Rwandan Genocide: Who did it?

My opinion on the conflict in Rwanda is that it was started by Belgium, but the Interahamwe are the ones who kept it going. This is because when Belgium gained control of Rwanda they had to have known about the ongoing conflict between the Tutsi’s and the Hutu’s. After they got into the country they caused more of a conflict by making identity cards, so that they would know who was a Hutu and who was a Tutsi. While in power, Belgium put the Tutsis in charge of the government, while the Hutus were not favored and acted as peasants. Finally as Belgium was leaving power they decided to change it up, and put the Hutus as the government.

After the conflict started up, the Interahamwe started their killings. They turned on their neighbors, families, and friends. They either killed for land, money, or simply because they were convinced to. One way they were convinced was by a radio station run by Juvenal. He was a Hutu, who wanted the Tutsis dead. On the radio station it said that you should kill the Tutsis, every chance you get. Some claim that the station brainwashed the Interahamwe. They turned their backs on people who considered them friends.

In the opinion of my assigned person, Paul Kagame, I would still blame the Interahamwe and Belgium. Another group I would blame is the Rwandan Armed Forces and the UN. I would blame them because neither of them did anything to help the problem.

The Rwandan Armed Forces were a Hutu army who was involved in the killings of a great amount of Tutsis and moderate Hutus. This group forced the Tutsis to leave their country, in order to live. As one of those people I, Paul Kagame, became the leader of the RPF(Rwandan Patriotic Forces). We were called Rebels and Terrorists, but the only thing we were fighting for was to be treated as an equal to the Hutus. Everything could have been resolved if the Rwandan Armed Forces would have just compromised with us and seen things from our point of view.

The UN did not start the genocide, nor did they help it continue on, but they also did nothing to stop it. The UN sent forces into Rwanda and were going to help the problem get resolved, but whenever help was needed they looked the other way. The UN soldiers were not allowed to use their weapons unless they were being shot at. They weren't allowed to use their weapons, even if someone was being killed right in front of them. Now, what help is that?

None of these groups or people did anything to stop this genocide and some helped to keep it going, this is why they deserve the blame for this horrific time in history.

The Best Time Of The Year!

It's the best time of the year. It's when everyone is happy, the smell of cookies and pine trees fills the air, and the nights are cold. There are Christmas decorations everywhere you turn and the malls are filled with Santas. It's one week until Christmas break and the countdown to Christmas to has started. My chocolate Christmas calendar is almost half way empty and the excitement is quickly filling me. All I can think about is Christmas morning and all the fun events leading up to it. The whole school break is filled with time spent with my family.

We go Christmas shopping, make cookies, and pick out a tree together. On Christmas eve we all go to Church and then to my grandparents house to open our first Christmas gift. Then my grandpa reads The Night Before Christmas to all of us. After finally making it back home we go to bed with butterflies in our stomachs.

The next morning I wake up to the joyful shouting of my little brother and before my eyes even open a big smile spreads across my face. It's Christmas morning! My family goes into the living room and starts opening present after present. After an hour of unwrapping, all the presents are gone.

The fun isn't over though, we play with our presents for a while and then go down to my cousins house were more presents are waiting. All of my family gathers at the house. We eat breakfast, open presents, and the kids give their dollar store gifts, that we had all gotten a few days ago together, to the adults.

After the morning ends we all go home. My cousins all come to my house so that we can show them our presents. We hang out all day in our pajamas until dinner time comes and we had out to my aunt and uncle's house. We eat, talk, and have a good time for hours. I feel sad that the day is coming to a close.

Night falls and the day is ending so my family(along with my cousin) go back to my house for the night. I start to feel like all the joy of this time of year is ending. For a few more hours we have fun playing games, talking, and watching our last Christmas movie for the year. As I start to fall asleep and the sadness falls over me I think about how we still have New Years!

American Scholar

Emerson's argument in "The American Scholar" about American society still holds true today.



One reason Emerson's argument still holds true today is because people only have one job and not multiple. In Emerson's paper he says "Man is not a farmer, or a professor, or an engineer, but he is all." Emerson believes that this statement should hold true, and the problem is that it doesn't. When people go to college they study one profession and there for they are only ready to do that ONE job. This limits what people can do in the world.

Another reason Emerson's argument still holds true today is because people become the job that they perform. Emerson says "The priest becomes a form; the attorney a statue book; the mechanic a machine; the sailor a rope of the ship." This is because people become so involved with their work that they make it their number one priority. Emerson's argument in "The American Scholar" about American society still holds true today, but maybe someday that will change.