The fighting is over; nothing but the tears remain.

The Rwandan jazz performer sings the American classic, “Stand by Me,” to the twenty tourists and business people sipping drinks at the Kigali Marriott Hotel Bar in July of 2018. I’m struck by the irony of her heartfelt melody.

On April 6, 1994, no one in the world except 10 Belgian soldiers and 2 United Nation groups from Ghana and Senegal stood by Rwanda as one million, many of them women and children, met their brutal deaths.

At the time, the United States still reeled from its losses in Somalia the year before in 1993. According to NPR, the Battle of Mogadishu destroyed America's desire to have troops on the ground because the risk to life was too high. The battle now known as Black Hawk Down took 18 American lives and injured 73 others. Hundreds to thousands of Somalis were killed during this short but deadly encounter.

The United Nations peacekeeping troops were also afraid to get involved in Rwanda. All except Ghana and Senegal left Rwanda when headquarters refused to send adequate help. Pictures of the westerners being rescued while leaving the Rwandans behind provide a striking image of the world deserting the Tutsi to die at the hands of their former neighbors and friends.

To some outsiders, it seemed like a civil war. Hutus made up about 85% of the population versus the Tutsi who made up about 15% (pygmies or Twa numbers are often not included in this estimate). The Hutus were the aggressors.

"There's no peace to keep in a civil war," the United Nations said.

Others who watched more closely, knew it was genocide.

The previous incidents of genocide were random and uncoordinated. The main target of the slaughter had been Tutsi women, bearers of the next generation, and children, the most vulnerable. Alarmed by the constant offensive, officials from surrounding African countries facilitated a peace agreement between the Hutus and the Tutsi signed in Arusha, Tanzania in January 1994.

Most Hutu leaders failed to honor this agreement. And those that did were killed.

The Hutus were jealous of the prominent status the Tutsi had been given by their European colonizers first Germany, then Belgium. The Europeans needed a way to divide and conquer a cohesive population so, they made arbitrary race defining characteristics such as the size and shape of a person’s nose. Hutus wanted more positions of power, money, and resources.

On April 6, 1994, the Hutus shot down an airplane carrying the Rwandan political leaders who stood out against the genocide. They tortured and shot the 10 Belgian soldiers guarding the Prime Minister when they killed her. Simultaneous with the attacks on leadership, the Hutus and the militia launched a full scale, coordinated genocide across the entire country. The world watched in horror at the massive and rapid destruction of a people where race had only recently been defined through the issuance of Identification Cards by Belgian officials. These identification cards proved to be a death sentence for the Tutsi.

The Resistance forces (good guys) were headed by a man named Paul Kagame who had returned from exile years before and was present at the signing of the Arusha peace agreement. In less than forty-eight hours after the April 6th attack, Kagame launched a countrywide rescue mission and offensive. Their first priority was to seek and find all injured Tutsis and bring them to recovery centers.

The Ghanaians stayed and helped the victims by setting up a rescue center.

At the same time, the French aided the Genociders. They gave the Genociders guns and protection.

The second mission of Kagame's resistance was to fight the Hutus for control of the country. But his troops were out-numbered five to one. They didn’t stand a chance. It would be a fight to their death.

When the Hutus saw the might and swiftness of The Resistance (aka RPF), they began to lose their momentum.  In a series of eight decisive battles, the Tutsi took control of the country on July 4, 1994.

A miracle by any measure.

The photo below is of the bittersweet victory march lead by Paul Kagame. The Resistance won and genocide was stopped, but most survivors had lost all or many family members.

Today, Rwanda is considered one of the least corrupt governments in Africa. Paul Kagame is the current president. Their mountainous region is a mecca for gorilla trekking and golden monkeys. And is home to the Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund founded in 2022.

The city of Kigali is booming with new construction, improved infrastructure, health care for its citizens, and new hotels like the two-year-old Marriott with the soulful jazz singer.

Above pictures are of the Belgian Memorial and the Parliament Building

As the jazz singer finished singing "Stand By Me," a river of tears rushed down my face. I'm filled with remorse. I wish I had been one of the few who had stood by the people of Rwanda when they needed us most.