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Rwanda Genocide Research Paper

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In 1962 when Rwanda gained independence (A), the Hutu organised a revolution to overthrow the Tutsi government. When the Hutu government, under President Gregoire Kayibanda , took over, they favoured the Hutu. In 1994 when Juvenal Habyarimana, the ruling Hutu president was killed, the Hutu believed it was the Tutsi, who were trying to get revenge (H). This sparked of the Rwandan Genocide of 1994. The Rwandan Genocide took place between 7th April and 15th July in 1994. It was caused by the ongoing conflict between two ethnic groups of Rwanda, The Hutus and The Tutsis (E). It is well documented that between five-hundred thousand and one million Rwandan Tutsis along with thousands of Hutus, were murdered during this period. It was mainly the …show more content…

Over the years, there clearly was a build-up of misunderstandings, the extent of which may never be completely unravelled, but they culminated into a genocide (A).
Notable, however, is the fact that when Rwanda was colonised by the Belgians in 1916, the colonisers created a greater divide between the two ethnic groups through their introduction of classism and favouritism of the Tutsis above the Hutu’s, which escalated ethnic tensions. Through a review of various literature sources, this paper endeavoured to explore the situation in Rwanda prior to colonialism followed by the change or impact colonialism brought to Rwanda and then it also discussed the extent to which Belgium colonialism may have contributed to the Rwandan …show more content…

They usually occur as a result of a pile-up of misunderstandings and tension from the past (A). Therefore this could explain the fact that the Rwandan Genocide occurred many years after the tribal tension between the Hutu and Tutsi as well as colonialism. Before colonisers arrived in Rwanda, there was tribal tension between the two ethnic groups of Rwanda, the Hutu and the Tutsi. The Hutu made up the majority of the total population (85%). Although the Hutu and the Tutsi tribes were the dominant groups in Rwanda, there was also a smaller subdominant tribe called the Twa. Problems between the Tutsi and Hutu groups began as early as the 1300s (E). Although the Tutsi were not indigenous to Rwanda, they spoke the same language as the Hutu, Kinyarwanda (C). However when they arrived in the Rwandan region, they saw themselves as more superior than the local population they found due to their difference in physical appearance, mainly their stature(they were taller). Tutsi segregation from the Hutu took on ritual forms (C). It went to the extent of upholding the belief that Tutsi came from “another world” and that they deserved to be treated in a more superior manner by the Hutu (C). Power and authority were emphasised persistently in the Tutsi culture. This caused great tension amongst the tribes. Rwanda became a feudal kingdom which was ruled by the Tutsi tribe. The Tutsi made themselves Chiefs made the Hutu workers rather

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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).”

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They all experienced similar day-to-day events. The obvious events that they saw were all the killing of their family, friends, acquaintances and strangers. Rwandan sufferers and Jewish sufferers all saw death, not just death but brutal death. Source E shoes how Hutu guards would brutally kill any Tutsi in their house or in the street. There was no care for spectators.

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Before the Germans (and later the Belgians) colonized Rwanda, there was no reported violence between the Hutu and Tutsi people. However, European rule in the country changed the relations between the two groups, and laid the groundwork for genocide to occur a century later. 1897 marked the first year that German colonists entered the country. These Germans, convinced that the Tutsi had migrated to Rwanda from Ethiopia, believed that the Tutsi were more Caucasian then the Hutus, and were therefore racially superior and better suited to carry out colonial administrative tasks. This was part of the Hamitic Hypothesis—the Tutsis were taller than the Hutus, had more slender features, and looked more similar to the Europeans.

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There was a huge power struggle going on between the Hutu’s and the Tutsi’s. Source B shows how after the long running rule of the Tutsi’s, 1959 came around with the death of the last Tutsi king of this Monarch, resulting in riots and revolts from the Hutu people, killing hundreds of Tutsi people all in order to gain change and gain power. In the 1960’s Rwanda gained its independence and was soon ruled by a Hutu government in 1961. This, with reason, left the Tutsi people feeling very betrayed and angry at the fact that their beloved power had been ripped from them. Therefore, immensely increasing the tension between these groups resulting in further dissatisfaction coming from both groups and a feeling of mutual hate

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“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.

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(document 7) Belgians created the ideas of the Tutsis being the superior race and the Hutus are the inferior race, moreover, the Belgian had ethnic identity cards made to distinguish between the Hutus and the Tutsis. Someone shot the president of Rwanda, Habyarimana ‘s airplane down, this gave an open door to the Hutus to gain control of Rwanda and over the Tutsis. Since there was no president all hell broke loose, Hutu officials corrupted government ran radios and newspapers, they suggested the killing of Tutsis. (Document 8) A group called, Rwandan Patriotic Front founded by Tutsis attacked government forces and defeated radical Hutu in Kigali. More than 3 million migrated to Europe, Canada, the United States, or neighboring countries.

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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).

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The University of Minnesota, Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies https://cla.umn.edu/chgs/holocaust-genocide-education/resource-guides/rwanda. Accessed 23 March 2023. “Rwandan Genocide - Facts, Response & Trials - History.” History.com,

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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).

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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

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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.

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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”).

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