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Copyright of Izquierdas is the property of Izquierdas, Universidad de Santiago de Chile and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Tetkik is the property of Oku Okut Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Rwanda “the country of a thousand hills” is located in the middle of the Africa to the south of the equator, within the plateau of lakes. It is a landlocked country that has no sea coasts. After genocide occurred in 1994, its government took a number of developmental reforms that made its economy characterized by rapid growth via turning to the knowledge economy to be a strong supporter to its agricultural economy. The study concluded that some natural factors (such as climate, water resources and the beauty of nature) and economic factors (agriculture and tourism) have played a supportive role in its economic renaissance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the Rwandan genocide of 1994, Hutu extremists who launched a propaganda campaign to demonize Rwandan Tutsis, accusing them of planning to exterminate Hutus. Embracing the propaganda, gangs of Hutus went on a killing rampage, rooming the streets and ravaging Tutsis who fell prey to their assaults. Yet, the framing of Hutus as perpetrators cannot capture the work of those Hutus who actively offered assistance to Tutsis. These Hutus provided safe haven, essential material goods and emotional support to an unknown number of Tutsis. Why did these Hutus risk their lives to save Tutsis? In addressing this question, we provide the results of a study in which a small number of Hutu explained their actions. In a clear case of altruism, their efforts arose from their moral obligation to others, an obligation that centers on their good heart. A good heart is a physical embodiment of their wisdom to discover the righteous path, compassion for the suffering of others, and courage to overcome the fear in of their own suffering in carrying out the commands of their faith. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Rwandan genocide (1994) was a catastrophic mass killing in which nearly one million Tutsis and moderate Hutus perished at the hands of Hutu extremists. Several critical works have explored the Rwandan genocide in film but none reaches the multiple levels of conceptual analysis that reflects the many levels of discursive violence involved in depicting the tragedy through film. The aim of this article is to depict the levels of conceptualizing the Rwandan genocide through the tropological figure of the 'dog' in the film Shooting Dogs (1995). On a literal level, Shooting Dogs is viewed as representing, first, the actual failed attempt at shooting and killing the dogs (animals) that were feeding on the corpses of the dead Tutsis and moderate Hutus. Second, as a metaphor, Shooting Dogs (1995) uncannily reflects the debased and stereotypic reference to Tutsis and moderate Hutus as 'dogs' who 'deserved' to be gunned down as dogs because they are depicted as dastardly cowards. Third, Shooting Dogs is taken to mean the cinematographic action of 'shooting' images of dogs to represent the dogs who feasted on corpses during the genocide. Fourth, the film Shooting Dogs is viewed as a cultural mission to represent, through the camera's 'eye', the insensitivity and cruelty of Hutu extremists and of the international community whose lack of respect for human life allowed the genocide to happen. It is argued that the symbolic violence manifested in Shooting Dogs constitutes a spectacle of excessive signification that attempts to inhibit imagining other, pro-life depictions, but fails dramatically because not all the Tutsis were killed in the genocide. The fact is that the Tutsis who survived the genocide are equally worthy of representation with their differentiated range of emotions and responses, and this could have been depicted in the film without minimizing the horror of the genocide. Such an argument forces us to realize that the ways in which art significantly translates known realities into telling stories can be a violent process that distorts human truths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The massacres that took place in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) between 1996 and 2003 have posed an interesting challenge to the global community, specifically to its more powerful members. Ironically, the Tutsi-dominated government of Rwanda enjoys international recognition and benefits based on the genocide, Rwanda suffered in 1994, but continues to deny the same benefit to Hutus as they were accused of leading a counter-genocide campaign then in the DRC. While the people of the DRC, as well as human rights activists, call for justice for all who were affected, the government of Rwanda, strongly backed by a number of powerful international powers, opposed attempts by the international community to pin charges of genocide perpetrated by its army in the DRC on it. Because of the clear negation of the genocide report by the Rwandan government, the nature of human rights, human rights violations, and genocide criteria proposed and defended by key members of the international community in relation to the mass killings in the DRC are examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the communicative function of light, colour and sound, as constitutive elements of the construction of the narrative of genocide in Hotel Rwanda. Such an exploration is deliberately performed against the tendency to approach the film in ways that only emphasize the importance of ethnicity and class factors. The assumption of this article is that in film, light, colour, visuals, and sound are not external accessories but simultaneously function as the meaning, content, and form of the film. An exploration of the intersections and the uses to which light, sound, colour and visuals are put in the film can also reveal the range of a director's power to manipulate these in ways that can fortunately bring into view some narratives of the Rwandan genocide that could have been hidden from view by an overemphasis on the analysis of verbal language only, during interpretation of the film. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the major social problems of the 21st century is the problem of the color line. Racism is any activity by individuals, groups, institutions, or cultures that treats human beings unjustly because of color, physical features, and ethnicity and rationalizes that treatment by attributing to them undesirable biological, psychological, social, or cultural characteristics. Rwanda is no exception to the effects of racism. More than 800,000 Rwandans were killed in the government-directed ethnic cleansing of Tutsis and Hutus during 1994. It is considered this century's best organized genocide. New plans and visions for peace and justice must include a psychocultural segment for social therapy if the cycle of violence is to be broken in Rwanda and the Great Lakes Region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents abstracts of books related to refugees including "Afghanistan: A New History," by M. Ewans "Caught Between Borders: Response Strategies of the Internally Displaced," edited by M. Vincent and B. Refslung Sorensen and "China's Tibet Policy," by D. Norbu.