In Rwanda, Africa, the year 1994 was probably the most terrific year for the nation's history. More than 800,000 Tutsi were brutally massacred at the machetes of Hutu while the entire world stood by and watched. What was the reason of this conflict? How was it possible to allow for such escalation of hatred? The main reason of such a tragedy can be tied to European colonialism in Rwanda. The Europeans succesfully birthed an ethnic divide between the Hutu (85% of Rwandan polulation) and Tutsi (12% of Rwandan population) that led to the Rwandan Genocide.
To better understand the topic I will try to explain the genesis and the process of the genocide. The beginning of this social conflict is traced back to the colonisation age, when Germany and …show more content…
How did the hatred escalate to such a big violence in 1994? However, the Rwandan Genocide wasn't the first act of violence between Tutsi and Hutu. By 1959, occurred a first major attack between Hutu and Tutsi and on 1 July in 1962 Rwanda was became formally independent from Belgium. In the period of colonialism the Rwandans were required to have identification cards. These cards, however, were used much longer after colonialism to identify a Hutu from a Tutsi. This shows that the German and then Belgian imperialistic and racist propaganda happened to be succesful and divided the Rwandan Nation very strongly. In the 1960's, Hutu oppression towards the Tutsi and the number of attacks made against them increased. The Tutsi rebels attacked back during this time period with the most successful attack made in 1963 outside Kigali, the Rwandan capital. In 1967 20,000 Tutsi lost their lives as a result of oppression and discrimination and 200,000 of them fled from Rwanda as refuygees to surrounding countries. From 1967 to 1973, after the invasions stopped, the violence towards the remaing Tutsi halted. In 1973, the PARMEHUTU regime came to a close and President Kayibanda was overthrown after northern Rwandans were tired of the southern regime being favored over the north. Then the President Habyarimana took over and for the next seventeen years, as he had promised, ethnic violence was ended in Rwanda. However, discrimination was not fully eliminated in the region. The Hutu that came from the president's home region were favored over the rest of the population, leaving the majority of Rwanda ignored and neglected. Although the country was getting better and the president protected the Tutsi, he refused to allow any Tutsi refugees back into the country, so the problem wasn't fully solved and the situation
To better understand the topic I will try to explain the genesis and the process of the genocide. The beginning of this social conflict is traced back to the colonisation age, when Germany and …show more content…
How did the hatred escalate to such a big violence in 1994? However, the Rwandan Genocide wasn't the first act of violence between Tutsi and Hutu. By 1959, occurred a first major attack between Hutu and Tutsi and on 1 July in 1962 Rwanda was became formally independent from Belgium. In the period of colonialism the Rwandans were required to have identification cards. These cards, however, were used much longer after colonialism to identify a Hutu from a Tutsi. This shows that the German and then Belgian imperialistic and racist propaganda happened to be succesful and divided the Rwandan Nation very strongly. In the 1960's, Hutu oppression towards the Tutsi and the number of attacks made against them increased. The Tutsi rebels attacked back during this time period with the most successful attack made in 1963 outside Kigali, the Rwandan capital. In 1967 20,000 Tutsi lost their lives as a result of oppression and discrimination and 200,000 of them fled from Rwanda as refuygees to surrounding countries. From 1967 to 1973, after the invasions stopped, the violence towards the remaing Tutsi halted. In 1973, the PARMEHUTU regime came to a close and President Kayibanda was overthrown after northern Rwandans were tired of the southern regime being favored over the north. Then the President Habyarimana took over and for the next seventeen years, as he had promised, ethnic violence was ended in Rwanda. However, discrimination was not fully eliminated in the region. The Hutu that came from the president's home region were favored over the rest of the population, leaving the majority of Rwanda ignored and neglected. Although the country was getting better and the president protected the Tutsi, he refused to allow any Tutsi refugees back into the country, so the problem wasn't fully solved and the situation