Rwanda: A Look at Media Dependency...

For some one hundred days in the spring and summer of 1994, millions of Rwandans witnessed, participated in, and lived through a nationwide campaign of human extermination. As it was mentioned by the presenting group in class age, gender, and occupation were no criteria in the massacres. Rather, in hundreds of villages across Rwanda, where previously two ethnic groups had intermingled socially and coexisted peacefully for the last several decades, ordinary people were picking up machetes and killing their neighbours. Although I cannot claim to ever know the realities to this disturbing event it was made clear in the presentation that the Rwandan media have been accused of inciting the hatred that lead to the violence by using an ethnic framework to report on what was essentially a political struggle. Thus, I hope to expand on this notion by looking particularly at how this atrocity was in many ways regulated and perpetuated by the government controlled Rwandan media, most specifically the government controlled radio RTML, or Radio-Television Libre des Mille Collines.

In following with this notion one is forced to ask, under what circumstances can and do media play an exceptionally powerful and heinous role? And to what extent can media incite panic leading to genocide? In trying to answer such questions one may turn to the idea of media dependency.

As in any case, fear, anger, and anxiety are potent emotions that can lead to panic and civil disobedience. Essentially, the use of radio in Rwanda contributed to this panic by reaching large populations of Rwandans simultaneously, and often in crowd settings. In rural areas in particular, the effect of low literacy and the use of radio on a widespread level had the ability to exercise major influence (Darryl, 12). It is this potential to consolidate ideas that the RTML took advantage of in its hateful and malicious radio broadcasts. While investigating this within the framework of a media dependency theory we can assume that, life in complex industrialized societies requires increased dependency on mass media’s role in disseminating information (Thussu, 50). In fact, many studies have documented and examined the heightened dependency on media during times of political or economic crisis or uncertainty. McQuail (1994) theorized that actual effects may be greater in periods of instability. This can clearly be seen in the Rwandan example wherein people become more reliant on mass media for information and guidance; people may come to know of the crucial events only through media; and media are more influential in matters outside the realm of personal experience (Darryl, 16). In the case of Rwanda, political tensions had come to a head, the country was on the verge of breakdown, and people essentially became slaves to the information being broadcast over the radio.

Additionally, of pivotal importance is the concept that due to strong traditions of hierarchy and authoritarianism, brought on by colonizing practices, the likelihood of blind obedience to the orders of officials on the radio is no doubt higher than in nations lacking a history of colonizing practices. It is thus with this knowledge of high rote obedience characteristics that government radio essentially took on the responsibility and power of interpreting the world for its people (Darryl, 17). In other words, the government used radio as an agenda setting and framing tool wherein the messages conveyed to the public were put forth in a manner seen as suitable to those in politically powerful positions. Although it is impossible for me to say precisely what extent media propaganda contributed to the genocide, it can be theorized that Radio (RTML) broadcasts assisted in the annihilation of between 500, 000 and 1, 000, 000 Rwandans during the genocide leading one to believe that a theory of media dependency is no doubt of great significance when looking at technologically mediated crisis in the developing world.

Sources:

L.I., Darryl. “Echoes of Violence: Considerations on Radio and Genocide in Rwanda.” Journal of Genocide research Vol6, Issue 1 (2004): 9-27.

Thussu, Daya Kishan. “International Communication: Continuity and Change,” Oxford University Press, London 2006.