Global Issues explains the complex nature of Rwanda’s past. Scroll down to see
recommended books and films.
Although it is worth learning more in-depth, this is a quick summary:
In 1994, Rwanda, led by an extremist Hutu government, was the scene of both civil war
and genocide in a society conditioned by 60 years of institutionalized colonial class
division between the Hutu and Tutsi groups. Approximately 800,000 Tutsis and
moderate Hutus were slaughtered. An additional 3 million people (largely Hutus
fearing revenge) fled the country and suffered difficult conditions and death in refugee
camps. Another 1 million people were internally displaced. After 90 days, as the world
stood by and did essentially nothing, the genocide was brought to an end by the
Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a Tutsi-led army composed largely of former (old-case)
refugee soldiers.
Some important points to note are:
 | Hutus and Tutsis speak the same language (Kinyarwanda) and follow the | |
| same religions (93% Christian, 5% Muslim). They are not “tribes” but were distinctions historically based on livelihood (farming – agriculturalists and cattle herding – pastoralists). |
| Hutus and Tutsis lived together peaceably for several hundred years. Colonial | |
| and post-independence governments institutionalized division and discrimination, alternately favoring one group or the other. ID cards indicating each person’s “ethnicity” were used to divide people before and during the genocide, even though this was determined only by the mother’s “ethnicity” and many people came from families with both Hutu and Tutsi heritage. |
| Rwanda’s genocide was not a case of “sudden violence”. Caught by a failing | |
| economy and political pressures, the Habyarimana (Hutu) government of the early 1990’s was overtaken by the extremist Hutu Power movement, which carefully planned the genocide. Weapons were ordered, lists were distributed, propaganda was ratcheted up, youth militias were trained, fear tactics were used and pressure was applied to those who didn’t comply. Some of the first victims of the genocide were moderate Hutus who didn’t support the extremist aims of the Hutu power politicians and militias. |
| Most Rwandans today prefer to be called “Rwandans” rather than Hutus or | |
| Tutsis. The country is working hard to build a future in which all Rwandans will be respected for their contributions to society. |
Recommended Books
We Wish to Inform You that Tomorrow We Will be Killed with Our Families by Philip
Gourevitch
Shake Hands with the Devil by General Romeo Dallaire
When Victims Become Killers by Mahmood Mamdani
Genocide: A Problem from Hell by Samantha Power
Leave None to Tell the Story: Genocide in Rwanda by Alison Liebhafsky Des Forges
Recommended Films
Hotel Rwanda (available at your local video store)
Sometimes in April (made by HBO Films)
Shake Hands with the Devil (a documentary about UN General Dallaire)
God Sleeps in Rwanda – a 30-minute documentary by Kimberlee Acquaro about six
Rwandan women ten years later
Rwanda Alive: Those Who Listen - a documentary focusing on a 16-year-old school
girl
and a project connecting Rwandan and American students (available from
www.gng.org)
A Good Man in Hell – a 15-minute film from the Holocaust Museum (available from
www.ushmm.org)
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