Ethnic Conflict In The Rwanda Genocide

The two ethnic groups that were include in the Rwanda Genocide was the Tutsis and Hutus. The Tutsis were the minority population in Rwanda, but they held all the positions of authority. On the other hand, the Hutu made up around 85% of Rwanda’s population, but held no political power, they were denied higher education and land ownership. The size of the nose and the color of the eyes were the factors that determined whether a person was Hutu or Tutsi. The Tutsis disapprove of the colonial rule of the Belgians and demanded to become more independent. After World War II, the Tutsis felt impatient and that it was time they took matters in their own hands to pursuit their independence. In 1959, the tension and violence between the Tutsis and Hutus were greatly increased.

The tensions that led up to the genocide came into being after Belgium colonized Rwanda and had divided the people into two groups: the Hutus & the Tutsis. Although the Hutus held the majority, the Tutsis had the power because the Belgians had favoured the Tutsis. As a result, this caused a lot of resentments among the Hutus. Once Rwanda had gained independence and Belgium had left, the Hutus claimed control over the nation. As depicted in the movie, the genocide began with the murder of President Juvénal Habyarimana, a Hutu. The Hutu extremists blamed the Tutsi rebels for shooting down the president’s plane and killing everyone else on board. Although this was never confirmed, the Hutus began to slaughter thousand of Tutsi civilians, as a

Genocide is not a good thing to have in our world so I am going to talk about sometimes it has happened, How to fix it, and why the heck would someone start genocide.

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.

The struggle for power and the constant tension between these two groups led to the event that would spark this genocide. It would occur at 8:30 p.m., on April 6th 1994. On this day President Juvénal Habyarimana of Rwanda was returning from a summit and his plane was shot down, causing the death of everyone on board. (BBC) Hutu extremist immediately took control over the government and blamed the assassination on the Tutsi. This was the last straw for the Hutu.

Sometime in April 1994, during the Rwandan Genocide, Father Athanase Seromba helped lure 2,000 Tutsi men, women, and children into his church where they thought they would be safe. One day, Seromba began clearing out the Communion chalices. A refugee in the church begged him to leave the Eucharist so that they could hold a final mass. However, Seromba refused, telling the congregation that the building was no longer a church. Another refugee asked the priest if he would pray for them. He answered, “Is the God of the Tutsis still alive?” Later, Seromba would have the church bulldozed and would send the militia in to kill the survivors (Kimani, 2010). In a continent as vast as Africa, it is not uncommon to see the struggles of both Christianity and Islam play out. Just a couple years ago, the world heard about the Boko Haram Islamic extremist group kidnapping schoolgirls in Nigeria, forcing them to convert to Islam and marriage with other members of Boko Haram. Lesser known are the Christian terrorists of the African continent who attack and kill the Muslim community among them. In the last two decades, the Western world has become so fearful after news of Muslim terrorist attacks and genocides, especially after 9/11. So much so that Western citizens have turned on other citizens simply because they are Muslim, look Middle-Eastern, or have an Arabic name. Sometimes we forget that some of the worst genocides in history have been instigated or participated in by Christians –

Genocide is defined as the deliberate killing of a large group of people, especially those of a particular ethnic group or nation. In other words mass murder.

Paul Kagame, the President of Rwanda, once quoted that, “When we are unified, working together, no challenge is insurmountable” (Arnlaugsdottir). His quote holds meaning and truth as within the past twenty years, Rwanda has worked miraculously to rebuild and reunite the country that was left disheveled by social conflict and genocide. There are many factors that have contributed to the reconstruction of Rwanda, including international assistance, gacaca courts and International Criminal Tribunal, annual commemoration ceremonies, and wellness and counseling efforts. However, the influence and role of women within Rwanda is considered one of the most significant forces and contributors to the unification and restoration of the country. The

Between the months of April and July in 1994 approximately one million people were killed in Rwanda. There are three ethnic groups in Rwanda, Hutu, Tutsi, and Aboriginal Twa. The genocide occurred between two different groups, the Hutu and Tutsi people. The Hutu composed close to 85% of the population while the minority Tutsi people make up approximately 14% with the Twa people composing the remaining 1%. The Republic of Rwanda like most African nations has a history of colonization from different European countries with different and conflicting ideas of governance and how a colony should be developed and used. It can be argued that many of the

Rwandan Genocide and Ethnic Hatred “At the genocide's peak there were more than five deaths every minute in Rwanda: the rate of killing was three times as rapid as the murder of the Jews in the Second World War.” (5) For centuries, this region of Africa was ruled by many different clans with different religious beliefs and political structures. This even involves modern day Rwanda which is still filled with many different ethnic groups who still do not agree with each other. Some go about resolving their issues peacefully while others do not. The Hutu and the Tutsi people are the two main groups of people that are believed to be the cause of the Rwandan Genocide.

In Rwanda, the majority was of the Hutu ethnicity, while the Tutsis were in the minority. The massacre was committed by the Hutus when they systematically exterminated 800,000 Tutsis. Initiated in the capital city of Rwanda, the massacre did not take long to spread to other areas of the country. Killing of Tutsis continued as the government

This tragic event which was originated in Rwanda occurred in 1994 killing 800,000 people. The genocide first came about by the death of the Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana, who was a Hutu. This resulted from the conscious choice of the upper class to promote hatred and fear to keep itself in power. The extremist ethnic Hutu regime in office in 1994 believed that the only way they could hang on to power was by wiping out the ethnic Tutsis. This genocide was further carried out and justified with the utilization of radios as they would discuss the suffering of the Hutus under the power of the Tutsis. With the use of machetes the people of the Tutsi descent were slaughtered and tortured making this one of largest genocides in Africa.

It is believed that the Hutu and the Tutsi were originally one community who shared some value culture and even religion until the colonialist announced their arrival. Rwanda has experienced a disturbing and prolonged cycle of violent conflict since 1959. The conflict which has been characteristically political and socio-economic in nature has played out mainly on the basis of ethnicity and regionalism. It was first German and Belgium colonialism that created and nurtured the country’s ethnic rivalry between the majority Hutu and the minority Tutsi. The rivalry was constructed on the basis of a myth of Tutsi superiority over the Hutu in order to serve both the colonial policy of divide and rule and the colonial division of labor. The Tutsi were designated as the administrative supervisors and the Hutu s the labor force of the extractive colonial economy. The 1959 revolution brought the Hutu to power and ended colonialism. Unfortunately, though it succeeded in changing the colonial socio-political relations, it failed to crush the ethnic stereotypes that continued to haunt the country (Maundi…et al, 2006:31).

In the 1990s, the Rwandan population was about 14% Tutsis and 85 % Hutus (XXXXXXXX). This ethnic composition has remained similar since biblical times. As with most civil wars, the aversion between opposing sides, that precipitates the war is usually deeply entrenched. The hate between the Tutsis and the Hutus dates back to the 16th century. The hunter-gatherer Hutus were the original settlers of the Rwanda area around 1000AD, then new farming settlers called Tutsi set up their republic. The Tutsis had status, wealth and controlled the politics. Germans favored the Tutsi when they took control of the territory in 1884. Tutsis garnered favor with the racist Germans because they were taller and had lighter-skin.