Since last week on April 7, Rwandans are marking the 28th commemoration of the Genocide against the Tutsi.

During the commemoration period, which includes a nationwide seven-day mourning, certain terminologies related to this period which some people, especially the youth may confuse.

A misuse of a phrase might lead to a misinterpretation of one's intended message. Some terms can be used to downplay or imply denial of genocide, so one ought to be cautious unless the offense is deliberate.

The following are some commonly used genocide terminologies:

1994 Genocide against Tutsi not Rwandan Holocaust:

The word 'holocaust' means 'burnt offering' in ancient Greek. Since 1945, the term has primarily been used to refer to Nazi Germany's murder of European Jews during World War II.

Genocide is the deliberate killing of a large number of people from a particular nation or ethnic group with the intent of utterly destroying or eradicating them.

It is neither the 'Rwandan genocide,' because it was not intended to exterminate all Rwandans; nor is it the 'Rwandan massacre,' because a massacre is the indiscriminate and brutal slaughter of a large number of people, regardless of ethnicity or other factors. It's also not a war because a war is defined as a confrontation between opposing forces.  

Genocide denial, negation, trivialisation or revisionism:

The act of denying, dismissing, or minimizing the nature, scale, and severity of a genocide is known as genocide denial or negation. It also entails the destruction of genocide evidence. On the other side, revisionism attempts to provide an alternative understanding of the nature, cause, and victims of the genocide. Tivialisation is the process of making the genocide appear less significant than it is.

Genocide Perpetrator: During a genocide, the person who executes the killings is known as a genocide perpetrator.

Genocide victim/survivor: victim is the targeted person in the genocide while survivor is one who remain after the genocide having been in the targeted group previously, escaping death at the hands of perpetrators. 

Genocide bystander: a person who witnesses the genocide but does not participate in the killings and is not a member of the targeted group. An active bystander is someone who has the power to stop the genocide but does nothing, whereas a passive bystander is someone who has no power to stop it.

Genocide accomplice: one who aids in the planning, and execution of the genocide. 

Dehumanization and Discrimination:

Dehumanization is a process of depriving a person or group of people, positive human qualities. It's a stage of genocide when the perpetrators stop seeing and treating their victims as human beings.

Discrimination is the denial of justice, resources, and unfair, unequal, or hostile treatment of an individual (or group) on the basis of specific traits such as age, disability, race, ethnicity, gender, marital status, national origin, religion, or sexual orientation, among others.

Propaganda and Ideology:

False or partially false information, as well as biased or misleading information, used by a government, political group, or perpetrators to manipulate and control public opinion.

Genocide ideology is a set of theories characterized by conduct, speeches, documents, and other acts aimed at exterminating or inciting others to commit genocide on the basis of ethnic group, nationality, region, color, physical appearance, sex, language, religion, or political opinion, among other factors.