Lethal Neighbourhoods: Discourse of the Rwandan Genocide

Violence consumes all, beyond space and time. Perpetrators of violence function as agents of chaos and destruction. But who is a perpetrator? Is it a child soldier with a gun? An Air Force officer who drops the bomb? Or a group of civilians who kill their neighbours? A deterministic view of a perpetrator is almost impossible in the field of anthropology. However, the reasons behind one’s actions and how they arrive at that point in time are a few elements that have been explored in the subject. My interest in the anthropology of violence arises from my political observations. In times of uncertainty the political frameworks of a society guide everyday lives. Where an individual seeks from their society and their society, in turn, seeks from the individual, the homogenisation of the two agents results in somewhat of a grey area between order and chaos. When the state interferes with the moral conduct of these two spheres of every day, balance is compromised and is gradually led towards structural chaos. Retrospectively, on the 30-year anniversary of the genocide in 2024, this essay aims to critically analyse the relationship between political violence and its agents in 1994 Rwanda. Violence, agency, and identity are three central components of this study. Through these mediums, I attempt to uncover experiences that determine the nature of violence and why might people involve themselves in its perpetuation.