Rwanda's massacre

From Prospek

"All Satans seem to be gathering in Rwanda." This is perhaps the main idea I could sum up from a report I read in an international magazine last month. The hell seems to be moving to Rwanda, a no-man's-land. Bloodshed can be seen everywhere and massacres continue in many places, a total nightmare for children, women and for everybody.

The civil war involving two different ethnic groups -- Hutu and Tutsi -- has claimed thousands of human lives. The river waters turn red with blood because the deformed bodies of the victims who were sadistically killed were thrown in the river. What a horrible sight!

Yet, religious people may not lose faith in God because God is always with us. Poor countries must learn a lesson from the situation in Rwanda, which is poor and disunited, and where the ruler is authoritarian.

Rwanda should serve as a lesson to other countries and open their eyes to the principle that unity is crucial for maintaining the integrity of a nation and is able to maintain the country's strength disregarding differences of ethnic origins, race and religion.

Indonesia, in particular, should maintain the strong sense of unity and integrity despite its pluralistic nature. "Unity in Diversity" should be made an everlasting motto.

PRIYO UTOMO

Jakarta