Genocide In Rwanda 

     There is a lot to be learned when reviewing leadership as it relates to the Genocide in Rwanda. During the Genocide that took place in 1994, it was reported that over 800,000 people were murdered. This paper takes a look at the leaders during this epic time and seeks to address exactly, where was the leadership and how did the leadership respond. 

 

     There were early warning signs of this massive killing spree. Leaders of multiple countries ignored the early warning signs that were being shown and passed on by local leaders. Local leaders to include religious leaders ignored early warnings and at times took part in allowing the killings to place in areas said to be holy ground. During the killings, leaders ignored the calls for assistance. Some leaders even took this time to do a play on words, not allowing the word Genocide to be used. The word Genocide being used by government officials would equal some action needing to be taken. By not allowing the word Genocide to be used in the U.S. at least, made it explainable not to take action against civil unrest in this African city.

 

     During the killings in Rwanda leaders of other countries found it acceptable to make reasons for the killings and then let those reasons be the cause of their hesitation to respond. It was reported by Richard Robbins in his report titled Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism, that leaders were accusing colonial history and global economic integration combined to produce genocide (Robbins, 2002, p.269). Some Western governmental leaders blamed the victims for the mass killings. There is a lot of literature on the Genocide in Rwanda and most explain the poor leadership during this period. There should also be effort given to explain the leaders that did perform as we have learned a good leader should. Those leaders, who pleaded for troops that never arrived, instead of abandoning the people of Rwanda, they stayed and fought (Mascarenhas, 2014).  The leaders that before the genocide were not in roles of a leader or looked to as a leader stepped up and took the lead on what must have appeared as a winless situation.

 

     This review of leadership during the Rwandan Genocide will explore the actions and attitudes of leaders before, during, and after this horrific event.