Rwanda Genocide Essay

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The Rwandan Genocide was a period of mass slaughter of the Tutsi and moderate Hutu in Rwanda in 1994 by the Hutu majority. Between April and June 1994, an estimated 800,000 Rwandans were killed in the space of 100 days. Political, economic and social differences between the Tutsi and Hutu increased animosity between these two Rwandan tribes proceeding the partition of Africa in the 19th century. However, the murder of President Habyarimana was the spark that ignited widespread genocide in Rwanda. This investigation will explore the extent to which the murder of President Habyarimana caused the Rwandan Genocide. To examine the extent to which different long-term and short-term caused the genocide, Brickyards to Graveyards: From Production to Genocide in Rwanda and When Victims Become Killers: Colonialism, Nativism, and the Genocide in Rwanda will be analyzed. …show more content…

This book grew out of the realization that the political, social, economic and cultural factors that created the conditions under which brick and tile production took place were also factors that provided some of the preconditions for the genocide. The value of this source is that it examines the influence of the textile industry on the evolution of the social dynamics in Rwanda leading up to the Rwandan Genocide. This source adds a different perspective as to the importance of industry on the genocide. While this makes the source valuable, limitations exist. One limitation of this source is that Jefremovas’ research does not seem to have engaged the question of identity in the brickyards. Therefore, readers are not told who killed whom in the brick sites, or who was known to have Hutu and Tutsi identity. The source, therefore, provides a limited view on how political identity was working alongside economic