In the Aftermath: The Post-Conflict Social and Economic Consequences of Rescue During Genocide

Abstract

ABSTRACT During the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, some individuals risked their lives to save others. While much research has analyzed why people rescue during genocide, no studies have systematically analyzed the post-conflict consequences of engaging in such actions. This article begins to fill this gap by treating rescue as a case of behavioural boundary crossing, or individual defection from the expectations of a behavioral script. We rely upon 45 in-depth interviews with Rwandan Hutu who rescued Tutsi and who also did not participate in genocidal violence. Our findings indicate that rescue may be tied to both positive and negative social and economic consequences, from gifts and public recognition to stigma and threats. We suggest that many of these consequences result from the fact that Hutu who rescued went against the expectations of their group. As the positive consequences were often driven by Tutsi and the negative consequences were driven by Hutu, we also suggest that such consequences are tied to fault lines between groups in Rwandan society. Our work consequently aligns with and extends previous research finding that the genocide produced, reinforced, and augmented social cleavages in Rwanda.