Ghost Of Rwanda Analysis

The documentary “Ghost in Rwanda” illustrates the devastation of the 1994 Genocide where approximately eight hundred thousand Rwandans were exterminated by their own government. The genocide was a result of ongoing conflicts between the Hutu, the ethnic majority in Rwanda, and the Tutsi the ethnic minority. The United Nation assisted in the establishment of a peace agreement between the two warring parties and sent General Romeo Dallaire, UN Force Commander, to Rwanda to ensure the terms of the agreement were honored. Dallaire had never seen action and welcomed opportunity to make a difference supporting peace in Africa. The peace mission was especially important to Dalliaire in light of recent U.N. failures to maintain peace in Somalia and Bosnia.

The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass slaughter in Rwanda of the ethnic Tutsi and Hutu peoples. The Rwandan Genocide left 70% of total ethnic Tutsi dead and a total of 20% of the entire country 's population dead. Today, more than twenty years later, Rwanda is a growing society with an ever expanding skyline.

Does the Genocide in Rwanda have a singular cause? I do not believe so; the cause of genocide in Rwanda in 1994 was due to years of built up hatred between the Tutsis and the Hutus along with many other occurrences. The Rwandan Genocide is no exception with many variables contributing to the horrific events that took place. According to the documentary Ghosts of Rwanda, in 1994, Rwanda experienced a premeditated, systematic and state sponsored genocide with the aim of exterminating those who were ethnically identifiable as Tutsi. Between 500,000 and 800,000 people were killed in a period of 100 days, with around 77 percent of the population registered as Tutsi being murdered.

War never changes, it will always be around for as long as we are here, with it, it brings genocide. Every day we are in a constant battle with each other, whether it be at home or across the oceans. We have invented weapons solely to cause mass destruction across entire continents. This has led to limitations being placed on warfare, but sometimes it's not enough. "We have to protect our Earth, so our children and grandchildren will never suffer like that"

History has a funny way of repeating itself. After World War II, the United States and the rest of the international community promised to do all they could to prevent future genocides. However this was a promise they were unable to keep. In 1994 when Rwanda went through genocide the United States and U.N were absent, leaving the Tutsis to be brutally murdered by the Hutus. As a consequence 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed and dumped into mass graves. Once again the United States and U.N promised to do more, but this time it was too late.

Pre-1959 Rwanda was run by the Tutsis. This ended when there was an overthrow in Rwanda by the Hutus. Being 85% of the population the Hutus felt they were to take positions of

Less than a year separated the end of the Battle of Mogadishu and the start of the Rwandan Genocide. The United States didn’t want to have a similar situation where American lives were lost, that weren’t a part of a war. The United States turned away from the situation going on in Rwanda so they wouldn’t have to take part in the Peace Keeping Operation. By not acknowledging the Genocide that was happening the United States wasn’t obligated to assist the country. The United States was taking part in a type of Non-Interventionism foreign policy when working on the Rwandan Genocide

Twenty-three years ago, in a small, central African country identified as Rwanda, approximately 1,000,000 individuals belonging to the Tutsi tribe were massacred by a rival tribe, known as the Hutus. The hatred that resulted in the Hutus slaughtering the Tutsis originated from a rivalry that was created centuries before the infamous massacre. Living in an agricultural community, the Hutus were traditionally peasant cultivators, while the Tutsis were cattle lopers. Through their work, the Tutsis gained wealth and, consequently, political power. The divide between the Hutus and the Tutsis was only made more dangerous as Europeans traveled to Rwanda, favoring the Tutsis. As the inferior race, the Hutus were denied government positions, higher education, and were forced into slave labor. In retaliation, the Hutus gained political power through a democratic vote put on by Belgian missionaries from the Tutsis through the 8:1 majority ratio. The Tutsi power was completely reversed into total Hutu power, as “the oppressed became the oppressor.”

Located in Central Africa, east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and north of Burundi, the Republic of Rwanda is predominantly rural, and its population relatively young; additionally, its population density is one of the highest in Africa. Humans began inhabiting the region between 8,000 BCE - 3,000 BCE, and had structured themselves into various clans (Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa) by the 15th century. The Tutsi Nyiginya clan grew to be the more dominant, and during the 19th century, under the reign of King Kigeli Rwabugiri, reached its greatest expansion. Hutus make make 84 percent of the population, Tutsi 15, and Twa 1 percent.

The evens that unfolded on that date of April 9th 1994 in the country of Rwanda sparked, what we now call today as the Rwandan Genocide. On April 9th 1994 the president of Rwanda, Juvenal Habyarimana was killed as his airplane came to land in Kigali. Immediately after president Habyarimana was declared dead, the country of Rwanda erupted into 100 days of terror and genocide. Fergal Keane asserts very early in his book SEASON OF BLOOD, that during these 100 days “one million people were hacked, shot, strangled, clubbed and burned to death” (Page 29). And this is to vehemently remind the reader to never forget the events that occurred in Rwanda from April to July of

Grijalba who, under the orders of Diego Veláquez, who is the Spanish governor of Cuba, Set out on ill-

The US didn’t really help contribute to the genocide happening in Rwanda in 1994, they tried their best to keep a good distance from Rwanda as well. The US knew that the genocide was happening and we were well aware of the genocide. Bill Clinton found out about the genocide and didn’t show any sympathy or want to help Rwanda. He only worried about the media saying that US is doing nothing to help Rwanda, this media spread. The US claimed that they did not know the genocide was going on and failed to respond to the genocide in any way possible, things began to change but not significantly. Rwanda was not getting the attention they should have been getting when it was a major problem where over five people were killed each minute of the day.

Similar to the Apartheid in South Africa, the genocide in Rwanda was not a random event. It was instead the result of generations of discrimination and abuse based on ethnic groups. In the early 19th century during Rwanda’s colonial period, there already existed a divide between the elite Tutsi cattle herders and the majority of the population who were peasant farmers, known as Hutu.[i] In 1918, Rwanda came under Belgian control, “during which the ruling Belgians favored the minority Tutsis over the Hutus, exacerbating the tendency of the few to oppress the many.”[ii] In 1933, the Belgians then proceeded to institutionalize this system of discrimination by mandating ethnic ID cards, while still favoring the Tutsi

War is a necessary part of human nature. War has always been a part of countries and nations history. Militarism in countries , people who are nationalist extremist showing their aggression towards other countries. War is a necessary part of humanity because people naturally view others as ‘Us and them’, people being patriotic,nationalist or extremist causing tension between nations of the world.

The genocide started with the assassination of the Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana and Burundian President Cyprien Ntaryamira, when the their plane was shot down on April 6, 1994. The current President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, was suspected to have influenced this assassination because he was the leader of a rebel Tutsi group and Habyarimana was a Hutu. Due to his death the Hutu rebel groups, such as the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), arose because they had felt threatened by their past violent history. The Hutu and the Tutsi lived within the precolonial Kingdom of Burundi in 1972 which was ruled by the Tutsi. The government became increasingly dangerous for the Hutu people, “In 1929, the Belgians decided to merge