially women, refugees, children, the elderly and the disabled must not only be spared, but protected. The United Nations and the international community must ensure that this happens at all times and that any violation is severely sanctioned and punished.

African charter on rights of disabled persons needed

To that end, Africa must come up with an African charter on the protection and promotion of the rights and dignity of people with disabilities. African governments must also strongly support ongoing efforts towards the proclamation of a similar convention by the United Nations. But, those instruments must have watertight provisions for the protection of the disabled in times of emergency and calamities whether natural or man-made. By the way, has anybody given thought to what happens to disabled people especially the physically and visually impaired during perennial floods in Kenya? As we reflect on this, lets also reflect on the root cause of the Rwanda genocide and the role of the many and diverse players that planned and executed this horrible act. Why for instance did the media allow itself to play that dirty damaging propaganda? What is the role of the media in society? What about the intellectuals and politicians? I am told that people were filled with so much venom, vengeance and hatred that even doctors would hack their patients to death as long as the patient was against the genocide!! Doctors as professionals are supposed to save lives. Why were they blinded with so much rage? What about the church? Was it also compromised? Did the international community and the United Nations do enough? Is it doing enough to prevent another Rwanda like madness? What about Africa itself? Is it doing enough to own up to what happened in Rwanda? Is it enough to blame the international community? How are they addressing the question of good governance, equitable resource distribution, endemic corruption, poverty and intolerance that systemically fuel despondency, suspicion, divisions and hatred among the populace? And what preparatory and response mechanisms are they putting in place to forestall and mitigate the impacts of similar events in future?

Unless these questions and issues are concretely faced and addressed, we willnot have seen the end of the Rwanda type lunacy.

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