...EUROPEAN IMPERIALISM LEGACY IN RWANDA In We Wish To Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families, author Philip Gourevitch writes, “Whatever Hutu and Tutsi identity may have stood for in the pre-colonial state no longer mattered; the Belgians had made “ethnicity” the defining feature of Rwandan existence”. In his book, he analyzes the background and causes of the Rwandan genocide in 1994 through interviews with survivors or descendants, and through his own trips to the country. The horrible tragedy of 1994 was a result the Hutus getting retaliation on the Tutsi tribe, but these two tribes were not always seen as two separate races. After the Belgium Empire gained control of Rwanda, it was through their regime that Hutus and Tutsis were manipulated to plot against each other, and that one was more superior to the other. By examining the pre-colonial history of Rwanda, Belgium control leading up to the country’s independence, and the genocide of the Tutsis by the Hutus, we can legitimately connect the legacy of European imperialism to the genocide of 1994, and see how much of an impact imperialism has had on the country. The pre-colonial era in Rwanda is important to consider when determining how much of an impact imperialism did have on the country. Before Belgium took control over Rwanda, the country was inhabited by “cave-dwelling pygmies whose descendants today are called the Twa people, a marginalized and disenfranchised group”. The Hutus and...
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...For over a half of a century in Rwandas history, the Tutsi and Hutu tribes fought over power in a ethnic battle fueled by discrimination and harsh persecution. The Tutsi and Hutu tribes were pushed against eachother by foreign imperialistic powers until finally in 1994 a large scale incedent was finally sparked. The blame of this incedent cannot be put unto anyone without looking into the years of hatred that built up to it. Before the European occupation of Rwanda, The Tutsis and Hutus lived coexistent lifestyles. Tutsis and Hutus were separate ethnic groups that lived peacefully. Some Tutsis and Hutus were local chiefs within Rwanda, and at this time there was no organized discrimination or Clashes between the groups. After World War 1, Belgium overtook Rwanda as a colony and established the Tutsis as the natural born leaders of the Nation. The once peaceful lifestyle that existed in Rwanda was no more, As all Tutsis were given Identity cards to distinguish them from the Hutu Subclass. During this period racial tensions mounted as the Hutus were oppressed. During the 1950s, the Tutsi Elite began to strive towards independence and lash out against the centralized belgian rule in Rwanda. In an attempt to silence this movement, the Belgian Government shifted their support towards the Hutu Majority who lacked experience in domination. Soon after, with the Communist nations in the United Nations supporting Rwandan Independence, Clashes between the weaker Tutsis and the now...
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...Rwanda For over a half of a century in Rwandas history, the Tutsi and Hutu tribes fought over power in a ethnic battle fueled by discrimination and harsh persecution. The Tutsi and Hutu tribes were pushed against eachother by foreign imperialistic powers until finally in 1994 a large scale incedent was finally sparked. The blame of this incedent cannot be put unto anyone without looking into the years of hatred that built up to it. Before the European occupation of Rwanda, The Tutsis and Hutus lived coexistent lifestyles. Tutsis and Hutus were separate ethnic groups that lived peacefully. Some Tutsis and Hutus were local chiefs within Rwanda, and at this time there was no organized discrimination or Clashes between the groups. After World War 1, Belgium overtook Rwanda as a colony and established the Tutsis as the natural born leaders of the Nation. The once peaceful lifestyle that existed in Rwanda was no more, As all Tutsis were given Identity cards to distinguish them from the Hutu Subclass. During this period racial tensions mounted as the Hutus were oppressed. During the 1950s, the Tutsi Elite began to strive towards independence and lash out against the centralized belgian rule in Rwanda. In an attempt to silence this movement, the Belgian Government shifted their support towards the Hutu Majority who lacked experience in domination. Soon after, with the Communist nations in the United Nations supporting Rwandan Independence, Clashes between the weaker Tutsis and...
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...Rwandan Genocide I. Background of the Case Though there is a stunning progress in the present Republic of Rwanda which is located in African continent surrounded by Uganda, Tanzania, Zaire and Burundi, the bloody rampage happened during the mid-1990s will never be effaced with the passage of time. The two well-known races – the Tutsi which is only 14% and the Hutu which made up of 85% of the total population – have seethed with hatred towards one another since ancient past. The tension hit the boiling point when Belgium came to colonize the country after Germany in the Post-World War I. Since Tutsis were given advantages over Hutus, several revolts and conflicts continuously happened in the country. The tension has even been aggravated when...
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...Introduction There is an extensive history of ethnic tension between the Hutus and Tutsis in Rwanda. The conflict and animosity between the two tribes ultimately led to the loss of over one million lives during the 1994 genocide. Michael Newdow made the following remarks concerning the cause of genocide: “People don't simply wake up one day and commit genocide. They start by setting themselves apart from others, diminishing the stature of those adhering to dissenting beliefs in small, insidious steps. They begin by saying, 'We're the righteous, and we'll tolerate those others.' And as the toleration diminishes over time, the inevitable harms are overlooked. It is for that reason that James Madison wisely wrote that 'it is proper to take alarm at the first experiment on our liberties'." (Michael Newdow 1) It is widely believed and stated that the 1994 Rwanda Genocide was started by the assassination of Hutu President Juvenal Habyarimana. However, the divide cause by the colonization and influence of Belgium can be seen as the underlying cause of genocide in Rowanda. http://www.religioustolerance.org/genocide0.htm Body When Rowanda was awarded to Belgium after World War, part of German’s territory that was never a part of the Kingodm of Rwanda, was stripped and attached to Tanganyika. This forced people to live amongst tribes they were unfamiliar with. Still, the Tutsi power structure for administering the country remained in place. The government also provided the Tutsis...
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...The United Nations, defines genocide as “Acts committed with the intent to destroy… a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.” In Rwanda, 1994 around one million Tutsi and Hutu opposition members were slaughtered by the extremist Hutu government the Hutu’s; the majority ethnic group in Rwanda. Their aim was to exterminate the minority of Tutsis, whom comprised about 25% of Rwanda’s population, and thus makes it one of the 3 genocides of the 20th century. In order to discuss the Rwandan genocide it is important to analyse the nature of the genocide and investigating the catalytic events that trigged the causing of it, in the first place. This includes the ethnic conflicts between Hutu’s and Tutsis, Western colonisation, propaganda, lack of international intervention and genocide denial. Belgium/Germany colonized Rwanda in 1916, due to the LON. The Belgians divided Rwanda’s unified population into a system of racial classification, mainly consisting of Tutsi’s and Hutu’s. With making the discriminatory system, the Europeans decides to make the Tutsi’s the more superior race, due to the Caucasian-ness of their physical features, when compared to the Hutus. As a result the Tutsi’s were given a more aristocratic appearance in Belgian eyes as they were provided with higher education and job standards while the militia relegated the Hutus to menial tasks. This created resentment towards the Tutsis among the Hutu which was further exacerbated when under Belgian imperial rule...
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...religious group...” the Rwandan Genocide exemplifies this perfectly. The tension between the majority Hutus and minority Tutsis who are the two most common ethnic groups in Rwanda derived from the German and Belgian colonization. After colonization, the two groups were divided, and the Tutsis obtained more power. More importantly, the Hutus gained political influence and they felt Tutsis had wronged them for centuries....
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...In Priestley's "Wrong Ism", he claims that nationalism is not the strength that binds a country together, but rather all of the small local areas we are all accustomed to growing up in that gives us strength. Priestley considers nationalistic ideas and movements to be headed by people who have a love of power and who have left out their regional ties. They no longer have feelings for the areas they came from and any loyalty developed over their lifetime is watered down. Priestley feels regionalism needs to be given more credit. He assumes it provides us with roots and a sense of attachment to our community which affect people's lives in such a way that it creates a unique bond that can be very hard to break. So in a sense, regionalism shapes our identities and I agree with his assumption that people view themselves more as part of their region rather than a part of their nation. Loyalty to one's region can be compromised when individuals allow national power and greed to destroy their roots. There are many examples of how nationalism tries to take over a region to destroy its people. For instance genocide, in nearly all examples, has been started by a power-hungry national figure who has an agenda in mind that never takes into account what a local area's wish might be for their future. Hitler is an example of this type of authoritarian oppressor who had a very complex national strategy in place to exterminate the Jews. He certainly did not consider or recognize regional differences...
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...One hundred days of internal war in Rwanda has become one of the brutal massacres in the history of human kind. More than five hundred thousand people died in this injustice religious war where Tutsi people were exploited brutally throughout the whole country by Hutu people( Des et al, 1994 ). When we examine the issue to find the potential stimuli that trigger the war, we cannot deny the fact that the lack of religious tolerance was the main cause to fuel this massive killing. It can be clearly seen that due to the lack of religious tolerance in between Tutsis and Hutus, one of the massive killing in the human history has raised a bigger question about the status of human rights in Rwanda attention from developed nation’s involvement within the country Under the colonial law established from Belgium and Germany, Rwanda was in overall control of Tutsi people (Des et al, 1994). Under the kingship of King Rwabugiri Hutu people were regarded as one of the mostly hated groups within the country (René et al, 2004). This is how the preparation of the massive massacre began. Despite the effort of Belgium colonialism to maintain balance between Hutu and Tutsi people, the hatred and anger just kept growing. It was plain simple unfair society in Rwanda seeking for right political space in the land. Tutsi meaning “rich in cattle” were overall control and Hutus meaning “servant” were becoming modern day servants (René, 2004).The existing government were in control of Tutsi people who first...
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...African Culture of Rwanda Tutsi’s and Hutu’s The monarchy of the Tutsi was predestine for greatness but, due to the Tutsi’s believe Godly sanctions has occurred and the monarchy over power. I will make a comparison between the culture of Americans and Africans and the similarities of both obsessed ethnic groups in each society and is the culture and the conflict between the various ethnic groups. The Tutsi’s and Hutu's who had an essentialist that stereotypes a powerful factor in mobilizing civilian's to participate in the killing in of the lives of Rwandan's despite, the current state policies. Rwanda civil war began in 1994 where there were two ethnic groups called the Hutu’s and Tutsi’s. It was shortly after World War I when Belgium expanded control over Rwandan. The Tutsi’s were mainly chosen, because of their skin color. The fact’s that their skin was whiter than the Hutu’s. The Tutsi’s enter into a leadership position in which they promote discrimination against the Hutu’s. The Tutsi’s had favored over the Hutu’s because of how light they were. Additionally, they were position to receive the better jobs and better education opportunities but, between the two groups. The Tutsi’s is now as the majority in Rwanda compared to the Hutu’s. They denied Hutu’s the right to own land and a better education. They had to governmental representation in order to maintain the dominancy within the country. They figured out early on how to suppress there people...
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...approved the Universal Declaration of Human Right (UDHR) following the atrocities of World War II. The UDHR was to ensure that such atrocities would never happen again, and just a short forty-nine years later the UN pulls peacekeepers out of Rwanda because of the genocide that was in direct violation of...
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...Alana Vo Modern World History, Period 7 11/19/12 In 1994, Rawanda, a frightening genocide between the Hutus and the Tutsis broke out after the death of the Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana, a Hutu. Of course, the Tutsis were blamed for the assassination and the Hutus seeked for revenge. The question is, who is to be blamed for the start of this genocide in the first place? Although some may argue that the Hutus or the Tutsis were at fault for this genocide, the Belgians are first to blame as to why this genocide broke out between the Hutus and the Tutsis. The Belgians increased racism by continuing with the Hutu and Tutsi differences, they favored the Tutsis over the Hutus, and then gave the Hutus power over the new government. One reason why the Belgians are to be blamed for this genocide is they continued the already existing Hutu and Tutsi differences. They took this traditional Hutu-Tutsi relationship and turned it into their class system making the minority Tutsi with 14% and Hutu 85%. In 1926, the Belgians introduced the system of ethnic identity cards differentiating Hutus and Tutsis. This has caused a lot of tension between the two ethnicities. Another reason why the the Belgians should be blamed is they favored the Tutsis over the Hutus. This made the Hutus really mad because it was minority over majority. This also increased racism because the Belgians favored the Tusis over the Hutus because the Tutsis look more European or whiter than the Hutus. Because...
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...POLITICAL, SOCIAL, AND ECONOMIC EVOLUTION IN RWANDA. At the 1885 Berlin Conference which carved up Africa between the European empires, Rwanda was assigned to Germany. The first German explorer, Count von Gotzen, arrived in Rwanda in 1894, and from 1899 Germany administered the country from Berlin. After Germany's defeat in the First World War, Rwanda was transferred to Belgian control in 1919. Rwanda's population comprised three main social groupings: the Hutus, the Tutsis and Twa. All those social classes were enjoying the same language, culture but did not shared economy equally. The first residents of Rwanda were the Twa, who were mainly hunters. Later, Hutu cultivators and Tutsi cattle-keepers arrived. Rwanda consisted of small chiefdoms with groups living side by side. As the dominance of this Nyiginya Tutsi lineage expanded, the terms 'Tutsi' and 'Hutu' began to acquire a political significance. Those who achieved ruling class status became identified as Tutsi, while those who did not were assigned to the ranks of the Hutu. Some Twa managed to reach higher political status, but generally they were marginalized. Many Hutus chiefs were assimilated into the ruling class and were thereby given the status of Tutsi. Hutus and Tutsis belonged to all nineteen of the main clans in Rwanda. At the same time, there was much intermarriage between members of the newly forming classes. The population shared the same Rwandan language, culture and traditions, but...
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...Final Essay Question The nation of Rwanda has a long and troubled history. It can be considered an experiment of colonization, a slave state to European nations, and even an inferior population living under another nation’s law. Germany and Belgium left their roots in Rwanda and Burundi, another nation developed after the independence the Hutu’s and Tutsi’s won in 1962. The well-known genocide of Rwanda that began in 1994 erupted for many reasons. However, after closely examining this countries fascinating history, one can see that the mass Genocide of 1994 was a result of European influence towards the Hutu and Tutsi people. Looking back to the 14th century, when the Tutsi first arrived in Rwanda one can begin to see how the Hutu-Tutsi relationship began to form. The Tutsi people invaded Rwanda from the southern nation of Ethiopia. The Tutsi people were taller and thinner in appearance than the Hutu. During their entire history of their time in Rwanda, the Tutsi never exceeded a quarter of the population. When the Tutsi warriors first entered Rwanda, they were well outnumbered but still prevailed victorious. By the 15th century, the Tutsi’s had gained complete rule. The Hutu people were given protection and their lives were spared as long as they gave the Tutsi rulers crops and cattle. The political structure that had been established, with Mwami in charge, (Tutsi elitists) allowed this type of deal to be worked out. Mwami ruled over Rwanda for several hundred years and had...
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...slaughter of the Hutus ethnic group in the Rwandan Genocide. Many past events contributed to the tension between the two groups that started as early as 1894 when Rwanda was a colony of Belgium. Under Belgium’s rule, the Tutsis, the minority (14%), were favored over the Hutus (85%) and only the male Tutsis were able to have education. The Belgians also reinforced the economic division between the Tutsi and Hutus by only defining the Tutsi as owners of ten or more cattle. However, in 1959, a revolution, developed by the Hutu counter-elite, began with riot attacks on Tutsi homes following false reports of murders of Hutus by the Tutsi extremists. It was a social warning...
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