Genocide In Rwanda

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Deep in the heart of Africa lies a small, seemingly insignificant country that is Rwanda. To many, Rwanda is just another impoverished African country, when in fact, it is the home to one of the largest and most efficient mass killings the world had ever encountered. The Rwandan genocide, like all genocides in general, are often viewed as inhumane and inexcusable, bringing forth a scarring image of death that would resonate among all humanity. Generally, genocides share similar characteristics in that they are usually caused by racial animosity towards a specific group of people along with the belief that those who are inferior are the cause of misfortune and the source of major problems. In this case, Rwandan Tutsis were atrociously massacred …show more content…

Early racial division was clear when German and other European settlers arrived in Rwanda, creating a delineation between the Hutu and Tutsi. The Tutsi, were speculated descendants of higher-quality ancestries, including the ancient Egyptians and southern Ethiopians, along with roots from as far as Tibet. The Tutsi people’s origins have also been strangely credited to having roots that would trace back to the legendary lost city of Atlantis and even the Bible’s Garden of Eden (“Genocide in Rwanda” 237-258). Up until the 1950s, the Tutsi were considered higher than Hutu, but due to the fear of Tutsi rise in power the European settlers had “decided to raise the status of the Hutu that made up the majority of Rwanda's population”, ushering in an age of a Hutu controlled government and …show more content…

Even injured Tutsi individuals who were in hospitals had been gathered and killed. When found, it was very common for Tutsi victims to “offer their killers money to use bullets rather than machetes” (“Genocide in Rwanda” 237-258). Denise Gordon, reporting for Essence, recalls visiting a Rwandan Catholic Church where 3,000 Tutsi were massacred. Gordon, who at the entrance of the sacred grounds was welcomed by the sight of numerous skulls, “became just as detached as the skulls had become from their former human