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Genocide Explored Educational issues & challenges
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This project was designed and delivered by: Daniel Carey, Eoghan Dodd, David Young, Eoin Hanney, Kris O’Neill, Anthony McDermott, Stephen McNeice, Luke Benson, Graeme Horner, Sammy Evitt, Ciaran Hurley, Frank Newman, Dylan Haskins, Dean Thompson, Philip Pinkerton, Johnny Roy, John Morton, David Coleman, Niall Fox, Thomas Larry, Leon Browne, Michael Walsh, Neil O’Rourke, David Finn, Conor Casey and Chris McClelland with support from: Friday
Mura l or the en d of the Toda y we near ed that we t ou But we foun d so we thought! trying to re we ea what we id no d ha lly a re ckgr oun d, words as the ba men in pa int! We ha d in the middle, wo skulls bang, sma ck regr oun d “protecting” a fo ra l part shrouds near the would be the cent l. The ich wh , ild ch ll a sm ura t piece of the m an d most poignan is that man y of us did only rea l pr oblem ese images meant. In th e not rea lise what to go ba ck to th ed cid what t the en d we de ou ab in a ag k d thin dra wing board an a ccomplish. In the en d to l was we were trying ha lf of the mura m tto bo e tir en the dly ba e th of man y scra pped in cluding s. dra wn skull m got the Resource Tea y da at th on r Late the s the la yout of of two together to discus rt pa st be e th to ok were maga zine. This at Wh an d la yout. going hours to work out we re we de? Wher e clu in to g in go we uld we articles? How wo How to to pla ce certa in to the maga zine? entice rea ders in t mor e knowledge an d ge eviden ce a llow rea ders to e into the truth, cit in an em th give forms. nocide in a ll it’s an d horr or of ge tions that ha d to be es Ther e were a ll qu . ed answer
Sean Bonner, Mark Tansey, Gerry Duffy, John Johnston, Eileen Ferguson, Jennifer Mussen, Valerie Duffy, Jeanne Gallagher, Sean Daly, Hilda Regan, Mary Byrne, Lizzy Noone, Hugh McDonald and Colm Regan Special thanks to Anne Cleary of Aidlink and Michael Doorly of Concern and, as ever, Ken Brennan and the staff of Genprint.
Saturday Now with little less tha n ha lf the mura l pa int ed over with white pa int, we were forced to com e to a decision as to what we wanted to do with the rema ining spa ce. A me eting was ca lled in the 80:20 offices. Here a few of us that weren’t pa inting gather ed to ar gue out ideas. Some issues debated: A maths equation - com paring killings in Northe rn Ir elan d to Rwan da.? Ma chetes an d Bullets - Ma chete = killing to ol in Rwan dan Genocide, Bullet = killing to ol in Northern Ir elan d Skulls: moved to the sid es? Scra pped a ltogether ? Ma ps pla ced over them? Fa de them out as they tra vel down the mura l? Words: to o man y? Mirror: A mirror pla ced on the mura l in pla ce of one of the sku lls? Bring it home for the person lo oking at it. Let them see the y could very easily be nex t.
* * * * *
The vast ma jority of these ideas were aban doned there an d then for var iou they weren’t getting the s reasons, most because message a cross. The skulls were kept, nobody wante d them gone but they wanted less of them. The the rea l message. Peo y to ok preceden ce over ple felt that it lo oked like an a lbum cover an d it was to o cliched. An d so now with som e idea as to what wa s goi to ha ppen next, a sel ect a mount of pa inters ng began work on new skulls to fill in some of the ga p left by the old an d fa irly ba d ones.
MEMBERS OF TH E EURO MED ITERRANEAN HUMAN RIGHTS NETWORK EDUCA TION GROUP MEET WITH MEMBERS OF THE PROJECT TEAM.
E
Printed on recycled paper
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Good matters, right matters. They have the last word. We learn about the Holocaust and other genocides so that we can be more human, more gentle, more caring, more compassionate, valuing every person as being of infinite worth, so precious that we know that such atrocities will never happen again, and that the world will be a more humane place that is hostile to such horrendous occurrences. Archbishop Desmond Tutu 2004 marks the 10th anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda a genocide that resulted in the bloody slaughter of more than 800,000 Rwandan citizens. For most, it was an horrific reminder that the crime of genocide still occurs in the world today. It’s realities are not something that is relegated to the past, as exemplified by the horrors of the Holocaust or the Turkish slayings of hundreds of thousands of Armenians in the early twentieth century. Genocide still occurs and, it seems likely, will re-occur in the future. For many of us in the Western world, genocide reminds us that killing, on a large scale, is not confined to distant lands and people but is, as the reality of the Balkans clearly demonstrates, part of our world just as much as it is part of ‘theirs’. For those of us living in Ireland, studying the phenomenon of genocide is deeply disturbing for a variety of reasons. While the character and scale of killing in Northern Ireland (and throughout the island) has remained limited, many dimensions of our own history remain deeply challenging.
This resource, as well as the wall mural and the set of posters that accompany it, explores the topic of genocide in a number of contexts: ● a group of students and teachers, from two schools – one in East Belfast, the other in Bray – exploring the nature and context of what happened in Rwanda, and Northern Ireland, and elsewhere ● an attempt to understand the nature and causes of genocide as well as its geography and history in recent decades ● an attempt to answer the basic question - what can I do to prevent genocide? This resource has been written for a number of reasons – to record what we did, to share our work and experiences with others, to highlight the educational dimension of the 10th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide and to mark its consequences for those who died as well as for those who survived. Finally, we have published this resource to challenge the often asserted view that young people today don’t care – they do!
The reality is that many of the worst genocides have occurred in Europe and at the hands of Europeans.
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Genocide Explored
This project has involved a wide variety of groups working together over a period of months in the lead up to April, 2004, the 10th anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda. At an obvious level, we wanted to mark the anniversary and, in some small way, remember those who died in such horrific circumstances. We knew that the anniversary would be reported on TV and throughout the media and we were concerned to ensure that the educational dimension of the anniversary was not forgotten. We were also centrally concerned to ensure that genocide did not remain ‘out there’ – something that happens to unfortunate people elsewhere but couldn’t happen here. We wanted to challenge the idea that Rwandans, Jews and ‘others’ experience genocide (and its various elements) and that, as such, it remains distant and remote from our own lives. We wanted to bring the challenges offered by genocide ‘home’. This challenge was represented by the response of one student who, initially, opted out of the project because he felt that studying the issue would do nothing (he was less polite than this in his description!) to prevent genocide – how could we do anything meaningful or effective? Reflecting on the realities of Rwanda, the Holocaust, Cambodia etc. and their underlying causes, patterns and human consequences in the light of events on this island in recent decades offered a potential answer to this fundamental question. The ‘we’ of this project are the students and teachers of two schools – Orangefield High School in East Belfast and Presentation College, Bray who agreed to come together to paint a wall mural on the theme of genocide (and to produce a supporting education resource and a set of posters). The
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Educational issues and challenges schools were supported by 4 nongovernmental organisations – Aidlink, Concern, Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust and 80:20 Educating and Acting for a Better World. We chose to produce a wall mural because of the long tradition of such mural painting in Northern Ireland (and because we have been involved in challenging much of their content in recent years). But, most important of all, the ‘we’ of the project are people from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland who come from very different traditions, backgrounds and perspectives – differences that have regularly expressed themselves in significant violence – against each other! The pictures on these pages capture some of our work – the workshops, the debates, the arguments, the painting, the football and the fun! The project is part of a bigger agenda that we have only begun to explore. Jennifer Mussen, Principal, Orangefield High School, East Belfast Gerry Duffy, Principal, Presentation College, Bray
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Genocide Explored
I didn't observe anything...for the longest time I did not believe in God. So for me it was really not a problem until I became older and I realised that...you see, I think a lot of survivors feel very guilty about surviving. For the longest time I kept asking myself, "Why am I alive? Why is my father dead? Why did 6,000,000 die and I am alive?" And when I got older, I began to realise that maybe God chose me because whatever little I have to contribute to telling of this, I am able to do that now. Jeannine Burk whose father was murdered in Auschwitz In undertaking this project, we held many workshops and discussions – in Belfast and in Bray – about the nature and causes of genocide, how it happened in Rwanda (and elsewhere) and whether it could happen here in Ireland. One question to which we constantly returned is, in many ways, the most fundamental question – why study genocide?
and is capable of shaping new lives positively, and negatively.
What follows is our attempt to answer that question (with due acknowledgement to Archbishop Desmond Tutu in The Encyclopaedia of Genocide, ABC-CLIO, Oxford, England, 1999).
As has been pointed out – ‘those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it’
So that we try not to forget The human consequences of genocide have been horrendous – not just for those who have been killed but for their families and their communities. Whole societies have been profoundly shaped and influenced by historical experiences – whilst they might appear to be in the past, for many, these experiences are very much of the present. The guilt of those who were involved as well as the guilt of those who survived lives on
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We need to know about the specific historical settings in which genocide took place, to whom it happened and by whose hand and in what circumstances. We need to know this if we are to attempt to answer the question – what can we do?
So that we learn There are many crucial lessons to be learned – how genocide occurs? What factors and circumstances allow it? What can be done to prevent its recurrence? What the role of government and the broader society were (and could be)? What the role of armies and of ordinary people was (and could be)? etc. But there are other, equally vital, lessons: ● that we can experience revulsion and yet be inspired ● so that we realise that ordinary people are capable of horrific violence (and heroism)
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Educational issues and challenges ● that the issue cannot be left to governments and international bodies alone to deal with ● that the promotion and protection of human rights is vital ● that specific interventions such as the International Criminal Court are fundamental to the rule of law – and of morality ● that education against genocide is a fundamental, if insufficient, instrument of prevention etc. ● As has been pointed out – ‘what we learn from history is that we do not learn from history’
So that we work to avoid it happening again As we progress further into the 21st century, our technological capacity increases exponentially, at least here in the so-called ‘developed world’, yet our moral, legal and political capacities remain stunted by comparison. For example, contrary to what we might believe, genocide is not simply carried out by educationally ‘ignorant’ people but by some of the most sophisticated and learned individuals and groups. We need to work to learn what instruments, structures and procedures are needed at national and international levels to attempt to prevent re-occurrences. But, most of all, we need to work to develop a public climate in which the tell-tale signs are not only noted but also loudly challenged. Each and everyone of us has a role to play.
To appreciate that it could happen to me
you and me as well as to their families, communities and countries. It is not confined to any one group of countries in Africa or the Middle East or to poorer countries – it has happened here in Europe and in the so-called ‘civilised world’. Ensuring protection for those at risk of violence ensures all our safety and begins to build an international understanding of the idea of human security.
To support international protection and justice When a particular group or community comes under attack, international support becomes crucial. Such support can take many forms – political pressure, publicity, sanctions, UN condemnation, intervention, protection, asylum etc. Support for the UN and for its measures of protection is crucial to those under attack. Bringing to justice those guilty of war crimes is a fundamental part of ensuring that genocide does not happen again. It is also an important part of ensuring that revenge does not become the ‘order of the day’ – it is also part of the healing process. Institutions such as the International Criminal Court are a vital part of responding to the realities of genocide.
To realise our capacity for evil and for good Learning about, and from, the history of genocide tells us much about human nature and about our societies and ourselves. In a word, we should study genocide to learn about what Africans call UBUNTU – the essence of being human – that our humanity is bound up with that of others.
Genocide always seems to happen to other people – Jews, Rwandans, Muslims etc. And yet, any brief study of genocide makes it clear that it happens to ordinary people, like
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Genocide Explored
In developing the project as well as designing the wall mural, we researched a large number of instances of genocide or mass murder, we also looked at situations which involved large scale killing but which did not qualify as genocide. Many of these situations (and the methods of killing used) are shown on the mural itself. Below, we give some examples and a flavour of some of the arguments, ideas and opinions we found about them. Together, they tell us quite a bit about genocide.
Cambodia
1975-1979
In the Cambodian genocide of 1975-1979 the Khmer Rouge regime (headed by Pol Pot) combined extremist ideology with ethnic animosity and a savage disregard for human life to produce repression, misery, and murder on a massive scale. According to Ben Kiernan, Director of the Genocide Studies, Program at Yale University: ‘We may safely conclude, from known pre- and post-genocide population figures and from professional demographic calculations, that the 1975-79 death toll was between 1.671 and 1.871 million people, 21 to 24 percent of Cambodia’s 1975 population.’ “Down one side of the paper, hand-written in graceful Cambodian characters, are the names of eight boys and girls, ages 9 to 14. At the bottom is the signature of Kang Kech Iev, director of an extermination centre run by the Cambodian Communists - the Khmer Rouge - near the village of Tuol Sleng in the 1970s. Of the 14,000 people confined there, just seven are known to have survived… Next to the names of the eight boys and girls is a scrawled notation dated May 30, 1978. It reads: “Kill them all.” PATRICK DILGER IN BACK TO THE KILLING FIELDS
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Educational issues and challenges
THE HORRIFIC REALITY OF GENOCIDE, RWANDA 1994 – THE SCHOOL AT MURAMBI, THE CLOTHES OF THE VICTIMS AND THE VICTIMS OF ONE OF THE WORST ATROCITIES OF THE
Rwanda
20TH CENTURY.
1994
Between April and June 1994, an estimated 800,000 Rwandans were killed in the space of 100 days. Most of the dead were Tutsis - and most of those who perpetrated the violence were Hutus. Even for a country with such a turbulent history as Rwanda, the scale and speed of the slaughter left its people reeling. The genocide was sparked by the death of the Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana, a Hutu, when his plane was shot down above Kigali airport on 6 April 1994. Within hours of the attack, a campaign of violence spread from the capital throughout the country and did not subside until three months later. But the death of the president was by no means the only cause of Africa’s largest genocide in modern times. See: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/africa/2004/rwanda ‘We talk about Rwanda as a failure of US policy – a failure to intervene, a failure to recognise what was going on, and a failure to take action to stop genocide. But if you look at the Clinton administration’s approach to it throughout the entire period, what you really see is that it was actually a success of a policy not to intervene. It wasn’t a failure to act. The decision was not to act. And at that we succeeded greatly. I think that anybody who still believes that the world will not let it happen again, who believes the words “Never again,” is deluding themselves dangerously.’ PHILIP GOUREVITCH (2000), AUTHOR OF WE WISH TO INFORM YOU THAT TOMORROW WE WILL BE KILLED WITH OUR FAMILIES, LONDON, PICADOR.
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Genocide Explored Iraq and the Kurds
1961–2003
Saddam Hussein and his followers killed more than 190,000 Kurdish people in Northern Iraq - they were murdered by nerve gas, poison gas and chemical weapons. The Kurds were also denied their right to speak and write in their own language, Kurdish folk songs were required to be sung in Turkish and children with Kurdish names were renamed. “One of our few remaining hopes is that democrats and those who cherish values of justice, peace and freedom will voice their concern for the plight of the Kurds” KURDISH LEADERS IN A LETTER TO MARGARET THATCHER FOLLOWING THE GASSING OF KURDS AT HALABJA, 16TH AUGUST 1988.
A British £340 million export credit deal with Iraq went through on September 5th 1988.
1992–1995
Bosnia – Herzegovina
‘A former Bosnian Serb army commander was jailed for 17 years by the Hague war crimes tribunal yesterday after confessing to his role in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of more than 7,000 Muslims. Dragan Obrenovic, one of two former commanders to admit his role in the massacre, pleaded guilty to one count of crimes against humanity in May. “The trial chamber hereby sentences you to a period of 17 years’ imprisonment,” Judge Liu Daqun told Obrenovic as he stood to hear his sentence for admitting persecution on political, racial and religious grounds. Five other charges - including extermination and murder - had already been dismissed. Obrenovic was chief of staff in the Bosnian Serb army’s Zvornik brigade. His fellow accused, Momir Nikolic, was jailed for 27 years this month for his role in the slaughter of Muslims after Bosnian Serb forces overran Srebrenica towards the end of the 1992-95 Bosnian war’. THE GUARDIAN, DECEMBER 11TH, 2003
‘I do not know that you could give me a complete answer, but perhaps you can help me to understand since I am not from that area. How could you explain some of the atrocities that we have heard have been committed? …Given your background, your experiences, knowing that Serbs and Muslims lived together, went to school together, how did that happen?’ asked Judge Gabrielle Kirk McDonald of the witness before her in the first international war crimes trial since World War II. Hando paused. ‘It is difficult to answer, this question,’ he replied. ‘I am also at a loss. I had the key to my next-door neighbour’s (house) who was a Serb, and he had my key. That is how we looked after each other…’ TESTIMONY OF HAMDO KAHRIMANOVIC BEFORE THE INTERNATIONAL TRIBUNAL FOR THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA QUOTED IN ELIZABETH NEUFFER (2001) THE KEY TO MY NEIGHBOUR’S HOUSE: SEEKING JUSTICE IN BOSNIA AND RWANDA, LONDON, PICADOR.
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Educational issues and challenges Armenians in Turkey
1915–1917
The Armenian Genocide was carried out by what was known as the Young Turk Government of the Ottoman Empire. Approximately 1.5 million Armenians were killed, from a total of 2.5 million Armenians in the Ottoman Empire. The German Vice Consul Count Max Erwin von Scheubner-Richter, summarised the Armenian Genocide in a report to his superiors as follows: ‘I have conducted a series of conversations with competent and influential Turkish personages, and these are my impressions: A large segment of the Ittahadist [Young Turk] party maintains the viewpoint that the Turkish empire should be based only on the principle of Islam and Pan-Turkism. Its non-Muslim and non-Turkish inhabitants should either be forcibly Islamised, or otherwise they ought to be destroyed. These gentlemen believe that the time is propitious for the realisation of this plan. The first item on this agenda concerns the liquidation of the Armenians’
The Nazi Holocaust
1938–1945
The genocide of European Jews and others: included the systematic extermination of 6 million European Jews, Romany people, Slavs, intellectuals, homosexuals and political dissidents by the Nazis and their allies during World War II. “Our strength consists in our speed and in our brutality… I have issued the command – and I’ll have anybody who utters but one word of criticism executed by a firing squad – that our war aim does not consist in reaching certain lines, but in the physical destruction of the enemy. Accordingly I have placed my death-head formations in readiness – for the present only in the East – with orders to them to send to death mercilessly and without compassion, men, women, and children of Polish derivation and language. Only thus shall we gain the living space, which we need” ADOLF HITLER AUGUST 22, 1939 (QUOTED FROM A SPEECH DELIVERED BY HITLER TO THE SUPREME COMMANDERS AND COMMANDING GENERALS, AS THE NAZIS MARCHED INTO POLAND IN 1939)
But one ugly, deadly and recurrent reality check persists: genocide. Genocide has occurred so often and so uncontested in the last fifty years that an epithet more apt in describing recent events than the oft-chanted “Never Again” is in fact “Again and Again.” The gap between the promise and the practice of the last fifty years is dispiriting indeed. How can this be? SAMANTHA POWER (2003), AUTHOR OF A PROBLEM FROM HELL: AMERICA AND THE AGE OF GENOCIDE, LONDON, FLAMINGO
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Genocide Explored
Genocide does not just happen. It is organised, planned and executed precisely. Genocide usually follows eight stages in it’s development and execution.
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Classification
in Rwanda …
Classification is the categorising of people into groups. They are classified by race, religion and/or nationality. An us versus them attitude is introduced and promoted. Classification will always take place, it has happened in Ireland. There are divisions drawn between Protestants and Catholics, and between Nationals and Non-Nationals. There are ways of insuring that these classifications don’t escalate. If both sides find a common ground and institutions that transcend these divisions, inter-relationships and tolerance can grow.
Rwandan society was classified into three groups, the Hutu (majority), the Tutsi and the Twa. The Tutsi were seen as the “Elite” by the French and Belgian colonists because of their “white” features. The Tutsi were given preference in education, religion and governmental services. Because of this the Hutu Power movement saw the Tutsi as foreigners who had taken the rightful control of Rwanda from the Hutu.
Symbolisation
in Rwanda …
Groups are given names and other symbols that can be used to classify them. Classification and symbolisation are universally human and do not necessarily result in genocide unless they lead to the next stage, dehumanisation. When combined with hatred, symbols may be forced upon unwilling members of groups.
In Rwanda symbolisation came in the form of identification cards. They were introduced in 1926 by the Belgians and were required by law. The card recorded each individual’s group identity – Hutu, Tutsi or Twa. New ID cards (that did not show which group people belonged to) were printed after the Arusha peace agreement in 1993. They were never issued because the Hutu regime wanted to use these new cards to identify the Tutsi during the genocide.
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Educational issues and challenges
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Dehumanisation
in Rwanda …
This process implies that members of one group are dehumanised. They are likened to animals, vermin or disease. Why is dehumanisation important? By dehumanising a group, those planning genocide feel justified and the killing of the other group is not seen as murder. Dehumanisation overcomes the human revulsion against murder.
Newspapers and radio were used to dehumanise the Tutsi in Rwanda. The “Kangura” newspaper as well as 20 other extremist newspapers wrote articles and cartoons portraying the Tutsi as cockroaches and snakes, they accused the Tutsi of eating vital organs and they embellished the myth that the Tutsi invaded from Ethiopia. Radio Télévision Libres des Milles Collines (RTLMC) was set up in 1993. It was a “hate radio” which broadcasted anti-Tutsi propaganda throughout Rwanda.
Organisation
in Rwanda …
The genocide is organised. Hate groups are organised and militias are formed, trained and armed. Plans are made for the genocide. At this time propaganda institutions like newspapers and radios are strengthened and propaganda increases.
In 1990 the Forces ArmÈes Rwandaises (the all-Hutu army) expanded from 5,000 to 28,000. Between 1990 and April 1994 Rwanda spent $12 million on arms. In the early 90’s two militias were set up. The “Interahamwe” (Those Who Stand/Attack Together) and the “Impuzamugambi” were secretly trained by Rwandan army officers.
Polarisation
in Rwanda …
… form or cause to form into groups with directly opposite views;
“Kangura” and RTLMC called anyone who opposed Hutu Power an accomplice of the Tutsis and an ally of the enemy. An example of a moderate killed in the genocide is Agathe Uwilingiyimana . When she became Prime Minister of the Government in 1993, RTLMC openly called for her assassination. She was one of the first officials to be murdered in the genocide.
(Dictionary extract) Dehumanise: to deprive of human qualities
Polarisation is used to describe the way that extremists drive the two groups involved in genocide apart. The us versus them attitude is emphasised. At this time a new view is formed, if you are not with us, you are against us. Moderates are denounced as traitors and are persecuted. Some are even killed. It now becomes a kill or be killed situation.
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Genocide Explored
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Preparation
in Rwanda …
Plans are made for the fast approaching genocide. Lists are drawn up of those who are to be killed. Trial massacres are conducted to give the murderers practice. If these massacres go ignored by the international community, genocide is ready to proceed. At this time an international force should be sent to intervene and humanitarian assistance should be organised for the inevitable tide of refugees.
When the Rwandan Patriotic Army invaded, the trial massacres began. 300 in Kabirira Oct. ‘90. 500-1000 in Kinigi Jan. ‘91 300 in Bugesera Mar. ’92 The US Embassy reported a massacre of 70 Tutsis by the Interahamwe in Kigali Feb. ’94.
Extermination
in Rwanda …
This is when the killing begins. It is termed “extermination” as the killers believe their victims to be less than human and that they are purifying society. At this stage, only rapid and overwhelming armed intervention can stop genocide.
The genocide began on April 7, 1994, the day after the Rwandan President’s plane was shot down, killing him. The genocidaires were well prepared and began slaying at once. The killing was low-tech. The murderers used machetes, hoes and anything that could be used to kill. The Hutu believed that it was kill or be killed. In the second week of the genocide the militias brought the Tutsis to government offices, churches schools and began massacring them on a larger scale.
Denial
During and after every genocide the crime is denied by the perpetrators. How can you deny genocide? You lie, block investigations and dispose of the evidence. The killers hide the bodies in mass graves and intimidate any witnesses brave enough to speak out. Most say that the genocide was justified by claiming that the killings were part of a war or a repression of terrorism. The best response to denial is punishment by an international tribunal or national courts. There the evidence can be heard, and the perpetrators punished.
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in Rwanda … There were many forms of denial in Rwanda: ● the murderers believed that they were taking legitimate action by part-taking in the genocide; ● the militias disposed of the bodies (by using lime) to minimise the amount of victims; ● the government blamed the actions of victims for their deaths and claimed that the murders were spontaneous outbreaks or the actions of rogue commanders.
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Educational issues and challenges
There are, literally, hundreds of genocide sites on the Internet – and not all of them against it (watch out for white power sites that promote racist viewpoints and actions!). We have chosen to highlight the following sites because they are useful starting points and will give you more than enough links to take the search onwards. www.holocaust-education.dk An excellent site – home of the Danish Institute for Holocaust and Genocide Studies – provides sections for teachers and students also sections on the basics, test yourself, timelines, statistics, a dictionary etc. The links section is particularly good – check out the world’s largest, English language, site www.ushmm.org (US Holocaust Memorial Museum). Parts of the site are not in English.
www.news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/ in_depth/africa/2004/rwanda The BBC’s accessible and very usable site covering events in Rwanda 10 years on – the history of the genocide, the human dimensions and its consequences, stories and testimonies, the legal aspects etc. The very best place to start on Rwanda – also has audio and video clips.
www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/genocide Home of the Web Genocide Documentation Centre – it provides access to all the basic documentation you will ever need on the subject – all the conventions, information on specific cases (Timor, the Third Reich, Yugoslavia etc.), information on different Tribunals investigating atrocities etc. Not always easily accessible but packed full of information and analysis.
www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/ frontline Check out this site – Frontline: the triumph of evil – look for section entitled ‘for educators’ and follow it – especially good on Rwanda but has lots of excellent resources.
Some Reading On Rwanda Philip Gourevitch (2000) We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families: stories from Rwanda, London, Picador – a brilliant, and very readable book exploring the realities of Rwanda, his reasons for writing the book and your reasons for reading it. On genocide (and on how governments respond – in this case the US) Samantha Power (2003) A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide, London, Flamingo – not by any means an easy read but her book is a must for those trying to understand official responses to genocide – her conclusions are crucial. On Northern Ireland John Darby (1997) Scorpions in a Bottle: Conflicting Cultures in Northern Ireland, London, Minority Rights Publications – an excellent overview covering all the key dimensions including minority rights, broader lessons etc. Very readable.
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Genocide Explored
The art in this work is important – it is important because it provides a visual testimony to a period of time. A time for discussion and debate, for perceptions to be challenged and most importantly, for the most destructive elements of our human capacity to be reclaimed in the name of creativity. Wall murals have and to continue to have a major influence on how we see others and ourselves in the context of Northern Ireland. However, it would be wrong to assume that the situation in Ulster is the only context in which public space such as walls have been used to mark territory or ‘advertise’ the ideas and values of a specific group. From El Salvador to Argentina, Mexico to Nazi Germany, such values and ideologies have been illustrated through the use of public art works such as murals. Our mural is an attempt to use this existing political ‘aesthetic’ as an educational methodology to engage the viewer in an internal and external debate. The mural has a number of ‘layers’ around which it is thematically organised. Initially, we decided to list 3 sets of important information – places in which genocide and mass killing occurred, the dates of such events and the methods used in killing. Some of the dates and places are clearly highly controversial and are hotly contested. For example, the treatment of Aboriginal Australians in the history of that country is a matter of current political debate and potential legal action; the question of the Armenians in 1915 – 1917 and, of course, the inclusion of Northern Ireland. We then approached the question of imagery
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– the traditional image of genocide is that of a mass of skulls, which we decided to use as a second ‘layer’. Nothing was more debated in the entire project than the number and presentation of the skulls. The 3rd ‘layer’ in the mural is represented by the survivors’ testimonies hand-written on the mural – everyone associated with the project was invited to find and include a testimony. This ‘layer’ represents our attempt to ‘humanise’ the issue of genocide and killing. Finally, we chose to include the 8 stages of genocide as identified by Gregory Stanton – this represents the ‘analytical layer’ of the mural (see www.genocidewatch.org).
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Educational issues and challenges
See developmenteducation.ie/genocide
Classify
Symbolise
Dehumanise
Organise
Polarise
Prepare
Exterminate
Deny
See developmenteduca
tion.ie/genocide
As part of the support package for the project, we decided to produce a set of 3 posters. Poster 1 places the genocide in Rwanda in the historical context of other genocides and killings and presents a summary of the definition of genocide from the Genocide Convention. Poster 2 illustrates the 8 stages of genocide with images from different times and locations. Poster 3 places events in Rwanda and Northern Ireland side by side – we recognise that this is controversial and contestable. The figures presented – 3,000 and 1 – represent the ratio of deaths in the two places. How you interpret this equation is up to you! Readers might be interested to know that Gregory Stanton places Northern Ireland at stage 5 in the 8 stages!
The 1948 UN Convention on Genocide following acts defines Gen committed to ocide as any ethnic, racial, destroy, in who of the or religious le or in part, group as such a national, . – Killing mem bers of a grou p; – Causing seri ous bodily or men tal harm to mem – Deliberately bers of a grou inflicting on p; a group the bring about conditions of its physical life calculated destruction – Imposing mea in whole or in to part; sures intende d to prevent – Forcibly tran births within sferring child a group; ren of one grou The Convent p to another ion also imp . oses a general 'prevent and duty on states to punish’ gen ocide. that are sign atories to
REMEMBER
RWANDA:
REFLECT LE
ARN
NORTHERN 3000: 1 IRELAND See developmenteducation.ie/genocide
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Genocide Explored
About the process ● The importance of researching and understanding the issue. The work undertaken by the group included researching websites, readings and photos.
● People had to use their critical and negotiation skills to analyse what they were doing, why they were doing it and to make decisions about what images and understanding they wanted to portray in the mural especially. There were a number of times when we just seemed to get lost – it forced us to think all the time about what we were doing. It was much more difficult than we thought at first.
● In order to share the information with others, the process needed to be documented at all stages – again, consciously looking at the process was not something we were familiar with – deciding on photos, interviews, video etc.
● The effect of documenting an event or story using art as a tool. We learned the importance of images – the selection and portrayal of them – how to put together a wall mural – from researching the issue through to putting the finishing touches to the final product. We learned not just about the issues but also about art and the use of art.
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● Writing, editing and designing – these were skills developed during the writing of articles for the resource, the editing and choosing of photos and working with a printer to design the resource.
● How to write a press release to tell others about the project.
● The importance of working together as a team and keeping each other informed of what each group was working on especially when not everyone took part in every bit.
● By working on this project, we, the participants, learned a lot but so too did many others in our school – both students and teachers – it also encouraged other classes to look at the same issue via sculpture and essay writing.
● That we can make a difference if we bother. ● This was hard work but it was worth it!
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Educational issues and challenges The Issue – Genocide – Rwanda and Northern Ireland ● From the numerous workshops that took place, we learned about Rwanda, genocide, the relative ease with which genocide and violence can happen, the fear and terror that is involved and the need to do something about it.
● Genocide is an organised crime against humanity, it is not only wrong, it also threatens all of us.
● In one sense, everyone is implicated, especially if we choose to do nothing or to assume that its someone else’s job or that it only happens to others.
● Everyone has a role in challenging and preventing violence and crime against the person wherever it occurs.
● Genocide has happened here in Europe is recent decades – it is not something that only affects other people, elsewhere throughout the world – genocide is a European reality.
● Some of the worlds greatest horrors are perpetrated on other human beings, not by ignorant and uneducated people but often by highly ‘educated’ individuals and groups.
● Learning from history is not a theoretical idea – learning about genocide and especially about its various stages has direct implications for us here in Ireland – we understand that genocide did not happen here, so far!
● Linking genocide and Rwanda with Northern Ireland annoyed some people. They felt insulted by the comparison but there are lessons to be learned here! Certainly some of the 8 stages of genocide have taken place here – this should frighten us!
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Genocide Explored
‘Justice is not a court verdict, it is also a personal journey’
Author Elizabeth Neuffer
As with all projects such as this, a central question raised at almost every turn is the difficult question of ‘What can I/we do?’ This question is all the more difficult to answer when faced with challenges as immense as those posed by genocide and the role of young people in countries such as Ireland and the UK. And yet, in and of itself, the project described here is an initial important answer to the question – bringing together young people from different and differing traditions (and politics) within this island to explore the issue of genocide, not only in terms of its implications for Rwanda (and elsewhere) but also for the island of Ireland. The learning involved in a project such as this is visible and palpable. Supporting students (and teachers) in exploring the issue and in peeling the layers surrounding genocide is ultimately a process of opening both eyes and hearts. The information explored, the discussions and debates involved in processing that information; the arguments about images and messages as well as the methodologies of negotiation and compromise (and team working) are fundamental. What is clear is that the most basic response required is a personal one – the recognition that an issue such as genocide has implications for me. Without this realisation, and the challenges it poses, little effective and meaningful personal development can
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occur. This is especially true when working with young people. They need the space and the support to explore, question, challenge and re-question without being handed easy and simplistic packaged solutions delivered to them by others. Being a teacher in such a context is also a profound challenge – deciding where to begin, what to teach, what to avoid etc. In workshops addressing the question posed at the outset, we identified a brief list of actions that all of us need to apply to our own personal and professional situations.
Challenge ourselves and others Do not accept the argument that there is little we can do – there is always something we can do and usually far more than we give ourselves credit for! Challenge the idea that genocide is impossible to understand, that it defies human experience or that it is conducted by uniquely evil individuals and groups. As Archbishop Desmond Tutu has pointed out, genocide graphically illustrates the capacity of each and every one of us for both good and evil. Challenge the idea that issues such as this are inappropriate for enquiry in a schools/youth context – that they are too political or too complex or too disturbing.
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Educational issues and challenges Explore the issues In this project one of the most effective means for exploring the theme of genocide were the personal testimonies of survivors and those affected. These testimonies highlighted the human face of an issue that is usually illustrated by numbers – numbers that appear incomprehensible to most of us. We need to try to avoid creating a hierarchy of suffering and recognise the reality that genocide is literally the killing of large numbers of single individuals. Such an approach has profound implications for learning. Another powerful tool used in this project was the 8 stages of genocide proposed by Gregory Stanton (of Genocidewatch). This enabled all of us to breakdown the issue of genocide into its component parts and in this way to make it more understandable and accessible.
Identify opportunities to share learning Sharing the process and outcomes of a project such as this is important – the demonstration dimension of our work was clear – other students and teachers regularly dropped by to explore what was going on! Other classes began to work on the issue of genocide also – via sculpture and essays. Sharing the outcomes with parents, NGO staff, local community groups and local media has also been important. Students and teachers from other schools were invited to the launch of the project and workshops on genocide are now planned for these schools – to be conducted by the students involved. The model of joint work involving students, teachers, schools and NGOs has considerable value that has yet to be fully realised. Many NGOs do not engage directly with schools or with learning realities and processes and so, many of the materials and actions offered are inappropriate to learning contexts and situations. Equally, schools are often isolated
from the realities of what is currently being done (and what more can be done) by activist groups and by voluntary organisations. This is also true of the (mutual) misunderstandings between our politicians and our schools.
Challenge racial and other stereotyping Today Ireland, North and South, is in a significant and highly visible process of change – we are now becoming increasingly multicultural, if not yet intercultural. This reality offers us a challenging context for learning and teaching. Throughout this project, the issue of how we see each other – as Nationalists, Loyalists, Catholics, Protestants, Muslims, Black, White etc. was a constant theme. Dublin and Belfast have both witnessed an upsurge of deliberately targeted and focused racist attacks to add to our own traditional sectarianism. The 8 stage analysis of genocide allowed us to focus clearly on the question of how societies allow whole groups of people (who share common characteristics or traditions or beliefs) to be stereotyped and categorised. Classification, symbolisation, dehumanisation etc., as components of genocide, were much discussed. So too were their implications for Ireland. Perhaps the most fundamental answer to the question what can I/we do? is to be found in the context of the histories of conflict on this island and how each one of us involved in this project respond to that reality in the future. Another fundamental answer is to be found in how we respond to the growing multiculturalism (and its unfortunate attendant racism) on the island. Valerie Duffy, John Johnston and Colm Regan 80:20 Educating and Acting for a Better World
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Genocide Explored Greek derivative geno, meaning ‘race’ or ‘tribe’ together with the Latin derivative cide, from caedere, meaning ‘killing
Raphael Lemkin
The UN Convention on Genocide This was adopted in December 1948 and came into effect in January 1951. Article Two of the Convention defines Genocide as
‘…any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group, as such: Killing members of the group; Causing serious
bodily or mental harm to
members of the group; Deliberately inflicting
on the group the conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; Imposing measures
intended to prevent births within
the group;
Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group The Convention also imposes a general duty on states that are signatories to ‘prevent and to punish’ genocide.
Genocide is distinguishable from all other crimes by the motivation behind it. Genocide is a crime on a different scale to all other crimes against humanity and implies an intention to completely exterminate the chosen group. Genocide is therefore both the gravest and greatest of the crimes against humanity Alain Destexhe (Former Secretary General of Doctors Without Borders)
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Planning to learn – some lessons from our work
Activities we undertook that you might try!
● Develop an overall rationale and a programme of activities for exploring an issue such as genocide – use this rationale to monitor progress and outcomes – we had to review our activities often ● Don’t just talk numbers, focus on the individuals and communities involved and affected – translate statistics into people ● Assemble clear definitions of the issues – genocide, pogrom, convention etc. Defining key terms becomes important from the very start ● Try to contextualise the history you are studying – for example, much of the material we found in the media on Rwanda had very little context ● Try to avoid stereotypical descriptions – we all have a tendency to overly caricature those with whom we disagree ● Openly discuss difficult questions – don’t hide the fact that they are difficult and that much of what we are exploring is contested ● Try to organise a spread of learning activities that involve the emotions as well as the intellect ● Above all, above the tendency to (unconsciously) create ‘hierarchies of suffering’ e.g. how can we compare the suffering of one group who lost X or Y million people against another who only lost A or B thousands ● Make sure you explore the implications of the issue under enquiry for those studying it i.e. bring the issue ‘home’
● Organise a debate on the question Genocide: could it happen here? Record and debate the arguments put forward ● Explore the 8 stages listed in this resource in the context of Northern Ireland – how many can you realistically and defensibly, identify? ● In groups, explore particular histories and contexts of genocide and try to identify some common characteristics – use the 8 stages to explore this issue further ● Identify an overall rationale for exploring this issue – we used the ideas put forward by Archbishop Tutu and others (see pages 1 and 13) ● Gather together the testimony of survivors and of those affected – what do these stories tell us? ● Keep diaries of the process – what surprised us, what did we learn, what did we have to change? ● Collect images of an event such as genocide (and of related events), what images best illustrate the reality you are trying to get across? What images don’t, and why? ● Compare and contrast Internet sites exploring the issue of genocide – there has been an explosion of such sites (especially in the US) in the past 10 years. Can you identify patterns and common trends in the sites? ● Pick a controversial issue such as the treatment of Aboriginal Australians and explore it from the perspective of genocide. What do you conclude? ● Paint your own wall mural – we did!
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Presentation College, Bray
Page OBC1
When evil-doing comes like falling rain Like one who brings an important letter to the counter after office hours: the counter is already closed. Like one who seeks to warn the city of an impending flood, but speaks another language. They do not understand him.
Orangefield High School, Belfast
Educating and Acting for a Better World
WE'RE IN THIS TOGETHER
Like a beggar who knocks for the fifth time at the door where he has four times been given something: the fifth time he is hungry. Like one whose blood flows from a wound and who awaits the doctor: his blood goes on flowing. So do we come forward and report that evil has been done us. The first time it was reported that our friends were being butchered there was a cry of horror. Then a hundred were butchered. But when a thousand were butchered and there was no end to the butchery, a blanket of silence spread. When evil-doing comes like falling rain, no body calls out ‘stop!’
Development Cooperation Ireland
When crimes begin to pile up they become invisible. When sufferings become unendurable the cries are no longer heard. The cries, too, fall like rain in summer. Bertolt Brecht (READ BY SEAMUS HEANEY IN BELFAST 2004)
