ABSTRACT
This chapter considers Rwanda through the lens of ethical reflexivity. It provides an investigation of agency, even during the extreme violence of genocide. Scholarly and political narratives that view 'Rwanda' as an 'event' meant to signify the international community's failure to effectively intervene in the genocide emanate from certain understandings and purposes. The chapter also explores how memories of the genocide and their importance for politics are actively mediated by a variety of actors, including individuals, communities, states, and governmental and non-governmental IOs. It devotes some attention to the account of Philippe Gaillard from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The ICRC has emphasized the principles of 'humanity', 'neutrality' and 'impartiality', along with the method of 'confidentiality'. Philippe Gaillard drew on poetry and literature as one moral resource for the plural self's reflexive and internal dialogue, and for external dialogue, as he represented the ICRC in Rwanda.
