The stories from the genocide in Rwanda display many imperfections in human civilization. There are tragic moral flaws that Gourevitch makes very evident throughout the book. These flaws apply to the Rwandans that partook in the genocide, the leaders of the Rwanda and it's neighboring countries, and the international countries that stood by and watched the horrific event take place. Philip Gourevitch gives a complete story of the genocide through many first hand accounts, interviews, and puts in his perspective relative to the genocide. I first would like to give an overview of the events that led to the genocide and then explore some of the topics that Gourevitch argues.
             Rwanda's inhabitant's origins are largely unknown. The Tutsi people are segregated from the Hutu because of appearance and history. The Tutsi have noses that are thinner than that of the Hutus, have straighter hair, and are taller and skinner. They are, by legend, known to have come from north and east Africa. The Hutu people on the other hand, came from the south and the west of Africa and have opposite traits of the Tutsi. Over time the Tutsi and the Hutu intermarried and crossed hereditary backgrounds furthering the difficulty of identifying either ethnic background. They spoke the same language, followed the same religion, and shared the same social and political culture. The original inequality between the Tutsi and the Hutu were that Tutsi were herdsmen and the Hutus were known for cultivating. Cattle were more valuable so the Hutu knew the Tutsi as their economic and social superiors. Rwanda's history is very sketchy and uncertain so nothing is "set in stone" until the Rwabugiri took over and the Tutsi continued their climb to elitism over the Hutu. The difference of the two groups was solidified by the Belgian colonialists preference for the Tutsi. The Tutsi were known to be racially superior to the Hutu and ...