ipl-logo

Rwanda Genocide Causes

585 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Causes of the rwanda genocide

The Rwandan Genocide is understood to be one of the biggest genocides of the 90s. The genocide was essentially the methodical eradication and murder of Rwanda’s Tutsi minority by its Hutu majority in 1994. Approximately up to one million civilians were systematically slaughtered, tortured, rape, and displaced (Uvin, 2001:75). For the purpose of this essay, genocide is defined as the “intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethical, racial or religious group” (Genocide Convention,). First, I will outline the debate concerning the causes of the Rwandan genocide. I will then analyse the factor of the Rwandan war (1990-1994) as the main cause of the genocide. I will conclude by showing the importance of identifying the historical and colonial causes which explain the Rwandan genocide. I …show more content…

The status of Hutu and Tutsi were social categories and not identifiers of descent (Mamdani, 2001:14). To be identified as a Tutsi meant to be identified with wealth and power; being a Hutu presumed the opposite. It is important, however, to note that these categories were neither rigid nor institutionalised (Hintjens, 1999:250). In this way, being born either a Hutu or Tutsi was not flexible: one could upgrade from Hutu to Tutsi and downgrade from Tutsi to Hutu.
Attributing the cause of the genocide to the Rwandan war is expressed by one key factor. Firstly, that it is civil war that creates the platform and rationale for genocide. This follows the construction of out-groups and in-groups where leaders create grievances towards the out-group. However, this understanding neglects the main factor which fuels the transmission of genocidal ideology from the regime to the masses: the already existent and longstanding institutionalised racism of the Rwanda society which was endorsed under the guise of colonialism and obedience to authority, rather from the occurrence of

Show More
Related
403 Words | 2 Pages

In the book “An Ordinary man: An Autobiography” by Paul Rusesabagina, the author faces many bad problems and experiences distasteful moments throughout the whole novel. The author uses quotes the explain the significance of the 1994 Genocide in his own eyes. Near the middle of the story, as Paul explains the harsh treatment and taunting of RTLM against them, he tells us about a teacher who brainwashed her students into hating the “Hutus.” “It always bothers me when I hear Rwanda’s Genocide being described as the product of ‘ancient tribal hatred.’ I think this is a easy way for westerners to dismiss the whole thing as a regrettable but pointless bloodbath that happens to primitive brown people (Rusesabagina Chp.4 Pg.53).”

Read More
1624 Words | 7 Pages

In 1944, a Polish-Jewish lawyer came up with the word, “genocide.” However, even seventy-five years later, many people still debate what factors go into making a genocide. Of course, there is mass murder, mistreatment of large groups of people, and difficult life conditions. Take the Cambodian Genocide, for example. People were tortured and killed so much during this genocide that at one of the death camps, “as few as 12 managed to survive” (Pierpaoli).

Read More
350 Words | 2 Pages

The title of the book is Strike Three you’re dead. The author is Josh Berk. I do not no the publisher, and I can not find it online. It was published in 2013. There are 250 pages in the book.

Read More
1323 Words | 6 Pages

D. Investigation The reason that we are able to say that the Rwandan Genocide is of the same category as The Holocaust is because the leaders of both massacres had the same aims and desires. The main

Read More
702 Words | 3 Pages

The Great Depression lasted from 1929 to 1939 and was a defining period in American history marked by widespread economic hardship and social dislocation. It was a particularly difficult time for immigrants in the United States, as they faced a unique set of challenges stemming from their status as outsiders in a society that was already struggling with high levels of unemployment and poverty. The film "The Grapes of Wrath," adapted from a book by John Steinbeck in 1939, as well as the photographs taken by Dorothea Lange, a documentary photographer who documented the life of migrant laborers throughout the Great Depression, offer insight into this period. Both provide compelling viewpoints and thought-provoking on the trials and problems

Read More
1889 Words | 8 Pages

“An in-depth analysis on effects of Imperialism on Rwanda” Nowadays, European countries such as England, France, Germany, Belgium, and many other countries possess a colossal clout throughout the world. It is an impeccable fact that such countries, indeed, have served as a rudiment pivot and step for the world to be advanced to the point where we are since the Industrial Revolution. Such countries, because of it, without a doubt, have a crucial status globally and become the superpower and commercial hub on our planet. On the back side of their gleaming growth, however, there is an invisible part left behind their luminous development: the Imperialism. The term “Imperialism” refers to a policy of extending a country’s authority and political clout by using its military forces and diplomacy.

Read More
635 Words | 3 Pages

The American Government 's Response to The Rwandan Genocide The United States often have an had interest in the political, social and civil crises of other countries in order to benefit themselves. American senior officials hid the truth of the Rwanda Genocide to avoid public moral obligation. The government did not give any financial or political support to the country because Rwanda did not offer minerals or political advantages and stability; the US ' government did not want to be involved in another conflict, even though it has helped other countries in the past.1 But what is truly deeper hidden, are the stories of people like Immacule, a young girl, who, unlike thousands of others, survived the catastrophic genocide in Rwanda.

Read More
523 Words | 3 Pages

The Rwandan genocide vs. the Holocaust “Genocide is an attempt to exterminate a people, not to alter their behavior.” Jack Schwartz. Genocide is mass murder, it happens in all parts of the world. A common known genocide is the Holocaust. Where a group known as the“Nazis” (lead by Hitler) murdered more than six million people (many were Jewish).

Read More
989 Words | 4 Pages

Terry George aims no less than to demonstrate the Rwandese reality through the extremely violent and cruel scenes in the movie, he manages to convince the audience that really, over 800,000 people were in fact killed in no more than 100 days and more than 2 million refugees had to seek shelter elsewhere in the world (1). To begin with, it is important to understand the root causes of the conflict between Tutsis and Hutus to in turn understand the genocide demonstrated in the movie. Rwanda was

Read More
1339 Words | 6 Pages

One cannot fight fire with fire. While massacre reigns in Rwanda and people take betrayal to the extreme, Paul Rusesabagina in his book, An Ordinary Man, proofs how violence is unnecessary while standing against the power of the word. As Rusesabagina states, words are “powerful tools of life”(Rusesabagina, 19). The war between the two different ethnic groups, Hutus and Tutsis, and the death of thousands left a mark Rwanda’s memory; the author says: “It is the darkest bead on our national necklace” (222). Even though a large part of Rwanda’s population is massacred, many are saved by one of Rwanda’s timeless heroes.

Read More
896 Words | 4 Pages

When the Rwanda genocide began in 1994, its population stood at more that 7 people. Roughly 85% of the population was Hutu, 14% Tutsi, and 1% Twa (un.org). The decades following Rwanda’s independence from Belgium in 1962 saw growing ethnic tensions and periodic violent attacks and reprisals between Rwanda’s Hutu majority and its Tutsi minority. On April 6, 1994, the deaths of the Presidents of Burundi and Rwanda in a plane crash caused by a rocket attack, ignited several weeks of intense and systematic massacres.

Read More
824 Words | 4 Pages

When looking at genocides, most of the main people who cause them have extreme ideologies, and when those ideologies are supplied with money and power, that is when the formula for humanity’s most toxic poison is brewed. All we can do now is to wait for the younger generation to come, and to nurture them into having more moderate

Read More
656 Words | 3 Pages

The Rwandan genocide was a mass murder of thousands of Tutsi people by the Hutu people, they were viciously killed and scared out of their country, partly due to the rumor that a Tutsi man ordered the death of the Rwandan President. To begin, from April to July 1994, members of the Hutu ethnic group in the East-Central African nation murdered 800,000 men, women, and children from the Tutsi ethnic group. During this period Hutu civilians were forced by military soldier and police officers to kill their neighbors, friends, and family (“10 facts About the Rwandan Genocide-Borgen”). Radio stations encouraged ordinary civilians to take part in the killings (“10 facts About the Rwandan Genocide-Borgen”).

Read More
848 Words | 4 Pages

The genocide was an after affect of the scramble for Africa by European countries who help no regard for the people who already lived their. In the scramble for Africa many European countries raced to make claims on land in Africa that was already lived on by natives, they mistreated the natives and killed and enslaved many of them. This was prevalent in Rwanda when the belgians imperialized the land. The belgians sent the Hutus who were the majority of the population into slavery and lead to mass deaths of their people. But they lead the land through another ethnic group the tutsis who made up about 15% of the population compared to the 85% population of Hutus.

Read More
1464 Words | 6 Pages

Rwanda has a history of deep rooted conflict which originates back to when it was once a colony of Germany. Once it became a colony of Belgium after world war one this conflict also came with it, The conflict that exists is thus of two ethnic tribal groups the; Hutus and the Tutsis and their strong hatred of one another. Rwandans myths seems to indicate that Hutu and Tutsi identities did exist before the colonization but the hatred of two predominate ethnic tribal groups of one another only came into existence after colonization. This conflict between them has nothing to with religion, race or language it is to do with territory and the ownership of Rwanda. It is because of the colonies exploitation and classification of the Rwandan people into“an ethnic group” that the conflict seemed to come to a head.

Read More

More about Rwanda Genocide Causes

Related Topics

Open Document