Rwandan's Genocide and Conflicts

In April of 1994, the converging forces of history culminated in one of the Twentieth Century’s most brutal crimes against humanity, in the small East African nation of Rwanda. In just one hundred days, by official estimates, over 800,000 Tutsi men, women, and children were slaughtered at the hands of Hutu majority population and government (Scheffer, 125). It is estimated that 333 human beings were slaughtered per hour during this period (Do Scars Ever Fade). By all accounts, this was a preventable genocide. The world’s most powerful nations received damning evidence regarding the mass slaughter of innocent civilians, yet refused to intervene (Ferroggiagio).

The seeds for this conflict were planted in 1918, at the end of World War 1. Rwanda had been a protectorate of Germany since 1899. In 1915, Belgium troops took control of Rwanda away from the Germans. The League of Nations officially granted Belgium rule over Rwanda in 1918. The Belgian’s immediately began a process of ethnic division based on the existing caste system in Rwanda. Belgium granted indirect authority to the minority Tutsis. The Tutsis were thought, by the Belgium’s, to be the superior group in Rwanda, because they possessed a higher education and had achieved greater social mobility. The lower class Hutu majority were subjugated to the Tutsi rule which followed mandates of oppression and forced labor as dictated by the Belgians. Prior to this time, the Tutsi (cattle owners) and the Hutu (crop farmers) were simply divided by class. A Hutu could actually “cross class lines” and become a Tutsi by acquiring cattle, land, or wealth (Do Scars Ever Fade). The Belgians used the physical features of the two classes to divide the even further. Using calipers to measur...

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...aires a government policy. The resolution of this conflict has yet to be fully realized and is still an experiment in the process. Hutus, who have crossed the border into the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo, are still formed into rebel militias and spreading terror throughout the region. Kagame rules his military with a strong will and is now supported by key Western powers, including the U.S. He has created a sense of security amongst his people. He is considered a great national hero to the Tutsi people. However, his tactics of control and government rule often provokes discourse amongst his critics. He is sometimes called a “benevolent dictator” and the realization of true democracy is often questioned. Where this experiment in humanity will lead is anyone’s guess, but it is a truly fascinating and inspiring testament to human resilience and hope.