Essay on Rwandan Genocide: Tutsis versus Hutus

For years, Rwanda has been a hotbed of racial tension. The majority of the Rwandan population is made up of Hutu's, with Tutsi's making up the rest of it. Ever since European colonial powers entered the country and favoured the Tutsi ethnic group over the Hutu by putting Tutsi people in all important positions in society, there has been a decisive political divide between the two groups. This favouring of the Tutsi over the Hutu, and the Hutu subjugation as an ethnic lower class resulted in the civil war and revolution of 1959, where the Hutu overthrew the Tutsi dominated government, and resulted in Rwanda gaining their independence in 1962.

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.

The Rwandan Genocide also is still an existing issue which killed one million people, mostly Tutis and some Hutu’s, continues to be one of the most tragic and memorable events in the contemporary society of Africa. Specifically for those who were involved. Lucie Niyigena, a 70 year old woman who managed to survive the genocide, is still forced to face her fear everyday living beside someone who could have potentially killed a member of her family. This is just one of the still existing hardships for those forced to live it. This problem has not been changed since historical times partly because modern society has chosen not to make the change.

In 1994, genocide unfolded in Rwanda claiming the lives of more than 700,000 Tutsi massacred at the hands of Hutu extremist, while the entire world stood by and watched. Some would argue this event was a result of civil unrest between the Tutsi and Hutu stemming from ancient

Rwanda is a country located in the middle of the African continent. The two ethnic groups present in the country lived in peace under their monarch until the arrival of Europeans. The Belgians arrival into Rwandan is what split the two ethnic groups of the Tutsi and Hutus, making them identify themselves with ID cards. This caused tension between the two groups as the Belgians favored the ethnic Tutsi, and made them the head of the government. Decade’s later Hutu extremists would take over the government and have revenge on the Tutsi. The new government would send out broadcasts calling on Hutus to kill their friends and neighbors. The Rwandan genocide would become the worst genocide to ever happen in Africa and one of the worst in the world. Today Rwanda’s recovery is surprisingly fast with the help of multiple nations and organizations. Rwanda’s recovery is nothing short of a miracle and is an amazing story of a war between two peoples.

The Rwandan Genocide also is still an existing issue which killed one million people, mostly Tutis and some Hutu’s, continues to be one of the most tragic and memorable events in the contemporary society of Africa. Specifically for those who were involved. Lucie Niyigena, a 70 year old woman who managed to survive the genocide, is still forced to face her fear everyday living beside someone who could have potentially killed a member of her family. This is just one of the still existing hardships for those forced to live it. This problem has not been changed since historical times partly because modern society has chosen not to make the change.

Thesis: The Rwandan Genocide is one of the lesser known, quickest, and most inhumane genocides this world has ever seen, and it is still affecting the people of Rwanda till this day.

George Santayana once said “Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” The Rwanda Genocide is a contemporary representation of the events that occurred during the Armenian Genocide. It is an unforgiving circumstance that even after massacres from the latter and the Holocaust that Genocides still emerge in a world who far too often shuts their door to the idea of intervention. Countries can have an abundance of supplies, unmatchable man-power, and exceptional military equipment, however, with interests in absentia, countries will be reluctant to deploy forces despite exclamations of help. The culmination of the Rwanda Genocide is absolutely an unforgiving portion of history that will be remembered by the victims, the witnesses, and the decision-makers.

In conclusion, the atrocity that was the Rwandan genocide was caused by hatred. Insanity fed the so called ethnic cleansing. A million bloody corpse covered the streets of Rwanda, during this time period. Families lost, children left scared. This redundant annihilation would’ve never occurred if the Belgians just left things as they were in the first

Imagine living a life of fear, turmoil, with death all around. Hearing gun shots being fired, death chants, machete use, dead bodies everywhere. Afraid to close your eyes at night to rest, yet more afraid to wake up in the morning. To sustain your life and the life of your loved ones you must hide out, kill others, watch your neighbors be killed at the hands of the enemy. Knowing if you are caught you could be forced to murder your own family, be raped, be held captive, be starved to death, and most likely be killed. In 1994, this was the life many faced in Rwanda. “Rwanda has become a synonym for one of the worst genocides of the 20th century (Lemarchand, (n.d.), p. 483).

The Belgians also decreed that Tutsis should be the only ones in power and thus removed Hutus from positions of power and excluded them from higher education (Arraras). “By assuring the Tutsis’ monopoly of power the Belgians set the stage for future conflict in Rwanda” (Arraras). The Tutsis were enjoying their status as being superior to the Hutus but all that changed in 1959 with the Hutu revolution and so in 1960 and 1961 the Hutus won the elections. Since then, ethnic tensions had always been brewing between the Hutus and the Tutsis. However the tensions escalated when Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana, a Hutu, was shot down above Kigali airport on April 6, 1994. I consider this to be a form of political violence because someone or a group that opposed this President which represented only the political interests as well as the viability of the Hutus had to be killed in order for another group possibly the Tutsis to fill the vacuum of power left by the Hutu president. The Hutus blamed the assassination of their president on the Tutsis and in turn sparked an all out massacre waged on to the Tutsi people.

The early colonization of Rwanda by the Germans and Belgians created the major internal conflict between the Hutu and the Tutsi. At the time of the Europeans arrival, Rwanda was made up of 85% Hutu, who were farmers, 14% Tutsi, who were cattle herders, and 1% Twa, the aboriginal people (Chrétien 69). In 1890, Rwanda first became a colony of Germany, lasting until the end of World War I, when power was transferred to Belgium. Both of these colonies favored the Tutsi population (Staff ¶2), because they believed that the Tutsi were more Caucasian and therefore superior in intelligence to the Hutu (Jones 17). During this time, the Belgians oversaw a land reform process by the Tutsi, which seized control of farmland that had been under the control of the Hutu, without providing them with substantial compensation (Prunier 28). This favoritism planted the seed for the

For the Rwandan genocide, there was always tension and hatred present between the Hutus and Tutsis. Contrary to the Armenians and Ottomans however, they were similar in many fields such as their language and traditions. In 1916, Belgian colonists classified the residents with identity cards according to their ethnicity. The Tutsis were considered superior over the Hutus, which sparked obvious hatred from the inferior Hutus. “Resentment among the Hutus gradually built up, culminating in a series of riots in 1959. More than 20,000 Tutsis were killed.” (Rwanda: How the genocide happened) Killings of Rwandans occurred even before the genocide. In 1962, as soon as the Belgium granted Rwanda independence, the Hutus took this opportunity to swoop in and replace them. The Hutus’ natural hatred towards the Tutsis and overpowering presence made them the perfect targets/suspects to be guilty of wrongdoings. Their build up of previous controversies played a significant role in giving themselves the right to believe that whatever horrible actions are inflicted upon the Tutsis are necessary and justified. Although some moderate Hutus were also victims of the genocide, the majority were potentially the Tutsis because of the Hutu regime’s claim that the Tutsis are the ones that should be wiped out completely. For the Holocaust during World War II, there was prior discrimination from the

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

Hutu and Tutsi spoke the same language and practiced similar religions. They also intermarried. “The identity card “ethnicity” of future generations was determined patrilineally; all persons were designated as having the “ethnicity” of their fathers, regardless of the “ethnicity” of their mothers.” (Magnarella, 2002). These practices were carried on until its abolition by the 1994 post-genocide government. Paul Magnarella observes “had the unfortunate consequence of firmly attaching a sub-national identity to all Rwandans and thereby rigidly dividing them into categories, which, for many people, carried a negative history of dominance-subordination, superiority, inferiority, and exploitation-suffering.” (Magnarella, 2002). Hutu and Tutsi lived together relatively peacefully following in the 19th century. However, Magnarella states “time when their total population was comparatively low (probably less than two million, versus over seven million in 1993) and land supply for both Hutu farmers and Tutsi cattle grazers was ample. With rapid population growth in the twentieth century, the situation changed. Rwanda was faced with a critical food-people-land imbalance.” Things continued to change and it suddenly became a competition for both Hutu and Tutsi. Fearon and Laitin argues “the notion that identities are socially constructed is indisputable in social psychology and political science studies. It is the most basic criteria for