Rwanda Genocide

When Belgium took control of Rwanda in 1916 the Hutu’s and the Tutsi’s had a slight differentiation of the ethnic groups, the Hutu’s were farmers and the Tutsi’s were cattle herders. Though they both spoke the same language and had similar traditions. The Tutsi were seen as a higher class of people, only because it took more money to buy cattle, but it was possible to have upward movement in society through changes in jobs or through intermarriage (Jones).

Throughout the 1600s to the mid 1990s, the Tutsi tribe in Rwanda, and the Hutu tribe of Rwanda have always been arch enemies. Although the Hutus have had a prolonged hate for the Tutsi tribe, this hate was not physically expressed, until 1994. From April to July of 1994, over 80,000 Tutsi people were murdered and tortured for their African heritage. The Rwanda genocide is considered to be one of the worst massacres the world has ever seen since the Holocaust. This paper will touch a few things that occurred after the massacre, and will also answer the questions of why this massacre started, what occurred during this genocide. The Rwandan genocide was a massacre based off of discrimination and hatred for a specific tribal group. This

In spite of the fact that it was never demonstrated who shot the plane down, Hutu trusted it was the Tutsi and utilized it as motivation to start the genocide. All Tutsi and Hutu had been required to convey ID cards distinguishing their nationality. This made it simple for the Hutu to recognize Tutsi amid the butcher. The larger part of those killed amid the genocide were Tutsi, however some direct Hutu were additionally executed.

One hour after the plane crash, the Hutu militia known as the Interahamwe constructed road blocks and began slaughtering both Tutsis and moderate Hutus. Towards the start of the genocide, the Hutus murdered moderate Hutu prime minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana and her bodyguards, leaving the Hutu extremists to seige power over Rwanda. Though the massacre originated in Kigali, the slaughtering soon traveled into the rest of the country. To increase the number of murders, local officials and radio stations encouraged citizens to slaughter their neighbors. The genocide finally ceased in early July 1994, when the rebel Tutsis drove the Hutu army across the border and into

Many were killed and had to be buried in mass graves due to the corpses in mass amounts (“Genocide”). The few survivors lost their families, homes, friends, and suffered awful health complications. Many survivors already lived in poverty, but now lived in unpropitious poverty. Survivors also had to undergo severe trauma from their horrific experiences. They had to reconstruct their lives as well as the city they knew and loved. These people subsided the awful treachery they had endured and united as a community to rebuild their homeland. Although, ten years after the genocide, ethnic relations in Rwanda remained tense (Genocide & Persecution Rwanda 39). Signs of genocide are still everywhere today and the effects of this tragedy are

The Rwanda genocide left a legacy of hundreds of bloody shield in which eight hundred thousand men, women and children lost their lives at the hands of their own country civilians. These killings are what the world remembers, but 1994 was the darkest and bitter civil war. This civil war made no distinction

The slaughter and killing from Kigali soon spread all across Rwanda. In just three months 800,000 people were killed. 3/4 Tutsi’s were murdered during the Rwandan genocide. People were killed in churches, homes, schools, and many other place (“A Good Man in Hell”). During this time, government radios and officials were telling civilians to kill. They were told to kill anyone who was Tutsi or anyone who supported the Tutsi’s. The RPF kept fighting back and by early July the RPF had claimed and got control over most of Rwanda. Then over two million Hutu’s fled the

800,000 Tutsi people were killed by the Hutu’s over one hundred days, that is 8,000 everyday. The Rwandan Genocide was sparked after the killing of the Hutu, Rwandan President he was allegedly killed by Tutsi rebels. There are stories that say otherwise and they blame the Hutu’s, no one knows who shot down the plane there are only theories. There had been tension for many years after the Hutu’s took power off the Tutsi’s after the Belgians left. Tutsi’s then did small terrorist attacks on them. It had been brewing for years. This is similar to the Holocaust in the way that the Tutsi’s were made out to be evil as Hitler did to the Jews. If one was half Tutsi and half Hutu how they determined if they were one or the other was that they would measure their nose, how far apart their eyes were or if their skin was a certain colour etc. Once they determined what they were they would give them a ‘passport’ that stated whether they were a Hutu or Tutsi. This is very similar as to when Hitler picked out all the different measurements or way a Jew looked. When the killings started they used machete’s, garden tools or anything they could get their hands on because if a Hutu was neighboured next to a Tutsi they would go next door and butcher their whole family. A lot of bodies were thrown into rivers similar to when the Jews bodies were thrown into pits at the time of the

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.

His plane was shot down by the Kigali Airport killing. The plane crashed intensity killing everyone on board including President Habyarimana and President Ntaryamira of Burundi. Many Hutu rebels believed this was an attack from the RPF and wanted to fight back. RPF denied the claims and said that the Hutu shot down the plane to justify killing Tutsi. Hutus dismissed their response and started killing hours after the plane was shot down (Rwanda Genocide: 100 Days of Slaughter). The next day RAF (Rwanda Armed Forces) block roads with militiamen and go door to door finding Tutsis to kill. More than thousands Tutsis are slaughtered. The UN (United Nations) are forced to stand by, but are “forbidden” to intervene in the fighting. In April 21, 1994, UN troops leave, and there are only 250 troops remaining in Rwanda compared to the 2500 troops that were in Rwanda. On April 30th 250,000 refugees had fled Rwanda and went to Tanzania (Keane). Hutu extremist had taken over the radio stations, and were broadcasting propaganda. On the radio broadcasting, angry Hutu extremist, would give hate speeches, and encouraged Hutus to participate and exterminate “the cockroaches”. On the radio broadcasting detailed list were read that had Tutsis names, addresses, and even license plate numbers were read aloud. The radio broadcasting had a big effect on how the genocide was carry out. The radio stations would tell

The Rwandan genocide occurred in 1994. The two main ethnic groups in Rwanda at this time were the Hutu and the Tutsi. These two groups had separate ethic identities because of the type of work that they did. The genocide consisted of members of the Hutu group periodically executing members of the lower class Tutsi group. Rwanda was controlled by an extremist Hutu regime who planned to eliminate everyone who opposed its rule. This even included members of the Hutu group.

On April 6, 1994 the deaths of the Presidents of Burundi and Rwanda in a plane crash caused through Rwanda into several weeks of intense massacres that started just less than a half hour after the incident. An estimated one million people died and 150,000 to 250,000 women raped. The radio broadcasted the plane crash was a result of the RPF and UN soldiers. This initiated even more fatalities, forcing Belgium to withdraw the rest of its force. On April 21, other countries also withdrew and the UNAMIR force reduced from and intial 2,165 to 270.

Starting on April 6, 1994, Hutus started butchering the Tutsis in the African nation of Rwanda. Lasting 100 days, the Rwandan Genocide left approximately 800,000 Tutsis and Hutu sympathizers dead.

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

The slaughter amongst the Hutus and Tutsis was very disturbing to many. Within 100 days, more than 800,000 Rwandan citizens were killed. (White 471). The conflict between Hutus and Tutsis ruined the lives of many citizens of Rwanda. When President Juvenal Habyarimana was killed, the Hutus blamed the Tutsis for his death and felt like they should pay for it. The killing of President Juvenal Habyarimana led to the Hutus starting the genocide in 1994. (White 472). With the signing of a peace agreement, many Rwandans thought the massive killings were put to an end; but Hutu's were angry and wanted to kill everyone that was against them. The 1994 genocide in Rwanda was considered one of the best genocides of the century. White stated, "333 people