ABSTRACT
The reason why the Rwanda refugee relief operation collapsed is not to be found in an easy answer like the "politics" of the Rwandans. The Rwandans were repatriated not because they or their politics were different, but because the international refugee relief regime was unable to cope with the variations on the problem presented by the Rwandans, and collapsed on its own internal contradictions. What happened in the case of the Rwandan operation is that there was an emotional buildup generated by what was broadcast about the establishment of Benaco, the genocide and war, and later the cholera epidemic in Goma. The early phase of a relief operation is called the "tap-on" phase, and it is the period when procedures are established. The establishment of such high standards affected the refugee assistance bureaucracies themselves. It became bureaucratized dogma that the refugees should be provided with the full measure of food and water provided at the beginning.
