UNITED STATES VS RWANDA
316,668,567
12,012,589
Life Expectancy
78.620 years
58.850 years
Capital City
Washington, DC
Kigali
Largest city
New York City (population:
Kigali (population: 745,261)
8,008,280)
Human Development Index
3RD-2013
0.435-170
GDP per capita
$50,700 US
$1,500 US
Literacy Rate
99%
70.4%
Corruption Perception Index
7.3
3
Percentage of Women in Parliament
16.6%
50.9%
Wealthiest Citizens
William Gates III ($40.0bn
NA
US)
Unemployment Rate
8.100%
Death Penalty
Legal
Abolished
Geography: Rwanda
Location:
Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo
Border countries: Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Uganda
Natural resources: Gold, cassiterite (tin ore), wolframite (tungsten ore), methane, hydropower, arable land
Environment - current issues: deforestation results from uncontrolled cutting of trees for fuel; overgrazing; soil exhaustion;
soil erosion; widespread poaching
Economy - overview:
Rwanda is a poor rural country with about 90% of the population engaged in (mainly subsistence) agriculture and some
mineral and agro-processing. Tourism, minerals, coffee and tea are Rwanda's main sources of foreign exchange.
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$1,500 (2012 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 202
$1,400 (2011 est.)
$1,400 (2010 est.)
note: data are in 2012 US dollars
Population below poverty line: 44.9% (2011 est.)
Population:
12,012,589 (July 2013 est.)
country comparison to the world:
74
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result
in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the
distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected
Age structure:
0-14 years: 42.3% (male 2,561,999/female 2,521,530)
15-24 years: 19.1% (male 1,142,985/female 1,145,500)
25-54 years: 32.2% (male 1,943,017/female 1,929,924)
55-64 years: 3.9% (male 219,111/female 254,064)
65 years and over: 2.5% (male 119,086/female 175,373) (2013 est.)
People and Society
Ethnic groups:
Hutu (Bantu) 84%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 15%, Twa (Pygmy) 1%
Religions:
Roman Catholic 56.5%, Protestant 26%, Adventist 11.1%, Muslim 4.6%, indigenous beliefs 0.1%, none 1.7% (2001)
Trafficking in persons:
current situation: Rwanda is a source and, to a lesser extent, transit and destination country for women and children
subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking; Rwandan girls and, to a lesser extent, boys are exploited in domestic
servitude within the country; Rwandan girls are also forced into prostitution by older girls, women, and loosely
organized prostitution networks; Rwandan women and children are subjected to forced agricultural and industrial labor,
domestic servitude, and prostitution in Kenya, Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Burundi, Zambia,
South Africa, France, the Netherlands, Malaysia, China, and the US; children in Rwanda-based refugee camps are brought
to Kigali, Uganda, Kenya, Sudan, and South Sudan for use in the sex trade; a limited number of foreign nationals are
moved through Rwanda to be exploited in third countries
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Rwanda does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of
trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so; the government maintains strong efforts to investigate and
prosecute some trafficking crimes but fails to stop M23 (an armed group in the eastern Democratic Republic of the
Congo) from recruiting within Rwanda, which is at times reportedly supported by government officials, amounting to
complicity in human trafficking; although the revised penal code covers almost all forms of human trafficking, its
narrow definition may result in the confusion of trafficking with other crimes; other obstacles include a lack of
awareness of human trafficking among officials and an inadequate number of investigators (2013)
Who Are the Hutu and Tutsi?
The Hutu and Tutsi are two peoples who share a common past. When Rwanda was first settled, the
people who lived there raised cattle. Soon, the people who owned the most cattle were called "Tutsi"
and everyone else was called "Hutu." At this time, a person could easily change categories through
marriage or cattle acquisition. Second-class citizens
"A Hutu peasant would be given a cow, in return for which he would make himself available for work on
the land of his patron. Not every Tutsi landowner exploited his Hutu vassals, but there evolved over time
a dangerous sense of second-class citizenship among the Hutus.
The Tutsi nobility that dominated the center of Rwanda stressed the importance of physical stature, that
is, they claimed their tallness and aquiline facial features were synonymous with superiority. Those who
were short and stocky, who worked the land, and who had neither cattle nor ties to the nobility became
a distinct second class in Rwandan society. Journalists who have interviewed Hutu peasants have
frequently been told that Tutsis look down on them as 'sub humans'.
Any peasants who opposed the evolving order were treated with unmitigated harshness. Tutsi nobles
showed no hesitation in massacring the occupants of rebellious villages and confiscating their property.
It wasn't until Europeans came to colonize the area that the terms "Tutsi" and "Hutu" took on a racial
role. The Germans were the first to colonize Rwanda in 1894. They looked at the Rwandan people and
thought the Tutsi had more European characteristics, such as lighter skin and a taller build. Thus they
put Tutsis in roles of responsibility.
The obsession with physical appearance, aided and abetted by the Tutsi ruling class, led the
Europeans to all manner of humiliating folly: measuring of skulls and noses and all the
discredited junk of the race theorists who thrived in the heyday of African colonialism. One
Belgian doctor wrote: [The Tutsi] ... have a distant, reserved, courteous and elegant manner ...
The rest of the population is [Hutu]. They are negroes with all the negroid characteristics ... they
are childish in nature both timid and lazy, and as often as not, extremely dirty
When the Germans lost their colonies following World War I, the Belgians took control over Rwanda.
In 1933, the Belgians solidified the categories of "Tutsi" and "Hutu" by mandating that every person
was to have an identity card that labeled them Tutsi, Hutu, or Twa. (Twa are a very small group of
hunter-gatherers who also live in Rwanda.
Media Played a Huge Role in the Genocide
For years, the Kangura newspaper, controlled by Hutu extremists, had been spouting hate. As early as
December 1990, the paper published "The Ten Commandments for the Hutu." The commandments
declared that any Hutu who married a Tutsi was a traitor. Also, any Hutu who did business with a Tutsi
was a traitor. The commandments also insisted that all strategic positions and the entire military must
be Hutu. In order to isolate the Tutsis even further, the commandments also told the Hutu to stand by
other Hutu and to stop pitying the Tutsi.*
When RTLM (Radio Télévison des Milles Collines) began broadcasting on July 8, 1993, it also spread
hate. However, this time it was packaged to appeal to the masses by offering popular music and
broadcasts conducted in very informal, conversational tones.
Once the killings started, RTLM went beyond just espousing hate; they took an active role in the
slaughter. The RTLM called for the Tutsi to "cut down the tall trees," a code phrase which meant for
the Hutu to start killing the Tutsi. During broadcasts, RTLM often used the term inyenzi ("cockroach")
when referring to Tutsis and then told Hutu to "crush the cockroaches."
Many RTLM broadcasts announced names of specific individuals who should be killed; RTLM even
included information about where to find them, such as home and work addresses or known hangouts.
Once these individuals had been killed, RTLM then announced their murders over the radio.
The RTLM was used to incite the average Hutu to kill. However, if a Hutu refused to participate in the
slaughter, then members of the Interahamwe would give them a choice -- either kill or be killed.
KEY CHARACTERS IN HOTEL RWANDA
Paul’s wife-Tatiana (tutsi)
HOTEL MANAGER- PAUL RUSESABAGINA (HUTU)
RWANDAN ARMY GENERAL-GENERAL BIZIMUNGU
BAD HOTEL WORKER-GREGOIRE (HUTU)
PAUL’S ASSISTANT-DUBE
INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS WORKER—MADAME ARCHER
RPF REBELS-(TUTSI) RWANDA PATRIOTIC FRONT
U.N-UNITED NATIONS