Educational Media Reviews Online

At the center of Narratives of Modern Genocide are the stories of two survivors, Sichan Siv and Gilbert Tuhabonye. Siv survived the Khmer Rouge purge in Cambodia and Tuhabonye survived the Hutu-Tutsi mass killings in Burundi. The film uses line drawing animation to illustrate aspects of the stories told by survivors, which provide a stark though effective visual of the violence perpetrated by parties in power against minority groups.

Siv and Tuhabonye escaped horrific violence in their home countries to become refugees in the United States. Both men’s stories are incredibly powerful and illustrate the role of chance (or perhaps the intervention of a higher power) in particular moments that allowed each the chance to escape, but they also provide distinct examples of the ways in which those fleeing genocidal violence desperately need robust asylum programs. Siv and Tuhabonye both achieve great success in the U.S.: Siv served as a United Nations Ambassador, as well as in several appointed roles in George H.W. Bush’s administration. Tuhabonye competed in NCAA track and long-distance running events and became a founding member of the local running scene in Austin, TX, and leads a high school track and cross-county program in addition to philanthropic work. Both Tuhabonye and Siv are extremely motivated and talented--their successes should be credited wholly to them. Yet it is worth asking whether this level of success would be possible at the current level of support that U.S immigration and asylum policies currently provide.

The film is highly effective at showing the impact of genocidal violence on an entire population - it’s no small feat to cut through the de-sensitization that occurs when new disasters and crises are presented in the news, daily. Furthermore, the film highlights the active and essential role of refugee sponsorship and resettlement programs, particularly in the role of asylum cases. The meaning of citizenship and active participation in civic life, as well as politics and philanthropy, also gains special importance when placed against the backdrop of genocide: there is an added, heightened meaning in being accepted as an immigrant and promised a life safe from identity-based persecution.

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