100 days, 800,000 lives... what happend?

May 22, 2011

The Boy With The Scars

This is a picture of a young Rwandan boy who has deep scars across his head that he got during the genocide. These scars are most likely from being hacked at by machetes. It is a very gruesome image and to think about how this poor boys life was effected from that one moment in time is appalling. This is deeply upsetting to see just how much the genocide has affected the survivors today. This young boy probably was in his home when he got attacked. He probably had no idea what was going on at the time and why it was such a big deal that he was a Tutsi instead of a Hutu. His parents are most likely dead now, making him an orphan survivor.  He was just an innocent young boy who had his whole life ahead of him and now he has to live with the scars and memories of that horrible point in history. This is a disgrace that a child so young was attacked and now has to live with the memories. The opposing side had no reason to attack a child so young who did not know the difference between the two races. It also upsetting because it makes people think about all of the other children that were in his same predicament and now have to live with the recollections of those horrible three months. The Rwandan Genocide was not just a moment in time, it has had lasting affects that will stay with the survivors for the rest of their lives.

1 comment:

  1. Deanna,
    This picture is so touching! It really caught my attention as i scrolled through your blog. I thought it was thoughtful how you reminded readers that even when the genocide ends, these memories will still stick with this boy. All he must do is look in the mirror to remember the horrible tragedy. Pretty upsetting. I also agree that it is a disgrace how we could let this happen to such an innocent child. He hadn't even a clue what was going on, and yet he must now live with those scars.
    Great job
    ! I really enjoyed your blog!
    Sydney

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