¶ … role that technology has played in terms of the genocide in Rwanda, both before and after. With the scope and depth of technology, there is an ability to make natural disasters seem even worse -- worse in the sense that a degree of sensationalism can develop, making the incident seem more pervasive and more damaging. One of the major ways that technology has impacted the manner in which we consume news is via the fact that it makes the news more immediate and more accessible. As one theorist has argued, "…sensationalism played an important role in journalism and the spread of news. People would shoot the breeze about this guy getting eaten by a bear or that woman being involved in affair. It's human nature to be curious about things that might affect our own survival -- such as death and sex" (Sanders, 2011). Technology has taken the element of human curiosity and has made it the act of seeing or not seeing brutalized and graphic images no longer a choice. Technology has made the footprint that a tragedy has more lasting and more pervasive. Thus, a single tragedy for one or for one group of people becomes a tragedy for millions. It begins to riddle the human consciousness, causing more scarring than was originally exerted by the original disaster. Thus, rather than the scarring being contained, it becomes a widespread.

In the case of Rwanda, technology exacerbated in the conflict in that it made the genocide more immediate and gain momentum much faster. This is as a result of the arms which were available to the attackers. "Rwanda is only the latest example of what can happen when small arms and light weapons are sold to a country plagued by ethnic, religious, or nationalist strife. In today's wars such weapons are responsible for most of the killings of civilians and combatants. They are used more often than major weapons systems in human rights abuses and other violations of international law" (Goose, 1994). The usage of these guns is yet another example of how light conventional arms are able to sustain conflict all over the world. Had the attackers in the case of Rwanda not had access to such arms, they would have in no way been able to administer the intensive damage that they actually were responsible for. In this clear example, technology has in fact exacerbated the disaster of the genocide that has marred the history of Rwanda forever. The technology by which these arms are available only work to undermine peacekeeping efforts to ban arms and urge all involved parties to make subsequent human rights violations. These technologies undermine peacekeeping efforts and thus allow heavily armed militias to go head to head with U.N. And U.S. troops, while raising the cost of relief assistance that nations like America are forced to pay (Goose, 1994). The technologies employed by these terrorist and militant groups are precisely what allow conflicts and disasters to thrive.

On the other hand, technology also has the ability to minimize the suffering of people facing the exact same risk. Action can be taken to create a more holistic planning framework to encourage and develop a more singular and virtuous trajectory of goals. Organizations like Practical Action help to harness technology to minimize suffering because it assists in developing a framework of resilience. This helps to engage "…vulnerable communities in a coordinated planning response that cuts across established sectors and silos and recognises that by building the capacity of the poorest members of the community to cope with a natural disaster this will enhance the capacity of the entire community to cope when disaster strikes" (practicalaction.org). This creates an environment of resiliency and planning. No community becomes so vulnerable that they are unable to cope with the threat of disaster or the imminent unfolding of disaster. This type of framework fortifies a community so that they are no longer at such an extreme risk. In the case of the genocide in Rwanda, there was no such fortification in place: the nation was without any barebones technological buttress or support which could have safeguarded them from the threats of tyranny and oppression. In other scenarios, however, the technology can help in safeguarding the people as well. As Practical Action is able to illuminate, "Poverty, vulnerability and disasters are linked - it is most often the poorest that are worst affected and suffer most. Their poverty makes them more vulnerable. Their capacity to cope with disasters and recover from the effects are constrained by their lack of resources" (practicalaction.org)....

The reality is that if people remain prepared adequately, they will be able to recover quickly from nearly any kind of disaster, particularly natural ones. In the case of Rwanda, adequate preparation would have meant having the education and knowledge to have spotted the signs of an imminent genocide and taking measures to vacate, evacuate, defend and protect. All of these measures would have occurred effectively at an international level.
Another way in which technology can help to minimize the risk of disaster is through the use of social media and the Internet. It's simply easier to record unjust violence and to tell the world about it. In the case of Rwanda, the technology simply wasn't available at the time, and many educated people around the world simply weren't aware of the scale of the violence or how systematic it was. However, in today's society, such clandestine violations against innocent people simply can't occur without the entire international community being aware of it -- including the average citizen. This is akin to the way in which Venezuela is apparently committing a host of human rights abuses. The entire world is aware of it and there are a host of videos on YouTube which have recorded the specific violations which have occurred. " Venezuelan security forces have used unlawful force in response to antigovernment demonstrations, severely beating unarmed protesters and shooting them at point blank range, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Security forces also subjected detainees to severe physical and psychological abuse, including in some cases torture, and justice officials failed to safeguard detainees' due process rights" (HRW, 2014). In years past, these are all elements which just would have been swept under the rug, and taken years to have been uncovered with the perpetrators brought to justice. In this day and age, the advent of technology and the immediacy of the Internet put all evil doers at a higher level of accountability. Had the Internet been what it is today back in 1994, there might have been more increased pressure from civilians for American forces to properly mobilize their troops to better protect the Tutsi people.

Policy Recommendations

One of the biggest policy recommendations which can occur, involves education of people at the civilian level on disaster preparedness. As Andrew E. Collins illuminates in his book "Disaster and Development" that Paulo Friere's book, The Pedagogy of the Oppressed, argues that education really is the best way of eliminating class differences and setting power from the hands of those who will abuse it, and letting it be free -- however, this power needs to be grounded in the actual experiences of students and be dedicated to shared investigation (2009). "Disaster and development education can do this by facilitating people to build awareness of contemporary threats and opportunities, but has been surprisingly absent in the curricula of most school education, save for optional tertiary level studies. Disaster education arguably empowers people to address adversity" (Collins, 2009). It's difficult to say how such education would have helped the Tutsi people when they were under the threat of genocide, or how New Yorkers could have been better versed to deal with 9/11. However, the fact that education is decidedly not a part of policy is in many ways more revealing. Education needs to be the absolute and most basic pillar in the entire process of avoiding and planning for disaster. When it's not such a firm part of policy, it's almost as if society is opening their door for disasters and for the darker sides of the human condition to take control. Educating people on preventing disaster and even the telltale signs of a genocide gaining steam is something which should be a definitive part of public policy. As Collins points out, "Meanwhile, the absence of education encourages vulnerability. By not understanding the underlying origins of many types of disasters, or best practice in avoidance, mitigation and response, future generations are put more at risk (Collins, 2009).

Furthermore, the entire UN community needs to have a stricter policy against genocide. There needs to be a non-negotiable policy when a situation like Rwanda is underway. Just because the U.S. wanted to engage in a policy of non-involvement and pressured the rest of the community to follow in its lead, doesn't mean that should have been allowed to happen. There should have been intervention policies in place with other major super-powers ready and able to…