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Mengxuan Zhang
Professor Batty
ENGL113A
December 14, 2014
Lesson from Rwanda Genocide
This political cartoon, Rwanda, 20 Years After, was designed by Patrick Chappatte, LE
Temps, and Switzerland on April 7th, 2014. As we all know, Rwanda Genocide is a terrible
tragedy in history, which people cant and should not forget. There are two meaning that the
artist wants to show us in the cartoon Rwanda, 20 Years After. First one is to remember the
massacre in Rwanda; the second one, which is most important one, is to criticize and suggest that
the UN should not be racist, and use its power to all the positive actions they can when things
happen.
First at all, when we see this cartoon, we need to know the background. The background
of this cartoon is Rwanda Genocide, which was happened on the end of last century, in
Rwanda, a city in Africa. Its main conflict is between two races in Rwanda, Hutu and Tutsis.
Rwanda Genocide is one of the most miserable issue in the history of human beings, because
there were a lots of people died in less than one year. When the slaughter performing on, the
people was being killed and killing in Rwanda, what the United Nations did first is convoying
the white people who was in Rwanda as fast as they could, and just arranged less of PKF
(peacekeeping force) symbolic after a couple months with the order that the soldiers could not
shot any one, one of the reason is the races which were fighting with each other are both black, it
was not worth to save them. At the same time, hundred thousand of people dead in the inter-race
conflict.

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As what we can see on surface of the cartoon, in the conference center of the UN, there is
a gentleman standing on the stage, holding a paper with words 20 Years on the back, it shows
that the issue already happened 20 years ago, and the camera of this cartoon is far, which
shows the issue is far away from us. And In memory what the gentleman says in the
beginning of the sentence show that memory is one of the points that the designers want to
show. In addition, the main colors of this cartoon are black and white, which conveyed a solemn
emotions and makes people feel cold. In this way, people can see one of the point of the cartoon
is to remember the issue of Rwanda Genocide.
However, expect to remember the issue of the encounter of Rwanda, the designer also
want to criticize and suggest that the UN should not be racist, and use its power to all the positive
actions they can when things happen. For example, as best as they could to help to stop the war,
and decrease the mortality, but not just have a little PKF (peacekeeping force) symbolic.
This cartoon is full of irony. And we can find that according to the people in the political
cartoon, the words he says, the setting and the color of this cartoon.
Firstly, there is a man looks full of power is standing on the top of the stage with a sign
go the UN above him, he wears the formal clothes, with the large encounter center exhibit a
solemn environment. In this description, the power shows on the man represent the power of
the UN, means the UN have ability to stop the genocide. It also creates a big contrast of
atmosphere with the cleaner who is cleaning the floor. On the right of the encounter center, the
cleaner looks distracted, that represent a careless emotion. With the addition of in the meeting,
there just have two people (the cleaner and the gentleman), and the rest of them, the seats which
all should be sited by people are all empty, and the seats mean the countries in the world, the

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empty seats means none of these country care when the genocide happed, it makes people feel
the cartoon is full of irony.
Secondly, there have some words in the political cartoon. The gentleman full of power
says, In memory of our role during the Rwanda Genocide we wont do anything. This is a
regular sentence, but the facial mean of the sentence is true, the UN did anything when the
genocide happen, that's why they wont do anything to in memory of our role during the
Rwanda Genocide. On the other side, the sitting in the encounter is the main thing we should
realize. The empty chairs represent that nobody have behavior when the issue happened, this
situation make readers feel cold, and iron.
Thirdly, the color of the political cartoon should be emphasis. One important point of the
picture is, its a black and white cartoon, it represent the race of white and black, it showed one
of the reason that the UN didnt do anything is because the Rwanda genocide was the conflict
between two black race in Africa, the UN think they were not used or worth to save because they
are all black. The designers created this cartoon was not just to criticize the negative behaviors
that the UN did during the Rwanda Genocide, but also to suggest that the UN and the world
should have positive actions when some places need help.
In conclusion, after 20 years, beside memorizing the history of Rwanda Genocide,
introspect the behaviors what we did; world also need to overcome the racism, when the similar
issues happen, the UN should use its power to all the positive actions it can.

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Work Cities

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"PoliticalCartoons.com Cartoon." PoliticalCartoons.com Cartoon. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2014.