Burundi Genocide

Genocides happen when ethnic divisions become apparent. Many times, these ethnic divisions were due to colonization from people of different race. These cases are especially true in Africa when Europeans colonized their territory, with clear racial divisions between them (Gavin). These genocides go on because of nations acting on ignorance and refusing to help out the nations in turmoil, allowing the genocides to continue, without wasting their own resources. These nations purposefully ignoring the slaughter of people cause the nations to also be guilty of the genocide underway (“The Heart”). The genocide occurred in Rwanda in Central Africa during 1994. The decades of Tutsi oppression of Hutus and the assassination of President Habyarimana in 1994 led to the genocide in Rwanda.

A refugee is a person who was forced to leave their country. Whether it be from warfare or natural disaster, their homes are no longer safe to live in, so they need to relocate elsewhere. Once someone sets foot on the journey of becoming a refugee, they become vulnerable and dependent with no sense of what the future will bring. In an attempt to accommodate them, first world countries with the resources necessary to assist these refugees, are struggling to determine whether or not they should step-in and help. Some argue that taking them in could come with excessive consequences, while others believe they could be assets. Although there may be a few consequences, they are outweighed by the benefits and undeniable severity of the situation.

The United Nations approach on the treatment of refugees is as follows. the Convention relating to the status of Refugees 1967 Protocol defines who a refugee is and explains what Rights countries should afford to refugees. A refugee is a person who is outside of their own country and is unable or unwilling to return due to a well-founded fear of being persecuted because of their; race, religion, nationality, membership of a group or political

April 7, 1994 marked the beginning of one hundred days of massacre that left over 800,000 thousand dead and Rwanda divided by a scare that to this day they are trying to heal. The source of this internal struggle can be traced back to the segregation and favoritism established by Belgium when they received Rwanda after the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1918. At the time the Rwandan population was 14% Tutsi, 1%Twa, and 85% Hutus; the Belgian’s showed preferential treatment to the Tutsi, who were seen as socially elite, by giving them access to higher educations and better employment. This treatment causes the uprising of the Hutus in 1959 overthrowing the Tutsi government forcing many to flee the country, sparking even greater resentment between the two ethic groups. Without the interference and preferential treatment by the Belgian’s this atrocity could have likely been avoided.

According to UNHCR, a refugee is someone who has been forced to flee his or her country because of persecution, war, or violence. A refugee has a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group. Most likely, they cannot return home or are afraid to do so. War and ethnic, tribal and religious violence are leading causes of refugees fleeing their countries. When people flee their own country, and seek sanctuary in another country, they apply for asylum – the right to be recognized as a refugee and receive legal protection and material assistance. An asylum seeker must demonstrate that his or her fear of persecution in his or her home country is

The Tutsi are a people who live in Rwanda, Burundi, and the northeastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The location, size, and history, most importantly, is why the Tutsi tribe the second largest population division among the three largest groups in Rwanda and Burundi, the other two being the Hutu and the Twa. Although the Tutsi tribe is one of the most known tribes in Africa, it comes from a long way of fighting for its' rights and independence.

The Democratic Republic of Congo has a very violent history and is still filled with conflict to this day. Ever since the Democratic Republic of Congo (known as Zaire until 1996) gained independence in 1960, there were violent plays for power and two wars occurred. Since armed forces have appeared, they have committed (mainly sexual) crimes against the people in this country. In 2006, the South Kivu Province was reported to have more than 27,000 sexual assault occur. According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “Nothing in this declaration may be interpreted as implying for any state, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any rights and freedoms set forth herein (30).”

The Democratic Republic of Congo can be found in Central Africa near Angola, Rwanda, and The Republic of Congo. Formally, The Democratic Republic of Congo was part of the Republic of Congo, which was originally a Belgian colony in 1908. After gaining independence in 1960, a nationalist movement formed during a time of crisis and Joseph Mobutu became president in a November 1965. During Mobutu’s thirty-five year presidency, many citizens from Rwanda arrived after the massacre of the Tutsi. The castaways that were pro-genocide reformed and in consequence began making attacks, and despite attempts to counter many residents’ lives were ended. The Congo, then Democratic Republic of Congo and Republic of Congo, entered its First War whereabouts

Genocides are an act of mass murdering for a certain reason, some of the genocides that have happened has been because of hatred against a certain religion, Race, appearance, gender, and many more. Genocides have happened in many occasions throughout time one of the most well genocides know around the world is the holocaust which was a genocide that wiped the majority of the Jewish race. Many other genocides have happened around the world that aren't well known because it wasn't at a scale like the holocaust, but it doesn't make the act any less horrible. Some other well-known genocide, that are only a small portion of the total cases of genocides are the Rwanda,Haiti,Darfur,Bosnia,Cambodia genocides which are genocides that happen throughout

"As human beings, we simply cannot allow another 6 million freshly dug graves in Africa because of preventable actions. Mass atrocities can be successfully confronted and ended (pg. 237).’’

The world has seen many gruesome acts throughout history. These acts are often too cruel to even imagine for some people. The Rwandan Genocide is without a doubt one of these acts. This genocide is a very controversial topic that stirs up a lot of anger, emotion and regret. The Rwandan genocide shows a prime example of a country ignored when it needed help the most.

The academic focus within the multiple fields of the social sciences and humanities often mistakes Rwanda by understanding how government officials operate. The previous section illustrates how continual misperception at a practitioner’s level will cause future harm between Rwanda’s relationships with the international community. At the academic level, misunderstanding how officials operate leads not to only incorrectly knowing Rwanda, but also misrepresenting Rwandan interests. Such as described by the realist theories covered in Chapter Two, states engage with other countries in order to promote national interest whether it be security, survival, economic development or territorial gains for hegemonic desires.

War refugees are defined in many ways. Those people who have been forced to flee his or her country due to the war, violence, persecution crime and murder they called refugee. They have a kind of fear of persecution because of religion, race, nationality, political ideology or support in particular social groups or parties. Wessels, W. K. (2014, p.9) has mentioned that “refugees are no longer able to live safely in their home countries due to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for their “religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion” (United Nations, 2008, p.4). In turn, refugees are forcibly displaced to countries outside of their country of origin seeking safety and protection (2008). Refugees are defined as people who experienced or are at risk of experiencing persecution so much so that a person’s freedom and life would be or was threatened by “the threat of death, or the threat of torture, or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment” (2008, p. 3)”.

A refugee is defined as an individual who has been forced to leave their country due to political or religious reasons, or due to threat of war or violence. There were 19.5 million refugees worldwide at the end of 2014, 14.4 million under the mandate of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), around 2.9 million more than in 2013. The other 5.1 million Palestinian refugees are registered with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). With the displacement of so many people, it is difficult to find countries willing to accept all the refugees. There are over 125 different countries that currently host refugees, and with this commitment comes the responsibility of ensuring these refugees have access to

The genocides in Rwanda and Burundi were tragic parts of modern African history. This conflict was caused by tension between two major ethnicities in the area- the Hutu and Tutsi. The Tutsis were given power by the European invaders because they were involved in cow farming, while the Hutu were seen as lesser people because they involved themselves in crop farming. This led to conflict which was not between all members of both groups, but a war between the Tutsi leaders and a group of Hutus, who called themselves the PALIPEHUTU, “an acronym for, roughly, ‘Liberation of the Hutu People’” (pg 94 par 1). Tracy Kidder wrote the book Strength in What Remains about Deogratias “Deo” Niyizonkiza, a man who escapes from Burundi during this time of