Del genocidio de Ruanda a Black Earth Rising: un viaje al corazón del infierno

Abstract

Violence does not erupt in a country overnight; it’s a process that spoils its inhabitants from the core and puts them face to face in fratricidal clashes. Rwanda is no exception. It is an African country that used to be a Belgian colony. Its colonizers set the segregation between the two major ethnic groups: the Hutus (85% of the population) and the Tutsis (who represented the remaining 15%), when they granted privileges to the latter. In 1956, hundreds of Tutsis were massacred by the Hutus. In 1962, Rwanda declared its independence and the Hutus seized power. A coup d’état shook them in 1973, and Juvénal Habyarimana –whose roots were Hutu– proclaimed himself head of the government. The Tutsis then organized themselves into guerrillas, setting the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). Tensions amongst both ethnic groups escalated. During the 1980s, half a million Rwandan refugees sought asylum in Zaire, Uganda, Tanzania and Burundi. In 1993, in an attempt to clear the air, a dual ethnic transition government seized power since the government and the RPF finally had reached a peace agreement. However, the delay and resistance to let it rule, led to a mortal attack on Habyarimana’s life on April 6, 1994. Who were responsible: the Patriotic Front or “Hutu Power” extremists, who were against the agreement? The controversy on this mournful event is still running high. Throughout three months –from April to July– 800,000/1,000,000 people were killed, 250,000 women were raped, 95,000 children were executed and approximately 40,000 were made orphan, in one of the most hateful genocides of the last century. Hutus and Tutsis had written this terrible historical event in blood. In 1998, suscribed by 160 countries, the International Criminal Court was created in order to rule in cases of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. In this way, baleful acts would not go unpunished. In 2018 the Netflix network premiered the series Black Earth Rising, produced and directed by Hugo Blick for the BBC. The director allows us to inmerse into the story of Kate Ashby, who grew up in England after surviving the Rwandan genocide. As an investigator, she will go to hell and back since she will help searching for evidence to bring those responsible for the massacre to trial. The purpose of this paper is to explore the construction of the protagonist and her female image, who is the true heroine of this story, caught in the center of a corruption, lies and clashing interests net that fueled this conflict between both ethnic groups. Can the crimes committed go unpunished? Is it necessary to judge in order to heal the wounds? Can the truth be silenced? These and other questions will guide our search.