Rwanda Genocide - 892 Words

November 12, 2013 MAHG 5028 Religion and Genocide: Rittner Conversation Starter #12 Rwandan Genocide The Angels Have Left Us by Hugh McCullum, discusses the African tragedy that took place in Rwanda, which resulted in the murder of over one million victims. The Rwanda genocide was between two groups, the Hutu and the Tutsi. Hutu were considered to be the natives and indigenous to the land, where Tutsi were considered to be the non-native settlers who were non indigenous. Through propaganda and myth, the tension of ethnic hatred would slowly crumble the Rwandan State. The Rwandan military distributed weapons with the funding from the French. On April 6, 1994, Rwandan president Juvenal Habyariman’s plane was shot down and†¦show more content†¦Road blocks where ID cards could be checked were large killing sights. Bodies of Tutsi, Hutu, and Tutsi sympathizers could be seen left in large piles on the side of the road, scattered throughout the streets, and inside homes and churches. Many victims fled to hospitals, schools, and churches in hopes of sanctuar y, but for many they became their tombs. Rwanda Prime Minister Faustin Twagiramungo stated, â€Å"We have the same language, the same religions. There is no song or dance or drum-beat that is peculiar to one or the other of our people. We had disputed before the colonial period over things like land-ownership, and sometimes there were little fights, but the chiefs dealt with it in the traditional way and never did we suffer destruction like we have just experienced† (1). The racist theories of earlier colonizers tried to differentiate the two groups based on physical appearances. Belgians considered Tutsi to be more European and were given educational advantages. Hutu were excluded from all levels of power and left as a minority position. These disadvantages along with the nations poverty, over population from refugees, land pressures, and ecological degradation would rage the extremists and fuel their hatred. Rebels (interahamwe) and Hutu extremists hunted Tutsi. The propag anda was fed through the Radio stations giving Hutu ideas of how to find, capture, and kill Tutsi. Hutu rebels called the Tutsi minority cockroaches and felt it wasShow MoreRelatedThe Genocide Of Rwanda Genocide2044 Words   |  9 Pages It is estimated and recorded that, the 1994 Rwanda genocide, resulted to over 800,000 to a million deaths of the Tutsis that where brutally eliminated and murdered. This figure includes men, women and children who constitute three-quarter of the entire Tutsi population and 20% of Rwanda population at large. Rwanda Genocide generated a lot of criticism especially the role of France, the lip service attitude that resulted to the late intervention of the international community after the endRead MoreThe Genocide in Rwanda 1001 Words   |  5 PagesPaul Kagame, the President of Rwanda, once quoted that, â€Å"When we are unified, working together, no challenge is insurmountable† (Arnlaugsdottir). His quote holds meaning and truth as wi thin the past twenty years, Rwanda has worked miraculously to rebuild and reunite the country that was left disheveled by social conflict and genocide. There are many factors that have contributed to the reconstruction of Rwanda, including international assistance, gacaca courts and International Criminal TribunalRead MoreThe Rwanda Genocide808 Words   |  3 PagesApril 7, 1994 marked the beginning of one hundred days of massacre that left over 800,000 thousand dead and Rwanda divided by a scare that to this day they are trying to heal. The source of this internal struggle can be traced back to the segregation and favoritism established by Belgium when they received Rwanda after the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1918. At the time the Rwandan population was 14% Tutsi, 1%Twa, and 85% Hutus; the Belgian’s showed preferential treatment to the Tutsi, whoRead MoreThe Genocide Of Rwanda s Genocide1624 Words   |  7 PagesThe Genocide in Rwanda INTRODUCTION Genocides happen when ethnic divisions become apparent. Many times, these ethnic divisions were due to colonization from people of different race. These cases are especially true in Africa when Europeans colonized their territory, with clear racial divisions between them (Gavin). These genocides go on because of nations acting on ignorance and refusing to help out the nations in turmoil, allowing the genocides to continue, without wasting their own resources.Read MoreThe Genocide Of The Rwanda Essay2065 Words   |  9 Pages In 1994, Rwanda was a situation of hatred and revenge tailored by European influence that mixed together to form the recipe for Genocide. Classical control of third world nations and exploitation by the west is nothing new. In Africa, the direction of the government is often manipulated by countries that have had historical control over them. The Genocide of Rwanda was a transfer of position that placed the Hutu people in a seat of power over the former ruler s, which were the Tutsis elite. ThisRead MoreThe Rwanda Genocide Essay1113 Words   |  5 Pagesthe characteristics of the Rwanda Genocide and the Jewish Holocaust. The Rwanda Genocide targeted the Tutsis because of their ethnicity, while the Holocaust targeted the Jews because of their ethnicity and religion. To really understand the Rwandan Genocide and the Final Solution, one must understand the background of the two exterminated peoples. The Tutsis are an ethnic group that resides in the African Great Lakes region. 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He discusses the rise of Juvenal Habyarimana in politics with his Catholic background, church and state relations, and obedience to political authority. His slogan â€Å"Peace, Unity, and Development† were his political plans for Rwanda. On April 6, 1994, president Juvenal Habyarimana’s plane was shot down marking the beginningRead MoreHistory Of Rwanda And The Genocide1579 Words   |  7 PagesHISTORY OF RWANDA AND THE GENOCIDE It is believed that the Hutu and the Tutsi were originally one community who shared some value culture and even religion until the colonialist announced their arrival. Rwanda has experienced a disturbing and prolonged cycle of violent conflict since 1959. The conflict which has been characteristically political and socio-economic in nature has played out mainly on the basis of ethnicity and regionalism. It was first German and Belgium colonialism that createdRead MoreGenocide in Rwanda Essay1910 Words   |  8 PagesGenocide is â€Å"the deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, ethnic, political, or cultural group†. In Rwanda for example, the Hutu-led government embraced a new program that called for the country’s Hutu people to murder anyone that was a Tutsi (Gourevitch, 6). This new policy of one ethnic group (Hutu) that was called upon to murder another ethnic group (Tutsi) occurred during April through June of 1994 and resulted in the genocide of approxi mately 800,000 innocent people that even included