1994 Rwanda Genocide

The socio/cultural cause of the genocide in Rwanda came from the German and Belgian colonization, bringing along with them an idea of social science. Both colonial powers reinforced the Tutsi’s political power, which further oppressed the Hutus. This reinforcement caused the Hutus to envy the Tutsi’s aristocracy because they were privileged to all things, while the Hutus were privileged to nothing (Kapuscinski). This oppression led to many Hutu revolutions that the Hutus were successful in over the unprepared Tutsis. These victories of the Tutsis incidentally reversed the Rwandan apartheid system. The reversion of the system then gave

For years, Rwanda has been a hotbed of racial tension. The majority of the Rwandan population is made up of Hutu's, with Tutsi's making up the rest of it. Ever since European colonial powers entered the country and favoured the Tutsi ethnic group over the Hutu by putting Tutsi people in all important positions in society, there has been a decisive political divide between the two groups. This favouring of the Tutsi over the Hutu, and the Hutu subjugation as an ethnic lower class resulted in the civil war and revolution of 1959, where the Hutu overthrew the Tutsi dominated government, and resulted in Rwanda gaining their independence in 1962.

Similar to the events of 1994, rumors were a catalyst in this upheaval. These took the form of false reports, that Tutsi extremists had murdered Hutus. The underlying cause of this breakdown of order was the Hutu’s need for independence, freedom and equality. It also had to do with the fact that things were bad enough for Hutus that they were ready to believe that it was possible for the Tutsis to commit terrible crimes that might go unpunished by the Belgians. The consequence was that 300,000 Tutsis were driven out of the country, thereby making them an even smaller minority. In 1961, the Hutus forced the Belgians to replace Tutsi chiefs with those of Hutu and declared Rwanda a republic. The Rwandan Revolution of 1959 was a warning that the existing inequality and social tensions would eventually escalate into more

In 1994, over the course of 100 days, a genocide in Rwanda took the lives of 800,000 innocent men, women, and children and displaced 2 million more. The genocide was a result of tension that had been building since the Belgium colonization of Rwanda in 1916 between two ethnic group, the Hutus and the Tutsis. When Belgium colonized Rwanda, power was given to the Tutsis (an ethnic group in Rwanda that was 15% of the population) who became the privileged minority, whereas the Hutus (another ethnic group in Rwanda that was 85% of the population) became the working class majority. As the years progressed, the signs of inequality intensified. Tutsis were given priority in terms of education, jobs and power. There was even an identity card system created to differentiate between Hutus and Tutsis. The inequality and unfair treatment came to a boiling point and spilled over into a revolution in Rwanda in 1959. The result was a transition from Tutsi controlled Rwanda to a Hutu elected government. 70% of the Tutsi population was killed and the majority fled to neighbouring countries. For the next 5 years the displaced Tutsis’ made unsuccessful attempts to re-take the country, the result of which was the killing of roughly 10 000 Tutsi 's in Rwanda by the Hutu government as an act of revenge. For the next 30 years a negative peace ensued, but below the surface tensions continued to rise, finally erupting in the spring of 1994 with

The Rwandan genocide didn’t just start right after that. There was a spark that marked the beginning of the Rwandan genocide. On April 6, 1994, a plan that had President Habyarimana and the president of Burundi Cyprien Ntaryamira was shot down. It has still not been concluded who shot the plane down. The Hutu’s blamed the Rwandan Patriotic Force (RPF) and the Tutsi’s blamed the Hutu’s. Soon after this, the Presidential Guard, the Rwandan armed forces, and Hutu militia groups started to slaughter all Tutsi’s. They set up roadblocks all across Rwanda so that nobody could flee or try to escape (history.com). Before any political leaders could take any action, the Hutu’s killed them. Tutsi women were raped and taken to be used as sex slaves (humanrightscouncil).

Reasons for ethnical tension between the Hutus and Tutsis have been the subject to several studies. “Historian have purported “ethnic hatred” as the cause of the Rwanda Genocide and while an ethnic divide was indeed present in Rwanda around the time of the conflict, the reasons for the genocide are multiple and far more complex.” (Hain 5) The Hutus were the original inhabits of Rwanda, but in the 15th century the Tutsis peacefully took over Rwanda and

Bang!Boom! The Hutus entered Tutsis homes and started to kill using machetes, guns and their hands. They killed the young, old, disabled, it didn’t matter. On the night of April 7th,1994 the elimination of the Tutsi race began.The Hutu and Tutsis did not live in perfect harmony before the invasion of Europeans. Major problems did not occur until after colonialism was over. When the Europeans settled down, they divided Hutus and Tutsis by their physical traits. Tutsis were favored by the Europeans causing hatred from Hutus. With their division amongst different races, European colonialism put Rwanda on the road to genocide.The mass murder of millions of Tutsis and moderate Hutus in the Rwandan Genocide was driven by the imperialistic motives of the Belgian government.

In the spring of 1994, more than eight thousand Rwandans were murdered, slaughtered, and bodies piled up upon the streets in less hundred days. But yet, the only reason this genocide had actually stopped, was at the cost of the Rwandan Patriotic Army, a militant group primarily composed of Rwandan refugees whom reclaimed Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. Yet, before the Rwandan genocide occurred, for many years, tensions between the Hutu and Tutsi had growth to extreme measures and lead to far more than just disputes- it lead to the Rwandan Genocide. The Rwandan Genocide was a mass slaughter of Tutsi and moderate Hutu in Rwanda by members of the Hutu majority in which the Hutu were the ones attempting to overrule the colony in

Before the genocide actually occurred, the Hutus and Tutsis had a long history of tension between them, which would sometimes break out in violence. Though hostility between the ethnicities has always existed, dislike grew into hatred when Belgian colonists came to Rwanda in 1916 ("Rwanda"). The Belgians decided that Tutsis were superior to Hutus, and forced everyone to carry ethnicity identity cards. The Tutsi were slightly taller and thinner than the Hutus, with slightly paler skin and more experience with governing, which was likely what led the Belgians to make such a decision. Though the Hutus and Tutsis are similar in language and traditions, these identity cards allowed the Tutsis to get superior jobs and education. Needless to say, the Hutus became increasingly resentful, which led to increased ("Rwanda"). In 1959, there were a series of Hutu riots that

It is almost too easy to think of the Rwandan Genocide as something out of a fictional horror film, in that it almost doesn’t seem possible such atrocities could have actually occurred. Only at the cinema could murdering and dismembering the bodies of perfectly innocent citizens, many of them children, be imaginable. The story of the Rwandan Genocide is one of a great divide between the Hutu and Tutsi people. However, there was no real reason for this division to come to fruition. They didn’t have religious disagreements, as in the Armenian Genocide, nor were they born into an environment with extreme ethnic tensions. European colonialism in the Rwandan region ultimately created the “ethnic” divide between the Hutu and and Tutsi groups

Between April and June 1994 warfare between the Hutus and Tutsis people struck in the East African country of Rwanda. To call it a tragedy would be an understatement when faced with the estimated death count of one million Tutsis and moderate Hutus over the span one hundred days. The genocide resulted from the desire to control and obtain power within Rwanda and stemmed from a history of cultural and social class conflict amongst the rival groups. This bloodshed proved to be one the most horrific events in history.

Africa has been an interesting location of conflicts. From the conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea to the revolutionary conflict in Libya and Egypt, one of the greatest conflicts is the Rwandan Genocide. The Rwandan Genocide included two tribes in Rwanda: Tutsis and Hutus. Upon revenge, the Hutus massacred many Tutsis and other Hutus that supported the Tutsis. This gruesome war lasted for a 100 days. Up to this date, there have been many devastating effects on Rwanda and the global community. In addition, many people have not had many acknowledgements for the genocide but from this genocide many lessons have been learned around the world.

To the Tutsi members, the places that they had always found refuge in became places of heartless

During the 1990’s the Tutsi and Hutu were already in a bad place after recently being under oppressive Tutsis rule. The Hutu extremist blamed all their country's social and economic problems on the Tutsi people. A civil war was caused after a group of Rwandan exiles formed the Rwandan Patriotic Front: a Tutsi-dominated rebel group, and had attacked Rwanda from their home base in Uganda. The invasion caused tension levels between the two sides to skyrocket

Taking the Rwandan genocide at its surface would make one think that it was a result of spontaneous “tribal” fighting between Hutu and Tutsi elements. But every serious observer of Rwanda has recognized that the genocide resulted from active planning of high state officials. The tragedy represents an extreme form of Rwandan Hutu nationalism in the hands of the fanatical state leaders. To put matters in perspective, it is clear that both nationalisms survived in Rwanda due to the actions of elite representatives of each community. Another point to note is the correlation of the uncertainty over the control of the state with nationalism. While the Rwandan state was firmly under the control of the colonial authorities, aided by the Tutsi chiefs,