Rwandan Genocide

894 Words2 Pages

Between April and June 1994 warfare between the Hutus and Tutsis people struck in the East African country of Rwanda. To call it a tragedy would be an understatement when faced with the estimated death count of one million Tutsis and moderate Hutus over the span one hundred days. The genocide resulted from the desire to control and obtain power within Rwanda and stemmed from a history of cultural and social class conflict amongst the rival groups. This bloodshed proved to be one the most horrific events in history.

The Tutsi people had joined the Rwanda population during the 1300’s. Before the colonial era, Tutsis typically occupied the higher status in the social system and the Hutus the lower. However, mobility on the social hierarchy was possible, Hutus who obtained wealth or a large number of cattle, approximately ten or greater, could be incorporated into the Tutsi group and an impoverished Tutsi would be classified as Hutu.

In 1890, Rwanda became part of German East Africa. During the First World War, the former colonial power lost possession of Rwanda and the territory was then placed under Belgian rule. In 1957, during the great wave of decolonization, tensions increased in Rwanda. The Hutu political movement, whose goal was to gain majority rule, was gaining momentum while the Tutsi people resisted the act of democratization and the loss of their privileges and power. In November 1959, a violent incident initiated a Hutu uprisin in which hundreds of Tutsi people were killed and thousands forced to leave to neighboring countries. This marked the start of the “Hutu Peasant Revolution” which lasted until 1961. The Revolution symbolized the end of Tutsi rule and domination.

By 1962, Rwanda gained independence. A new cy...

... middle of paper ...

... the population lives below the poverty line, the country is striving to rebuild its economy, with coffee and tea production being among its main sources of foreign exchange.

Bibliography

 BBC News. General Information/Historical background http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/africa/1288230.stm

 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14093322

This site is a reliable source of information because it is recognized as a global news source.

 Holocaust Encyclopedia, quote from Ellie Wiesel http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007176

This is a reliable source because it is a website owned by a museum used for educational purposes.

• United Nations. General Information/ Historical Background http://www.un.org/en/preventgenocide/rwanda/education/rwandagenocide.shtml

This site is a reliable source because it is owned by the United Nations.

Gourevitch's 'Hotel Rwanda'
660 Words | 2 Pages
It was said that the genocide had deemed the name of Hutu Power, this meant that they were plan and simply killing off people and as many as possible. All this started in Rwanda’ Capitol Kigali and spread outwardly from there, as the Hutu traveled they killed the Tutsi. The Hutu had set up road blocks and checked ID’s and killed Tutsi, t...
Read More
Rwanda Genocide
1159 Words | 3 Pages
Many innocent lives were taken during the genocide in Rwanda in 1994. Philip Gourevitch’s “We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families,” explains why the genocide that occurred in Rwanda should not be written off in history as just another tribal disagreement. This book entails the stories of Gourevitch and the people he interviewed when he went to Rwanda. These stories express what people went through during the genocide, the loss they saw, the mass killings they tried to hide from, and the history of what led to the Rwandan genocide. Rwanda’s colonial past did influence the development of the genocide in Rwanda. The hatred between the Hutus and the Tutsis had been going on for many years before the genocide.
Read More
The Tutsi And Hutu People In Rwanda
964 Words | 2 Pages
During the 1950s, the Tutsi Elite started to push for independence and lash out against the colonial Belgian presence in Rwanda. In an attempt to put an end to this out lash, the Belgian Government moved their care in the direction of the Hutu majority who lacked the ability to take over control. Soon after, with help from within the United Nations supporting Rwandan independence, wars broke out between the minority Tutsis and the newly more powerful Hutus. In 1959 without any interference from any outside government, Hutus began putting flames to Tutsi communities, and killing people without any restraints. This conflict left an estimated 300 Tutsi Civilians dead.
Read More
Rwandan Genocide: Unraveling a Historical Catastrophe
604 Words | 2 Pages
Rwanda was a German colony but then was given to Belgium “who favored the minority Tutsis over the Hutus, exacerbated[exacerbating] the tendency of the few to oppress the many”(History.com). This created a feeling of anger towards the Tutsis, because they had much more power than Hutus. The RPF decided to create a government consisting of a Hutu and a Tutsi holding the highest government positions. As the RPF took control of the government, “some two million Hutus – both civilians and some of those involved in the genocide – then fled across the border into DR Congo.
Read More
Rwandan Genocide
1007 Words | 3 Pages
Africa has been an interesting location of conflicts. From the conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea to the revolutionary conflict in Libya and Egypt, one of the greatest conflicts is the Rwandan Genocide. The Rwandan Genocide included two tribes in Rwanda: Tutsis and Hutus. Upon revenge, the Hutus massacred many Tutsis and other Hutus that supported the Tutsis. This gruesome war lasted for a 100 days. Up to this date, there have been many devastating effects on Rwanda and the global community. In addition, many people have not had many acknowledgements for the genocide but from this genocide many lessons have been learned around the world.
Read More
Rwandan Genocide 1994: A Global Indifference
1809 Words | 4 Pages
The Rwandan Genocide of 1994 was not only one of the most remarkable tragedies in Rwanda, but is often recalled as one of the most gruesome massacres in all of history. The Rwandan Genocide was an attack on the Tutsi minority from the Hutu majority, the two major ethnic groups of Rwanda. According to the Survivors Fund (SURF), an estimated eight hundred thousand to one million Tutsis, along with some moderate Hutus, were slaughtered over the course of the one hundred day genocide ("Statistics"). The Huffington Post states, "If we follow the U.N. 's estimate, that means that nearly six men, women and children were murdered every minute of every hour of every day," ("5 Staggering Statistics"). Nevertheless, little assistance was provided for the Tutsis during the Rwandan Genocide. The lack of empathy from other nations during the massacre was remarkable. The entire world watched the genocide play out, yet almost all of the observers turned a blind eye and waited for the United Nations to intervene. Although the Tutsis longed for a savior, the U.N. did not intervene until it was far too late.
Read More
Dehumanization In Hotel Rwanda Essay
1312 Words | 3 Pages
Tutsi – A group of people in Rwanda that initially started as the cattle raising people of the old tribes. The Tutsi ruled over the Hutu for the majority of the time, until 1962 where the Hutu revolted. Then in 1994 the president of Rwanda’s plane was shot down, which sparked a massive violent out brake of Hutus killing Tutsis. In the film “Hotel Rwanda”, the Tutsi were the refugees in the hotel, trying to hide from the murdering Hutus.
Read More
The Hutu Tribe
1500 Words | 3 Pages
Tutsis are related to the Masai and the people along the Nile, while the Hutus
Read More
Pet Overpopulation
1659 Words | 4 Pages
Are assertions in the source based on reliable evidence? Are sources cited? How are you able to tell? They do list where they get their info from within the paragraphs or quotes.
Read More
Rape as a War Tactic in the Rwandan Genocide
2041 Words | 5 Pages
The Rwandan genocide occurred due to the extreme divide between two main groups that were prevalent in Rwanda, the Hutu and the Tutsi. When Rwanda was first settled, the term Tutsi was used to describe those people who owned the most livestock. After the Germans lost control over their colonies after World War I, the Belgians took over and the terms Hutu and Tutsi took on a racial role (Desforges). It soon became mandatory to have an identification card that specified whether or not an individual was a Hutu, Tutsi, or Twa (a minority group in Rwanda). The Tutsi soon gained power through the grant of leadership positions by the Belgians. Later on when Rwanda was tying to gain indepe...
Read More
Genocide in Rwanda
578 Words | 2 Pages
To fully understand why this slaughter occurred, we must first look at the history of the Hutu and the Tutsi. In the early 1900's, the Tutsi were placed in positions of power by Belgium, because they looked "whiter". Governed by Belgium's racist way of thought, ethnic identity cards were introduced. The Catholic Church supported the Tutsi and the new social order and educated the Tutsi and imposed their religion on them. Though the population of Rwanda was ninety percent Hutu, they were denied land ownership, education, and positions of power. In the 1950's, the end of the colonial period, the Hutu overthrew the Tutsi government. The Hutu maintained the practices of ethnic division, and the Tutsi were forcibly removed from positions of power. Many Tutsi fled from Rwanda and were not allowed to return. Many Tutsi that stayed in Rwanda were killed. Supported by Uganda, the Tutsi formed the Rwandan Patriotic Front, a rebel army. The rebel army was anxious to regain citizenship and their homes in Rwanda, and began a civil war that lasted four years. The world wide coffee marke...
Read More
Argumentative Essay On Rwandan Genocide
1104 Words | 3 Pages
The Rwandan Genocide “It is our responsibility to empower the powerless while giving voice to the voiceless” -(Irwin Cotler “Six Lessons from the Rwandan Genocide”) When the Rwandan Hutu majority betrayed the Tutsi minority, a destructive mass murdering broke out where neighbor turned on neighbor and teachers killed their students; this was the start of a genocide. In this paper I will tell you about the horrors the people of Rwanda had to face while genocide destroyed their homes, and I will also tell you about the mental trauma they still face today. Hutu and Tutsi Origins When Rwanda was first settled, the people there raised cattle, the ones with the most cattle were considered “Tutsi” and everyone else was ‘Hutu”.
Read More
Ethical Issues in Hotel Rwanda
961 Words | 2 Pages
...ause the colonial masters believed that they resembled them. It was unethical for the Belgians to interfere with the peaceful coexistence that the two communities had enjoyed in the past. As a result, the Hutus acquired negative misconceptions about the Tutsis’ origin, what they stood for, and what they had done for them in the past. The Hutus expertly planned and organized the Rwandan genocide as a result of such historical distortions created by their country’s colonial masters.
Read More
Essay On Rwanda Genocide
530 Words | 2 Pages
In 1994 many people were murdered . From April to July of 1994, members of the Hutu ethnic majority in the east central African nation of Rwanda murdered as many as 800,000 people, mostly of the Tutsi minority .About 85% of the population was Hutu, the rest were Tutsi along with a small number of Twa. The Tutsis were favored and felt superior to the Hutu and Twa. This caused much tension and jealousy between the two groups.The greater half of Rwanda, known as the Hutu, are a big part of the social issues that took place in 1994 as they overthrew the Tutsi power. The Hutu were located in both Rwanda and Burundi and while they wanted to gain power in both countries, the Hutu of Rwanda forcefully took over the Tutsi ruler. The Rwandan Hutu were in command until 1994 when they were invaded by the Tutsi. Tutsi are people who live in Rwanda. The Tutsi people had dominance over the Hutu in
Read More
The Effects of Colonization on Rwanda
864 Words | 2 Pages
In 1897 Germany seized Ruanda-Urundi (present day Rwanda), as a piece of German East Africa. Seventeen years later World War I broke out, this brought Belgian Troops to Rwanda and eventually led to Belgium’s reign over Rwanda. Under Belgian rule the people of Rwanda were required to carry identification passes that stated their ethnicities, this solidified the ideal of ethnic division. In addition the Tutsi’s became a favored race and were given increased opportunities for education and employment. Years later in 1959 the death of Mwami (King) Mutara III created even more unrest, as well as uprising. After his death the Hutu’s rebelled against the Tutsi’s, in due course the Hutu’s acquired control of both the government and economy (Rwanda).
Read More

Open Document

Wait a second!

Rwandan Genocide

Gourevitch's 'Hotel Rwanda'

Rwanda Genocide

The Tutsi And Hutu People In Rwanda