Part of my position at the United
States Holocaust Memorial Museum involves assisting in the development, execution
and analysis of public programs enacted by the Museum. Public Programs consist
of any sort of outreach event opened to the public. These events take place all
over the country, with regional offices in the Northeast, Southwest and West
coast. Although I have only finished my second week in this position, I have already
had the opportunity to participate in the Film
Screening of a new ground-breaking documentary entitled, The Uncondemned.
The documentary follows the story
of a group of international lawyers sent to Rwanda following the 1994 genocide.
The 100-day Rwandan
Genocide left almost 1 million Tutsis dead at the hands of the Hutu
majority. Despite events in Cambodia and Bosnia, Rwanda would be the first to
use the International Criminal Court since 1946. It would also be the first
time rape, constituted as a war crime in 1919, was tried in the ICC as a crime
of war.
Rape is synonymous with war, as the
display of sexual power easily pairs with intergroup conflicts. The documentary
follows the pioneering efforts of a band of young activists, faced with
institutional backlash and lack of resources, determined to hold the guilty
accountable for their crimes of sexual violence. Even more profound, however,
are the young women from Rwanda who courageously stepped forward to speak the
truth that so many others overlooked. The story of this group and their trial
at the International Criminal Tribunal of Rwanda inspires the never-ending
effort to not forget the past, while progressing towards eliminating future
genocidal activity.
After the screening of the film, a
panel formed comprising of Sara Darehshori, one of the former prosecutors for
the International Criminal Tribunal of Rwanda, and Michele Mitchell, the film’s
co-director. Questions from the audience attempted to shine more light on the
process Darehshori and others underwent in order to change the international criminal
justice system. Sexual violence is a unique war crime, in that acts of rape or
sexual assault occur almost in conjunction wartime and long periods of
violence.
Unfortunately,
however, these crimes are frequently overlooked for the “more important”
crimes. During the Holocaust, for example, SS guards often boasted of raping
Hungarian Jews selected to go to the gas chambers the following day. This is
not to diminish the crime of mass murder, but the lack of criminal charges
against SS officials committing acts of sexual violence and rape allows for an
entire aspect of victim suffering to go unheard. Sara and the other lawyers and
activists in Rwanda fought to get these crimes heard, even though outside
organizations were solely focused on crimes associated with mass murder.
The
use of rape as a war tool and intimidation tactic dates back centuries, yet the
first trial of rape as a war crime, did not occur until the late 1990’s. I am
very grateful for my co-op for many reasons, but above all, I appreciate the knowledge
and connections associated with my many jobs. On a daily basis, I learn
something new about the Holocaust, genocide, international justice or atrocity
prevention. Perhaps I am still influenced by my childhood dreams of becoming a
teacher like my mother, as I firmly believe that learning is the most powerful
tool we have to overcome the hate pinning societies against one another.
Listening to a story and learning from the experiences of others never ceases
to connect us, as cheesy and obvious as that sounds. Sara and the International
Criminal Tribunal of Rwanda, through the never-ending pursuit of young
activists, listened to the women of Rwanda, and the world learned, but the
learning is not over.
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