Rwanda Research Paper

Rwanda is a country located in Central Eastern Africa, with an extensive history of colonization, after Belgium attained control in 1924. Belgium’s rule however also marked the beginning of a lengthy ethnic rivalry between the Hutu and the Tutsi people. Belgium favored the Tutsi the minority at 14 percent of the population over the Hutu, the majority at 85 percent, simply because the Tutsis were more resembling of the Europeans. “Colonial policy helped to intensify bipolar differentiation between Tutsi and Hutu, by inscribing “ethnic” identification on identity cards, by relegating the vast majority of Hutu to particularly onerous forms of forced cultivation and corvee, and by actively favoring Tutsi in access to administrative posts, education, and jobs in the modern sector,” (Newbury, 12). Belgium’s control fueled the Hutu’s resentment towards the Tutsis because the Tutsis received superior treatment for decades. Thus, when Rwanda finally acquired independence in 1962, the Hutus fought for control over the government, highlighting the first warning sign of the genocide to come. Many Tutsis were killed afterwards, while many others fled to neighboring countries to escape the violence.

Rwanda is located in East Africa. Rwanda has a population of 12 million people and only 23% of this population has access to the electric grid. Rwanda boarders with Burundi in the south, Democratic Republic of Congo in the west, Tanzania in the East and Uganda in the North. It is a small, densely populated country, with an area of 3/4 of the Netherlands. Rwanda belongs to the 20 poorest countries in the world. However, economic growth was high in recent years, and the prospects for further development are good (World Bank, 2015).

Tutsis were tall and well educated. Not only did they have better social status, but there also appeared to be more entitled, whereas, the Hutus were those who worked for Tutsis. During the pre- World War I, Rwanda was colonized by Germany, but later when Germany had lost the war, Rwanda came under Belgium’s administration. Under the ruling of Belgium, Tutsis were more favored to be educated, which had made Hutus felt under appreciated, as if they were really treated like servants. (Rwanda Genocide) However, the population of Hutus has always outnumbered the Tutsis, where it accounts 80 percent of the Hutus, 19 percent of Tutsis, and only 1 percent of Twa and Pygmy, the original inhabitants of Rwanda. (Rwanda genocide: 100 days of slaughter, 2014) Towards the end of Belgium’s ruling, the Hutus were given more authority from the Belgians. Since the majority is the Hutus, the group had seeked influence to subdue the minorities, specifically the Tutsis. Even before independence in 1959, the Hutus had ultimately sparked revolution, causing around 300,000 of Tutsis to escape to the neighboring country, Uganda, where they settled down for nearly 30 years. In 1961, the Hutus had victoriously overthrown Tutsi’s power, advocated the country a republic, and within that same year, Rwanda gained its independence. After the Tutsis had fled the country, in 1973, Major General Juvenal Habyarimana,

The Country of Rwanda is composed of three main ethnic groups. They are the Hutu, which make up about 85% of the population, the Tutsi which make up 14%, and the Twa which make the other 1% (United End to Genocide). Even though

In 1994 the Rwandan Genocide led to the deaths of 500,000-1,000,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu. Meaning 75% of the Tutsi and between 100,000 sympathetic Hutu were murdered in the span of a 100-day period. Decades of civil war and ethnic rivalry had torn these ethnic groups apart. In Rwanda, the Hutus (primarily) broke the Geneva Conventions and U.N. Assistance in Rwanda (UNAMIR) tried to assist the Rwandan civilians.

The Hutu (the ethnic majority of Rwanda) and the Tutsi (the minority making up 14% percent of Rwanda) sometimes looked indistinguishable yet had always been viewed otherwise. Many believe the division between the Hutu and Tutsi first started After World War I (when Belgium gained control over Rwanda.) Some people assumed the Belgians initially caused the division between the two ethnicities since they strongly favored the Tutsi and treated them superior to the Hutu. Belgium had merely enhanced the segregation between the groups: “Belgium [even] instituted apartheid-like identity cards” in order to separate the cultures (Steven, 2006). The disunion of the two tribes really began all the way back to the 14th century, when the Tutsi migrated from the southern Ethiopian highlands into Rwanda. Although the Hutu had continually outnumbered the Tutsi (by 85%) the Tutsi always had the advantage. The Cushite, later known as Tutsi, were originally said to be taller, lighter skinned, and more “cultured” right from the get go. They used their talents such as driving cattle and combat in order to gain economic and political supremacy. (Modern History Project, 2012) In addition to their useful skills, the Tutsi also grasped control of Rwanda when King Ruganzu Ndori inherited the throne after his father, Nsoro (former King) passed away around the 16th

Germany controlled both Rwanda and Burundi. the Germans ruled through indirect rule. in the beginning of German rule in 1896, Burundi was ruled by Kissabo and Rwanda by Musinga (Ruanda-Urundi, 1963). According the louis, Rwandan government was more centralized and stable than that of Burundi. In Burundi, the chiefs fought with the king. “Kissabo was an enemy to the Europeans” (Louis, 1963). The Tutsi chiefs in Burundi disliked Kissabo. Germany wanted Kissabo to submit to its rule, to create the same power, they had in Rwanda. In 1903 a military expedition was launched against Kissabo, to submit him to German power, which he did. A deal was made in which Germany would recognize him as the king of Burundi if he accepted the independence of

Rwanda had 3 main ethnic groups: Tutsi ,Hutu and Twa. The Hutu were the biggest group in Rwanda and made up 85% of the the population. The Hutu started to drive the Tutsi out of Rwanda. Hutu extremists targeted members of the minority Tutsi community and any political opponents. In just 100 days over 800,00 people were

Shortly after this, approximately 2 million Hutus fled to what is now known as the Congo, presumably to escape retribution. With the initiation of this new government, Paul Kagame, the former leader of the Rwandan Patriotic Forces, was able to maneuver himself into the position of President of Rwanda. With this leadership, Rwanda proceeded to participate in two wars with the Congo, one in 1996-1997 and another from 1998-2003. The first Congo war was between rebel forces in the Congo, who were backed by Rwanda, against the government of Zaire. Following the rebel victory, the new Congo government alienated itself with Rwanda and Uganda, starting a second Congo

Rwanda is mountainous, but they are dependent on agriculture for their economy. Most of the residents in Rwanda are actually farmers. The main consumptions that are domestic include yams and bananas, while coffee is their main export. Rwanda was separated into three ethnic groups: Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa for hundreds of years. The three ethnic groups shared many things, such as: Kinyarwanda, which is their language, culture, and customs. The ethnic division in 1994 was 1% Twa, 15% Tutsi, and 84% Hutu. The Rwandan President, Gregoire Keyibanda, wanted the Tutsi refugees to remove their power so the whole race will be gone. In the 1990s RPF forces invaded Rwanda.

Rwanda is still recovering today, from the genocide in 1994, where some estimated 900,000 people were slaughtered by ethnic Hutu extremists, in just 100 days, which happened just after President Habyarimana’s plane was shot after he signed a peace treaty with the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). Today, Rwanda is still dealing with rebels and other countries, orphans (who were capable of surviving, because of their age or because of their luck) and poverty.

Rwanda is a small country located in east-central Africa. It is also known as “The land of a Thousand Hills” because of its landscape. The capital Kigali is located in the centre of the country. Since 1924 Belgium became the administering authority of Rwanda, but in 1962 the country was declared independent. The people in Rwanda were divided in two major groups: the Tutsi and the Hutu. Although the Tutsi’s were in the minority they belonged to the upper class. When the Belgians left Rwanda they then decided to give more power to the Hutu. On April 6, 1994 the presidential plane was shot down and from this day on a 100-day terror of the Hutu against the Tutsi begun in which nearly a million people were killed (White, 2014). These events are

There is a division on the historical development of pre-colonial Rwanda. One side of the divide indicates an “ethnic” diversity based partially on occupational status – a patron/client relationship and also the ancestral lineage of Hutu and Tutsi. The other side of the divide indicates that “until written descriptions by the first European travelers, people identified themselves according to clan rather than ethnic affiliation, and that the description of so called ethnic groups was laid down by those travelers” (Sellström, Wohlgemuth, & Millwood, 1996).

Furthermore, in 1962 when Rwanda gained interdependence, the Hutu community gradually came into power, forcing around 120,000 people, mostly Tutsis to be taken as refugees in neighbouring states (Jones 2011).

Prior to colonial era, Rwanda had larger population of Hutus compared to Tutsis and Twa. Rwanda as a country was divided into three ethnic groups i.e. Hutu (approximately about 85%), Tutsi (14%) and Twa (1%) (United Nations). Although, Tutsis were the minorities, they belonged to the higher strata compared to the other ethnic groups; Tutsis were privileged and had power and control over the Hutus and Twas. “Hutus were formerly bound to their Tutsi patrons via client ship” (Sinema, 2012). When Rwanda was colonized by Germany followed by Belgium, they favored Tutsis as they represented the upper class prior to the colonization. These created a social system like feudal system where there was a power difference between the Hutus and the Tutsis. Tutsis were considered as lord and the Hutus on the other hand, were considered as peasants. As a consequence, this created an ethic tension between the Hutus and the Tutsis and created a system more like apartheid. Nonetheless, they managed to co exist in Rwanda until they were decolonized. Although there is no social distinction between the Hutus and the Tutsis, the conflict between these tribes increased tremendously after the independence from Belgian that led to mass murder and ethnic cleansing of the Tutsi by the Hutu.