Patriotism In 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

On April 6, 1994, a plane carrying Habyarimana and Burundi’s president Cyprien Ntaryamira was shot down over Kigali their were no survivors. They did not know who shot the plane down but they are blaming Hutu extremists and the leaders of the RPF. An hour after the plane went down the Rwandan armed forces and the Hutu militia groups had started setting up roadblocks and barricades, and started killing Tutsis and moderate Hutus. the first victims of the genocide were the moderate Hutu Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana and her 10 Belgian bodyguards, with that happening it started more conflict and interim government of extremist Hutu Power leaders from the military high command had stepped in on april 9. The killing in Rwanda had spreaded to the rest of the country, up to 800,000 or more had been slaughtered within 3 months.

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.

In 1918 Under the Treaty of Versailles the former German colony of Rwanda-Urundi is made a League of Nations protectorate to be governed by Belgium. The territory that later became Rwanda was administrated under a Tutsi

“The true cause of the Rwandan Genocide was the negative influence of the European colonists on the relationship of the Hutus and Tutsis.” European colonists greatly aggravated relations between the Tutsi and the Hutu and indirectly caused the Rwandan Genocide. When the Tutsi people first came to Rwanda, they “impressed their power” upon the Hutu. And by the 15th century, the Tutsi had absolute rule over the Hutu, despite making up less than 15 percent of the population. They continued to successfully rule for centuries. Although the relationship between the Tutsi and the Hutu was strained, they were relatively “civil” towards each other until the late 19th century. This is about the time that the European colonial powers came in and worsened problems between the Hutu and the Tutsi. German colonists, who first arrived in

Since its joining of the UN on September 18, 1962, Rwanda has long been active in the field of international politics. Rwanda was a Belgian colony. The population of this little East African nation is divided into two ethnic groups, The Hutu majority, and the Tutsi minority. Conflict caused a power struggle between these two parties and has plagued the nation for a good portion of the twentieth century. During Belgian occupation, the Belgians relied upon the Tutsis to govern the nation, as their skin was lighter and heads were physically larger. This would soon stern great strife, as in 1959, both sides began to demand more political independence and war broke out. Hundreds of thousands of Tutsis were killed, and many more fled to neighboring

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.

The Belgian colonial rule started after world war I in 1922 when Germany was broke apart. It lasted all the way until Rwanda was granted national independence in 1961. The rule ripped people away from each other and also put them in other tribal groups that they weren’t familiar with. Just like the germans before them, Belgium just put one ethnic group over the other. The Tutsi minority which was considered educated, ruled over the Hutu majority who were not. The Hutus was often considered as illiterate while the Tutsis were very smart and educated and held the higher level jobs and controlled the government. The Belgians took a better liking into the Tutsis and educated them in catholic schools which made the Hutus angry.

Lindsey, great discussion post on the Rwanda Genocide. I too wrote my essay on the Rwanda Genocide. It is heartbreaking to read the reality of so many lives being lost. This civil war between the Hutus and the Tutsis was political in nature and directly related to struggles for dominance and supremacy. Lemarchand (n.d.) states, “Hutu and Tutsi shared the same language and culture; the same clan names, the same customs, and the symbols of kingship served as a powerful unifying bond between them” (p.484). As you mentioned, In the 1950s, the Belgian colonial state policies initiated the drastic changes to each ethnic identity, which was the turning point for the change in the society of Rwanda. Rwanda’s colonial period, the Belgians chose the

On the early summer of 1994 the exodus of the Genocide in Rwanda began. Almost 800,000 people were killed in the period of 100 days. All due to bitter accusations from the biggest ethnic group- the Hutus. Somewhere inside Rwanda’s political elite, the group of Hutus aggressively criticised less than half of the Tutsi population, for the incredibly increasing social, economic, and political pressures, within the country, and were also wrongly accused of encouraging a ‘Tutsi-dominated rebel group’. Due to this, and also by the help of propaganda and perpetual political manipulating, the president, Habyarimana, (a Hutu), decided to split up the two ethnic groups, towards the end of 1992.

A machete was used to execute the killings. The event was quick. About a million people were killed out of a population of approximately seven million within one hundred days. The article reflects how serious and catastrophic the genocide was. The massacre was more than the Cambodians killing, Yugoslavia’s, and not forgetting the Jewish Holocaust. The killers were the Hutus and the victims were the Tutsis regarded as the minority. Sadly, it was easier to trace the dead Tutsis than those who were alive within the early months of the massacre. The massacre started in April and mid-July is when a rebel army intervened bringing to a halt the heinous act. The United Nations Experts termed the massacre “genocide” as it was planned, concerted, and systematic. In addition, it was carried out methodically and resulted in the killing of masses of people (Gourevitch, 1995). Rwanda Tribunal will soon charge the Rwandans who took part in the genocide. Hence, what it means to survive when around a million people are murdered. The perpetrators will soon face the law even if they go into hiding. Notably, the killings have been a habit. The killings are traceable toward the end of the 1950 with the Tutsis murder seen as bush

Several key events led to the beginning of the premeditated genocide in Rwanda. Belgium, who favored the Tutsis, ruled Rwanda after taking it from Germany after World War I (“The Rwandan Genocide”). In 1962, Rwanda gained independence and after this the Tutsis were discriminated against in every way. Due to this, the Rwandan “social revolution” took place, killing 20,000 Tutsis and causing many others to seek refuge in other countries, making them an even smaller minority in Rwanda. Within four years, 100,000 Tutsis were killed with machetes and dumped in rivers.

Rwanda is a country that has a rich, but bloody history. Rwanda was originally inhabited by the Twa, a pygmy tribe who hunted and gathered for survival. Between the 5th and 11th century, the Hutu tribe migrated to Rwanda, followed by the Tutsi tribe during the 14th century. The Hutus were farmers, while the Tutsis owned cattle and by the 15th century, the Tutsis had established power. In 1916, the Belgian colonists arrived. The Belgian’s favored the Tutsis and began segregating the two tribes by issuing identification cards which included ethnicity. They supported the Tutsi political power and replaced the Hutu chiefs with Tutsi chiefs, reinforcing the ethnic divide between the two tribes. The Tutsis followed the command of the Belgium for

The assassination of President Habyarimana, in 1994, is considered one historical or political cause of the start of the Rwandan Genocide. There are two stories about why the president’s plane was shot down. The first one was that some people in the Hutu government and

After World War I, the Belgians were given Rwanda and Burundi after the defeat of Germany. Despite their cultural similarities, which included language and geography, the Hutus and the Tutsi were given identity cards by the Belgians that marked their ethnic affiliation. The Belgians favoured the Tutsis and so they were privy to a much higher social status and were able to gain a decent education, which allowed them to get better jobs whereas the Hutus were often restricted to being farmers or servants. There was a deep cultural unbalance and the idea of favouritism and segregation led to unrest and discrimination against the Tutsis by the Hutus.