April 7, 2004 marks the 10-year anniversary of the beginning of the genocide in Rwanda. The almost incomprehensible slaughter left 800,000 people dead and central Africa in an upheaval that persists today. In the past decade, consensus has emerged that outside governments failed to prevent the genocide. Nations have apologized and vowed they would never let it happen again, but the ghosts of Rwanda persist. |
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At the end of the genocide, thousands of Hutus suspected of participating in the genocide fled the country. Some died in the refugee camps and brutal fighting in eastern Congo, some were caught and prosecuted in Rwanda and before a U.N. war crimes tribunal, but hundreds of others are living freely in Africa, Europe and North America. This is one man's story. |
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The widespread killing began April 7, the day after a plane carrying Rwanda's president was shot down. For the most part, major Western powers — the U.N., the Europeans, the Americans — left Rwanda to its own fate. Here, we document the powerful stories of a few individuals who chose to defy the genocidal murderers on a daily basis, and in turn saved thousands of lives. |