ipl-logo

Rwanda Genocide Essay

864 Words4 Pages

tend to distort historical records in order to create a positive image of their own ethnicity and blame the others, such groups can find themselves trapped in the cycle of violence.
What can be observed from the analysis of Rwandan history and all the instances of political violence that erupted between Hutus and Tutsis is that the underlying causes of these conflicts included all the above mentioned factors.
Social Revolution, Civil War and Genocide
The history of Rwanda can be briefly summarized as the constant competition for power between majority Hutus and minority Tutsis that was accompanied with severe acts of political violence. In this struggle for power ethnicity was used as a tool of mobilization of ordinary citizens. The elites …show more content…

Before Belgian colonization Tutsi kings enjoyed an absolute power over their subjects. It was believed that the king’s right to rule was directly derived from the will of God. Moreover, according to the narratives Tutsi rule was natural since they had intellectual supremacy over Hutu and Twa. This belief was based on the myth in which Kigwa, the son of the heavenly king Nkuba, ordered his three sons –Gatutsi, Gahutu, and Gatwa- to guard a bottle of milk during the night. The next morning it was found that only Gatutsi succeeded to fulfill the order, while other two either drunk the milk or spilled …show more content…

In 1933 as a result of census the population of Rwanda was officially divided into three as Hutu, Tutsi and Twa. Each citizen was given an identity card in which the ethnic group was specified. Mainly, these citizens were classified according to such features as height (tall vs. short), shape of nose (pointy vs. broad) and the number of owned cattle. After almost sixty years this official classification became the main factor that made the mass slaughtering of almost 800 000 Tutsis possible.
Meanwhile, the social gap between these groups continued to grow. However, what created the opportunity for the Social revolution of 1959 to succeed is the fact that Tutsi elites started demanding independence from colonial rule. This gave the Belgian officials incentives to support Hutu opposition and assist them in overthrowing the Tutsi

Show More
Related
1244 Words | 5 Pages

The Tutsi, who were tall and quite light skinned...shorter,darker Hutu... The Belgians viewed the minority Tutsi as closer in kind to the Europeans and elevated them to positions of power over the majority Hutu” (pg. 47). The reason that the Belgians are so important is that these two social constructs are a creation of Belgium and have some responsibility to the current state of Rwanda. If they had a hand in creating it then they can have a hand in ending it.

Read More
701 Words | 3 Pages

In April of 1994, Rwanda was in the middle of a genocide. This genocide took place between the Hutus and Tutsis. The Hutus make up the majority of the population, while the Tutsis make up the minority of the population. Although the Hutus and Tutsis are not considered different ethnic groups, they act as different ethnic groups. Tutsis make up the upper class, like herders; while Hutus are peasant masses, like farmers.

Read More
534 Words | 3 Pages

The country was taken over by Belgium in 1916 after first being colonized by the Germans from 1894-1916. The Belgium used a “divide-to-rule” strategy to keep control where the minority Tutsi, which formed 14% of the population, were given superior treatment even though the Hutus, that composed 85% of the population, were not considered an actual separate ethnic group. Belgian colonists classified the Tutsi as generally taller, thinner, and more “European” in their appearance than the shorter and heftier Hutus. The Belgians decided the Tutsi were natural leaders due to the dominance their looks portrayed in their opinion. Consequently, public services and education were prioritised for the Tutsis while the majority of Hutus were farmers and unskilled labourers.

Read More
1397 Words | 6 Pages

Making these distinctions is what lead to the distinction of class (hierarchy) that lead to the racism and hatred between the Hutu and Tutsi. They also brought the Hamitic Hypothesis with them stating that Tutsi were superior because they brought civilization to Rwanda from the North were they originated from. Classifying whether or not citizens were Tutsi from birth created a huge gap in ethnic division. By giving Tutsi superiority over jobs and other things this fueled the Hutu’s hatred for the Tutsi. Colonization gave them this superiority because they thought it was theirs by nature,

Read More
206 Words | 1 Pages

The colonial race ideology of superior-inferior created conflict between the Hutu and Tutsi people when it was adopted into Rwandan society. Therefore, Rwanda’s large Hutu population was subjugated to Tutsi political power, under the false assumption that the Tutsi were more caucasian thus more fit to rule . This favour bestowed upon the Tutsi people by their European colonizers inspired a sense of nationalism in them which led to the ill-treatment of their very own country people. Apart from few physical differences, the Tutsi and Hutu people were indifferent. They spoke the same languages, practiced the same culture, and shared similar beliefs.

Read More
1012 Words | 5 Pages

Taking a look back into history. The Belgians considered the Tutsis to be superior to the Hutus. With that knowledge the Tutsis ran with that idea of power. So over 20 years, the Tutsis had better jobs and better education. This led to a lot of resentment and hatred among the Hutus.

Read More
931 Words | 4 Pages

Rwanda gained its independence from Belgium on 1st July 1962. Prior to its this colonisation, there were two ethnicities living in Rwanda, ‘the Hutus’ and ‘the Tutsis’. The Hutus were mainly farmers made up most of the population, the Tutsis made up between 15-18% and were mainly involved with cattle rearing. During the period of European colonisation, Belgium took over Rwanda and, on doing so, succeeded in creating a massive divide among these people. The Belgians introduced a European class system of hierarchy to Rwanda – the Tutsis who were already “prominently in the royalty” (however still peasants) were favored by the Belgians (History of the Genocide in Rwanda).

Read More
1113 Words | 5 Pages

The Belgians decided to continue giving the Tutsis key positions, and even making them wear cards to identify who was Tutsis, who was Hutus. This led to ethnocentrism issues between the Tutsis and the Hutus. After World War II, colonization was not as popular as it once was, and it rapidly declined throughout the world, leading many colonies to seek independence. Belgium left in 1962, which lead to a civil war, and the Hutus formed a majority government. The true horror began in April 6, 1994, When Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana was killed, and the Hutus blamed the Tutsis, and then began the Rwandan Genocide.

Read More
770 Words | 4 Pages

The film, Hotel Rwanda, clearly portrays human rights that were violated and various acts of discrimination. Before the genocide, the Belgians labelled the Tutsi as leaders because they were generally taller, skinnier, and more European-like. Although, after Rwanda gained independence from Belgium, the Hutu seized power and oppressed the Tutsi. The rights to life, liberty, and security and the right to participate fully in cultural life were transgressed during the film. Those in the ethnic group, Tutsi, were persecuted and feared death due to their culture.

Read More
1371 Words | 6 Pages

Throughout all of their differentialities, Hutu proved to be the dominant groups. This fact explains that long before the genocide even started, 500,000 Tutsi fled Rwanda for a better life. The Tutsi have many strange traditions or different, factual

Read More
824 Words | 4 Pages

Rwandans have one mother tongue which is Kinyarwanda, and their national languages are English and French. The Hutu are traditionally farmers, Tutsi are traditionally cattle owning while pygmies are hunters and potters. Rwanda was colonized by Germany and Belgium and got independence in 1962. After the independence primarily Tutsis, had taken refuge in neighboring states to escape the violence which had accompanied the gradual coming into power of the Hutu community. The first President was Gregoire Kayibanda, and he was from the Hutu community, the Tutsis were mad because they replaced the Tutsi monarchy with a republican form of government.

Read More
1079 Words | 5 Pages

The Hutu people subjected them to death, rehoming, and in many women's cases, sexual assault. The rule by law was not being followed, which led to the Hutus abusing their power and forcing the Tutsis into these rash conditions, which they didn’t have a say about. The Hutus ultimately wanted to completely erase the Tutsis, as they were not the same as the Hutus and were considered a threat. The injustice upon the Tutsis was great, and the oppression was even

Read More
1825 Words | 8 Pages

Both the Germans and Belgians thought that the Tutsi’s were naturally better leaders than the Hutu (Hymowitz, Parker). The Tutsi didn’t object to this statement. They instantly developed the attitude that they were better than the Hutu. From then on, the Tutsi enjoyed better education, job opportunities, and a better lifestyle (BBC,

Read More
1835 Words | 8 Pages

The people of Rwanda were very desperate for land in the 1900s which made them vulnerable to the Hutu propaganda and political manipulation by the government. During all the propaganda by the government and Hutu extremists they were encouraged to blame the Tutsis for their problems, so this would include the environmental issues and economic problems they were dealing with. Also, the desperate plight of the people made them more vulnerable to the propaganda and political corruption/manipulation that encouraged Hutus to rise against the Tutsis. As the President's power was rising with international support, France too supported the regime to gain local influence, the exploding population was rising and the elite had confiscated half of the country's

Read More
933 Words | 4 Pages

The life of the Tutsis during the time turned for the worse after several years of fights that broke out between Rwanda and neighboring countries. After the Rwanda Genocide, the Hutus escaped to the Congo and never came back; the remaining Tutsis started from scraps of the old and had to build a society without the Hutus. The gap/relationship between the two major groups in Rwanda finally cracked and will most probably never be fixed. The actions illustrated in the genocide changed the minds of the young and wise throughout the world, scaring their memories for a period of

Read More

More about Rwanda Genocide Essay

Related Topics

Open Document