Forsaken Cries

Distributed by The Video Project, 375 Alabama, Suite 490, San Francisco, CA 94110; 800-4-PLANETProduced by The African Project: The Institute for Policy Studies, Amnesty International USADirected by Andrea Torrice1997, VHS, color, 35 min. This documentary is flawless in its summary history of Rwanda, bringing the viewer from the Belgian colonialist’s institution of ethnic division in Rwanda to the country’s genocidal conflict beginning in 1994. The film begins by posing the question, “Could this have been prevented?” The genocide which caused the deaths of over 800,000 Rwandan Tutsis is the only recognized genocide to have taken place since the holocaust of World War II. The film clearly illustrates the costs of ignoring the warning signs of such full-scale violence. According to an interviewed official at the Open Society Institute, “It is hard to imagine a situation where the warning signs were clearer.” The film blames the United Nations for ignoring the Rwandan crisis until violence had already broken out. Through excerpts from UN meetings and other historical film clips, this documentary also shows the UN’s poor handling of the situation after the bloodshed took place. I simply cannot give enough praise for this film. By its very format and sequential presentation of facts and events, the film begs for classroom discussion. Not only does this film present a primer on Rwandan history, but supplies a launching point for students’ discussions of the nature of politics, war, racism, excited violence, and, in this instance, the failure of the international community.