The first focus question is What happened in Rwanda in the 1990s? The Rwandan Genocide was a 100-day long mass murder of the Tutsi people committed by the Hutu people in Rwanda, from 7 April to 15 July 1994. Several actions by the colonial, then the Hutu-led government served as the impetus to the escalation of ethnic tension. The colonial rulers (Germany until 1919, Belgium thereafter) favoured the Tutsi over the Hutu, and gave Tutsi people additional benefits like education and positions of power. The Belgian government implemented identity cards showing the holder’s ethnicity, used well after Rwanda’s independence. Post independence, the power was transferred from the Tutsi minority to the Hutu majority. Tension between the two ethnicities
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In order to secure their power, the path to peace should be ended and their opponents annihilated. Dehumanisation of the Tutsi people became widespread, with newspapers and radio stations describing them as “cockroaches” and “snakes”. Extremist militias such as the Interahamwe and the Impuzamugambi were created from political factions, and trained in using several weapons, including machetes.1 Machetes were a ubiquitous weapon in the genocide – already being used in agriculture, and only costing around 10 cents each. Rwandan forces spent an estimated $112 million on arms from China, Egypt and South Africa, among other countries.1 3 On 6 April 1994, Hutu President Habyarimana’s plane was shot down, signalling the beginning of Rwandan Genocide. Tutsis were pursued, beaten and killed by Hutu extremists, often hiding to prevent their deaths. Many people took in Tutsi refugees, from missionaries to hoteliers to sympathising Hutu families.3 Neighbours turned on neighbours, being forced to kill people they knew under the threat that they themselves could be killed.3 Extremist propaganda successfully dehumanised Tutsi to the point where people don’t feel sympathy for the merciless killing of their fellow human
In order to secure their power, the path to peace should be ended and their opponents annihilated. Dehumanisation of the Tutsi people became widespread, with newspapers and radio stations describing them as “cockroaches” and “snakes”. Extremist militias such as the Interahamwe and the Impuzamugambi were created from political factions, and trained in using several weapons, including machetes.1 Machetes were a ubiquitous weapon in the genocide – already being used in agriculture, and only costing around 10 cents each. Rwandan forces spent an estimated $112 million on arms from China, Egypt and South Africa, among other countries.1 3 On 6 April 1994, Hutu President Habyarimana’s plane was shot down, signalling the beginning of Rwandan Genocide. Tutsis were pursued, beaten and killed by Hutu extremists, often hiding to prevent their deaths. Many people took in Tutsi refugees, from missionaries to hoteliers to sympathising Hutu families.3 Neighbours turned on neighbours, being forced to kill people they knew under the threat that they themselves could be killed.3 Extremist propaganda successfully dehumanised Tutsi to the point where people don’t feel sympathy for the merciless killing of their fellow human