Sometimes In April
For Black History Month African History is often left out of the discussion. The 2004 film titled ,Sometimes In April, albeit not based on a specific individual account but the account of over 1 million who lost their lives as a result of the Rwandan genocide of 1994, those Women and Children who endured mass rape, sex trafficking, and mutilation by way of machetes it is a striking reminder that many more people lost there lives barbarically than rescued. It is a reminder why not to support if not allow such human rights crimes to occur again.
Courtesy of- HBO
Courtesy of- CNN
A commandingly haunting film of one of the darkest most harrowing 100 days in the history of the world. On the 10 year anniversary magazines such as Oprah Winfrey gave survivors the floor to relay their accounts of the atrocities they survived. The school yard massacre scene that did occur in real life, the scene of survivors concealing themselves in the local swamp that also occurred, survivors going from one genocidal act to the next really did occur, mass graves, the church massacre that to this day the remains are inside as a memorial, etc etc. That which the film covered did occur in actuality.
Courtesy of- United Nations
Courtesy of- Human Rights Watch
Courtesy of- DW Documentary
Courtesy of- Gulf News
The unfortunate reality is that was pushed into the Congo and as a result those atrocities continue on to this day within the Congo. The sexual violence and violence moreover is rampant. It is rampant enough that aid has been scarce despite the magnitude of the violence that occurs in the region.
Courtesy of- Kambale Musavuli
Courtesy of- News Central TV
Courtesy of- The Guardian
This is why it is important to boycott this forthcoming Winter Olympics held in China because of what is being enacted upon the Uyghur population. Nothing short of genocide and has been for nearly a decade and much like the Rwandan genocide the world has had yet to become aware of it’s violations of human dignity and much like the Rwandan genocide the UN has yet to act. This is why History can never be forgotten nor replaced because it repeats itself when it is.
“In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” Martin Luther King, Jr.
