Humanitarian Aid, Genocide and Mass Killings: Médecins Sans Frontières, the Rwanda experience, 1982-97

162 Pages·2017·2.67 MB·English

by  Jean-Hervé Bradol

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Humanitarian aid, genocide

and mass killings
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HUMANITARIANISM

Key debates and new approaches
This series offers a new interdisciplinary reflection on one of the most important and yet
understudied areas in history, politics and cultural practices: humanitarian aid and its
responses to crises and conflicts. The series seeks to define afresh the boundaries and meth-
odologies applied to the study of humanitarian relief and so- called ‘humanitarian events’.
The series includes monographs and carefully selected thematic edited collections which
will cross disciplinary boundaries and bring fresh perspectives to the historical, political and
cultural understanding of the rationale and impact of humanitarian relief work.
Islamic charities and Islamic humanism in troubled times
Jonathan Benthall
Calculating compassion: Humanity and relief in war, Britain 1870– 1914
Rebecca Gill
Humanitarian intervention in the long nineteenth century
Alexis Heraclides and Ada Dialla
Donors, technical assistance and public administration in Kosovo
Mary Venner
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Humanitarian aid, genocide

and mass killings
Médecins Sans Frontières, the Rwandan
experience, 1982– 97
Jean- Hervé Bradol and Marc Le Pape
Manchester University Press
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Copyright © Jean- Hervé Bradol and Marc Le Pape 2017
The right of Jean- Hervé Bradol and Marc Le Pape to be identified as the authors of this work
has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Published by Manchester University Press
Altrincham Street, Manchester M1 7JA
www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk
British Library Cataloguing- in- Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data applied for
ISBN 978 1 7849 9305 4 hardback
ISBN 978 1 5261 1551 5 paperback
First published 2017
The publisher has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for any external
or third- party internet websites referred to in this book, and does not guarantee that any
content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
Typeset by Out of House Publishing
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Contents

List of maps page vi
Acknowledgements viii
Abbreviations ix
Introduction: through the eyes of field teams’ members 1
1 From the persecution of Kinyarwanda speakers in Uganda to the
genocide of Rwandan Tutsis 14
2 Rwandan refugee camps in Tanzania and Zaire, 1994– 95 43
3 The new Rwanda 66
4 Refugees on the run in war- torn Zaire, 1996– 97 102
Epilogue: the effectiveness of aid in the face of repeated
mass atrocities 126
Select bibliography 139
Index 144
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Maps

0.1 The Great Lakes region. Edited by authors from Évaluation conjointe
de l’aide d’urgence au Rwanda, Étude I. Perspective historique. Facteurs
d’explication (London: ODI, 1996), p. 13. page 7
1.1 Internally displaced Rwandans. MSF archives, July 1993. 18
1.2 Humanitarian issues in Rwanda. Edited by authors from Secrétatariat
permanent du Comité de Crise, Problématiques humanitaires in
Rwanda, Kigali, 3 March 1994. 19
1.3 Burundian refugee camps in Rwanda. Edited by authors from
Secrétariat du Comité de Crise (projet C.E.E) and UNHCR,
Kigali, 1993. 21
1.4 Kigali City. Edited by authors from A. Guichaoua, Les crises
politiques au Burundi et au Rwanda (1993– 1994) (Paris: Karthala,
1995), p. 524. 30
1.5 RPF’s movements from April to July 1994. Edited by authors from
Évaluation conjointe de l’aide d’urgence au Rwanda, Étude III. L’aide
humanitaire et ses effets (London: ODI, 1996), p. 30. 37
2.1 Rwandan refugee camps, Ngara district (Tanzania). Edited by
authors from Évaluation conjointe de l’aide d’urgence au Rwanda,
Étude III. L’aide humanitaire et ses effets (London: ODI, 1996), p. 35. 45
2.2 Rwandan refugee camps, Goma (Zaire). Edited by authors from
Évaluation conjointe de l’aide d’urgence au Rwanda, Étude III. L’aide
humanitaire et ses effets (London: ODI, 1996), p. 39. 48
2.3 Rwandan refugee camps, Bukavu (Zaire). Edited by authors from
Évaluation conjointe de l’aide d’urgence au Rwanda, Étude III. L’aide
humanitaire et ses effets (London: ODI, 1996), p. 43. 51
3.1 MSF field teams in the Great Lakes region, August 1994.
Edited by authors from MSF, ZARWABUTA 31 August 1994,
Paris, 1994. 71
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List of maps vii
3.2 Kibeho camp. Edited by authors from L. Binet, The Violence of the
New Rwandan Regime 1994– 1995 (Paris: MSF, 2005), p. 8. 85
4.1 Movements of Rwandan refugees in Zaire, 1996– 97. Edited by
MSF from Map 10.3 Rwandan and Burundian refugee movements,
1994– 99 in UNHCR, The State of World’s Refugees: Fifty Years of
Humanitarian Action (Geneva: Oxford University Press, 2000),
p. 270. 108
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Acknowledgements

We warmly thank Claudine Vidal, Fabrice Weissman, Judith Soussan, Rony
Brauman, Michael Neuman, all members of CRASH (Centre de réflexion sur
l’action et les savoirs humanitaires, Fondation Médecins Sans Frontières), for their
careful and critical reading of this work. We are grateful to those in charge at MSF
Paris for allowing free access to archives. Caroline Serraf organised the translations,
which were proofread and edited by Ros Smith- Thomas. They are warmly thanked.
Gwendolyn Blin, archivist, was a precious help in researching the texts contained in
the bibliography. We are also grateful to Sarah Imani who designed the maps that
accompany some of the chapters of the book. We hope our research does justice to
the work of MSF personnel, especially the Rwandan staff, who contributed in the
assistance programmes in the Great Lakes region – at the cost of their lives for some.