This month January 2010 has been the month of Africa for me. New Year's day, my wife and I watched "Invictus" where Pres. Mandela used all his charm and wit to bring an end to apartheid. It was the first movie that showed me how much South Africa had gone through in the past few decades.

On January 21, I watched Blood Diamond, and it showed me the horrors of diamond mining in Sierra Leone. Yes, I knew that this existed, but the brutality of it was overwhelming. Never again will I buy a diamond.

Last day of January, I rented "Hotel Rwanda", and was able to watch it only tonight. Yes I know that I am a bit late in watching these movies. The depiction of mindless ethnic genocide was too much to bear. After the movie, I sat for a full five minutes and cried for the first time watching a movie. I had never been so moved.

When will mindless violence end? Being a citizen of modern India (relatively stable and prosperous life there), and an employee of the United States (relatively peaceful life here too), I thank God a million times for sparing me and my family from having to face these abominations. But what has Africa done to face this? Is Paul Rusesabagina's (the real life hero of Hotel Rwanda) dream of unity among the ethnicities possible at all?

No amount of external interference by countries like USA and UK will prove useful, because the seed of hate continues to be sown and nurtured. Much worse, it will only come back to bite the person who tries to help.

I know that violence and genocide are not at all unique to this century. In every century of modern history every country has taken turns to be the perpetrator of mass genocide. It has just been a matter of who wants to play cop each time. Its almost pointless to try to stop violence, as it is like playing Whac-A-Mole.

May God (the God of which ever religion prays the hardest) bring peace.