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Media's reaction to Rwanda
showed distorted priorities
This April marks the 10-year an
niversary of one of the most famous
suicides in contemporary American
history — the shot heard around the
world, if you will. It also marks the 10
year anniversary of something far
more tragic but virtually unknown to
most Americans.
Ten years ago today, Americans were
at a loss for words as they mourned the
death of rock star Kurt Cobain.
The media had their eyes on Seat
de. While the camera crews and smug
reporters were migrating Northwest to
the dreary Emerald City for the story
of the year, one of the most horrific
and violent crimes against humanity
was taking place overseas in a small
African country called Rwanda.
Millions of people across the Unit
ed States were in tears and blaring
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" from their
stereos, while in Africa screams were
blaring from the moudis of innocent
men, women and children as they
were rapidly decimated with machetes.
It began on April 6, 1994, when
Rwandan President Juvenal Habyari
mana was killed after his plane was
shot down near Kigali Airport. Hutu
extremists were believed to be behind
the attack.
Later that night, the Hutus began
one of the most efficient genocides
the world has ever known; deciding
that the Tutsi people, the minority in
Rwanda, must be wiped out. While
the official count of the dead
reached 800,000, many Rwandans
say it was far greater. Some say that
it was in the millions.
Two days later, back in the United
States, Kurt Cobain's body was found
in his Seattle home by an electrician.
He had perished from a self-inflicted
gunshot wound to the head. In his
suicide letter, Cobain writes, "The
worst crime I can think of would be to
rip people off by faking it and pre
tending to be having 100% fun."
In Rwanda, thousands of people
were being herded into churches
and massacred.
On April 10, Cobain's widow,
Courtney Love, held hands with hor
rified fans during a candlelight vigil in
Seattle while reading excerpts from
her husband's suicide note. Love
choked back tears as she and the fans
called Cobain an "asshole."
Love responded to Cobain's words
by saying, "No Kurt, the worst crime I
can think of is for you to just continue
being a rock star when you fucking
hate it."
Meanwhile, in Rwanda, more than
10,000 Tutsis were gathered at a town
hall where police, soldiers, militia
men and villagers surrounded them
with guns, grenades and machetes.
Only a few Tutsis escaped. The rest
were slaughtered.
Carl Sundberg
Reasoning with madness
For the next few months back in
America, the media were in a Nirvana
feeding frenzy. Cobain's face was
placed on magazine covers nation
wide, journalists everywhere were
writing essays about him and MTV be
came Cobain central, playing nothing
but Nirvana videos on constant 24
hour loops.
In Rwanda, maggots and buzzards
fed on blood-drenched and headless
corpses that were piled up in churches
and streets.
By July 1994, Cobain had become
a household name, a cultural icon, a
hero. Things had started getting back
to normal for America. What was
once a horrible tragedy is now our
history, a frozen moment in time.
Americans had grieved enough. We
were ready to move on.
One hundred days after April 6,
Rwanda had also started to get back to
relative normalcy — if you were not a
Tutsi, that is. The Rwandan genocide
had come to a halt. Journalist Philip
Gourevitch writes the following in his
book "We Wish to Inform You That
Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With
Our Families: Stories from Rwanda":
"The dead of Rwanda accumulated at
nearly three times the rate of the Jew
ish dead during the Holocaust. It was
the most efficient mass killing since
the atomic bombings of Hiroshima
and Nagasaki."
However, unlike Cobain, they did
not choose to die. Unlike Cobain,
none of the Rwandan dead became
media-honored heroes. None of them
are household names. None of them
are icons. Their pictures never graced
any magazine covers. They were sacri
ficed for nothing. For nothing.
Just like the Clinton administration
did, the American media have all but
ignored the Rwandan genocide.
Nowadays, the few who even know
about this event shake their heads in
disbelief. What were we thinking? The
most powerful empire on Earth sat
idle as millions of people were
slaughtered like cattle. At this point,
though, it's stupid to play the blame
game. What's done is done.
But 10 years later, the buzz about
Cobain is back. And Rwanda is still in
the background, hidden away from
American eyes. Let us not forget those
800,000 innocent victims.
I dedicate this meager column to
those families who perished in that
genocide. Tonight, I will bum a can
dle for you all.
Contact the Pulse columnist
at carlsundberg@dailyemerald.com.
His opinions do not necessarily
represent those of the Emerald.
Gardens grow responsibility
In an effort to move closer to
adulthood, I took on the extra re
sponsibility of a garden last week.
I've kept my houseplant alive for al
most two years now, and looking to
take advantage of the spring weather
I decided it was time to plant my first
garden. Sort of.
I'm still a long way from being
dedicated enough to prune ihy flow
ering hedges, aerate my lawn or di
vide my perennials. 1 also lack a
backyard. Instead, I have opted to
grow fruits and vegetables in con
tainers on my balcony.
Although container gardening is
less rigorous, there are still steps
that need to be taken to make the
plants survive and prosper. The first
obvious step is to decide what to
plant. I'm trying several herbs,
tomatoes, strawberries and sweet
pea flowers. Because this is my first
try at gardening, I'm only growing a
few items and waiting for a small
success before I invest too much
time and money.
I picked my plants based on what
I like, but others may want to be
more technical about their plant se
lection and base their decision on
factors such as Eugene's hardiness
zone. Also, if you're going to grow
more than one type of plant in the
same container, make sure the plants
have similar sun and water needs and
grow at similar rates.
Helen Schumacher
Notes from the underground
Once you've decided on your
plants, the proper containers and soil
need to be selected. There should be
room for the plant's roots, soil and
bottom drainage. Without proper
drainage (or with overwatering), roots
will rot and salts will build up instead
of being washed from the dirt. If you
are planting seeds that will turn to
vine plants, such as tomatoes or peas,
you'll need to provide support, like
bamboo rods, for the plants to lean
on. Soil should be loose enough that
roots are properly aerated, but should
also hold water and nutrients.
This brings up the next mainte
nance issue — watering. Under or
overwatering are common mistakes.
Watering once a day, making sure soil
is uniformly moist, is a safe routine
for most plants. Another good rule of
thumb is to keep your containers in a
location that will get at least six hours
of sunlight a day.
And don't forget to time your
planting to avoid frost. According to
U.S. Department of Agriculture
maps, the last spring frost in Eugene
is generally between March 30 and
April 30. You can plant before then,
as long as containers are moved in
side at night.
It's still too early to tell if I'll be a
good gardener or not since the seeds
have yet to sprout. But I've done some
research and followed the advice of
more experienced growers, so hope
fully, a couple of months from now,
I'll be having tomato sandwiches and
mojitos with fresh mint.
Contact the Pulse columnist at
helenschumacher@dailyemerald.com.
Her opinions do not necessarily
represent those of the Emerald.
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