Not only did the genocide impact the country of Rwanda, but it also affected the safety and security of countries around it. To this day, there are regions around Rwanda that are still controlled by Hutu militia. The people directly involved with the genocide of Rwanda have been scarred emotionally and physically. The violent acts that took place during the genocide were not only vicious; they were evil. In most cases, those who “escaped with their lives lost entire families; often they had endured the torture of hiding out on rooftops or in sealed rooms while gangs of militia members tortured and killed their family members. Others were forced to maim and kill their own brothers, sisters, and children before being attacked by machete and left for dead” (Jones). One of the cruel war tactics used in the Rwandan genocide was war rape. War rape caused a great deal of pain to the victims and sometimes led to social isolation, unwanted pregnancies and babies, self-induced abortions, and sexually transmitted diseases. Some women were abandoned by their husbands or rendered unsuitable for marriage. Men were also sexually assaulted by means of “mutilation of the genitals, then displayed as trophies in public” (Ogletree). An estimated 800,000 people died over the course of about 100 days. Approximately 20% of the population was killed and the 300,000 people that survived the genocide are permanently scarred.
