Imperialism In Rwanda Genocide

Heartbreak. Fear. Horror. The Rwandan Genocide is one of the most horrid and awful events the world has ever witnessed. Beginning in Kigali and spreading outward to the rest of the country an estimated 800,000 people were killed in just one hundred days. The conflict in Rwanda was between two ethnic groups, The Hutus and The Tutsis. The rest of the world did little to help Rwanda and stop the conflict. Colonialism greatly affected the conflict due to Belgium and their rule. The Belgians created the idea of having two ethnic groups. The international response to Rwanda was not adequate or effective. The United States and the UN did nothing and ignored the fact that genocide was occurring.

To begin, Rwanda was first colonized by the Germans

The Rwandan Genocide took place in 1994 in the country of Rwanda. It was a conflict between two ethnic groups, the Hutus and the Tutsis. The Hutus were the majority of the population, 85% and the Tutsis were considered the upper class and were 14% of the population. The conflict was started when a plane carrying the Hutu president was shot down and the Tutsis were blamed for it. However, there is a theory that Hutu extremists committed the attack but the truth has never be determined. The Hutus wanted revenge so they recruited a militia to kill all Tutsis and moderate Hutus. The Interahamwe, a Hutu militia group lead a lot of the killings. The Hutus called the Tutsis cockroaches and their message during the genocide was “kill the cockroaches”. Many ordinary and innocent citizens were encouraged to take part in the killings and were given weapons. Machetes were one of the main weapons used during the genocide. Radios were also a big factor in the genocide. Radio hosts would encourage the “kill the cockroaches” message and often said the location of certain Tutsis that they wanted killed. The Hutus goal was to wipe out the Tutsi population completely. In about one hundred days an estimated 800,000 people were killed. Also, an estimated 250,00-500,000 women were raped. Most of the victims were Tutsis killed by Hutu militia groups. There were over two million refugees that fled to neighboring countries, most being Hutus. Many families got exit visas and were able to leave Rwanda for another country. The problem was at these refugee camps there were members of the Interahamwe, the Hutu militia group that committed the killings. The Rwandan Genocide happened because of the tension between the majority Hutu population and minority Tutsi. The killings ended when the Rwandan Patriotic Group captured the capital city and had most of the country under control. The Rwandan Patriotic