Rwandan Genocide
“Leave none to tell the
story”
Definition of “Genocide”
The deliberate and systematic
destruction or extermination of a
particular racial, political, or a cultural
group.
The “goal” of a campaign of genocide is
to annihilate (remove) a group based
solely on race or culture from the earth.
In this presentation, you will learn
about…
• Brief History of the region of Rwanda and
the formation of the Hutu and Tutsi tribal
identification
• The arrival of the Germans and Belgians
(colonialism)
• The explanation of a refugee
• The Rwandan Genocide
Brief History
A few hundred years ago, most people who lived in the
region that is now Rwanda were farmers who also
raised an occasional cattle and other smaller animals.
Brief History (1500s-1700s)
• A small number of people in the region began large
scale cattle herding for their livelihood.
• The region was productive and population grew,
eventually becoming the most densely populated
country in Africa.
Brief History
• As the population grew, the rulers began to measure the
power of a person based on the number of their cattle.
•Kingdoms would often go to war to gain grazing land or
opponent's cattle. The amount of cattle owned directly tied
to personal wealth.
Brief History
• Over time the rich and elite large scale herders began
to consider themselves superior to ordinary people who
owned little or no cattle.
• The word “Tutsi” (a person rich in cattle) referred to the
elite group of people (about 15% of the population), while
the word “Hutu” (a follower or subordinate) came to refer
to the mass of ordinary people (about 85% of the
population).
• By the 1800s, most Rwandans married within the group
that they were classified in, however intermarriage did
occur.
Colonialism
• The
Germans and the Belgians arrived in
the 1900s and wanted to control/rule
Rwanda.
• The Belgians saw the differences in
society in Rwanda between the Tutsi and
Hutu, and felt it would be simplest to
continue the division.
• The Belgians also claimed that the Tutsi
“looked more European” and used this
fact as evidence of their superiority. The
Belgians forced a Tutsi monopoly in
government in the 1920s.
Colonialism
•
As the years went on in Rwanda
(1920-1940s), the Tutsi (the
minority) grew more and more
powerful. They were the only
groups in Rwanda to be allowed
higher education. They had
special laws and rights.
• The Hutu groups in Rwanda
began to believe that the Tutsi
were superior.
Colonialism
Because the Hutu had certain limits
placed on their lives, the Tutsi and
Belgians needed to identify who
was a member of each group.
Physical characteristics identified
some, but not all. The Belgians
decided to register everyone once
and for all. All Rwandans born
would be registered as either Tutsi
or Hutu at birth.
15% were declared Tutsi, 85% were
declared Hutu. Identity cards were
required to be held at all times. The
categories of Tutsi and Hutu in
Rwanda were now rigid.
Colonialism and Revolution
•1950s: Belgians left Rwanda and it was
considered independent.
•Before the Belgians left, they replaced
about ½ of the Tutsi leadership with
Hutus.
•The Hutus attacked some of the Tutsi
who refused to leave power in Rwanda.
Hundreds were killed and tens of
thousands of Tutsi left Rwanda
(refugees).
•Over the next decade (1960s), both
sides attacked each other in many
battles. It was civil war in Rwanda and
the surrounding regions.
Hutu revolution poster “What weapons
will we use to defeat the cockroaches
(Tutsi)?”
Post Hutu “Revolution”
• By 1967 some 20,000 Tutsi
were killed by the Hutu majority
and over 300,000 were forced to
leave Rwanda (refugees).
• The Hutu gained by killing or
forcing the Tutsi to leave Rwanda
• The overall population of Tutsi in
Rwanda went from 15% to only
8% in the span of 30 years.
Tutsi refugee camp
Tutsi refugees traveling to Uganda
Refugee numbers grow
By the 1970s over a million Tutsi
had fled Rwanda to neighboring
countries like Uganda and
Burundi.
The Tutsi located in Uganda
finally created an organization to
fight the Hutu in Rwanda. They
were called the RPF or Rwandan
Patriotic Front. Their goal was to
overthrow the Hutu government
in Rwanda.
A Spark to Genocide
• On April 6, 1994, the Hutu president of Rwanda was shot
down by a surface-to-air missile. Responsibility for the
assassination was never solved.
• However, the Hutu majority in Rwanda took this
assassination as an opportunity to rid the nation of all Tutsi.
• Within 24 hours of the President’s death roadblocks were
set up all throughout Rwanda manned by Hutu interahamwe
(those who attack together).
Genocide begins
At the roadblocks, the interahamwe separated the Hutu
from the Tutsi and hacked the Tutsi to death with
machetes on the sides of the roads.
Genocide continues
•Hutu governmental radio
encouraged the Tutsi to gather at
churches, schools and stadiums.
•The Tutsi were told they would
be safe there from the gangs of
Hutus armed with knives and
machetes.
Genocide continues
However, the radio
announcements were just
designed to gather the Tutsi in
one place for easier
extermination. The Rwandan
army was called in so that the
killings could go quicker with
machine guns and grenades.
Tutsi genocide survivor displaying
machete wounds
Genocide continued
By April 21, 1994 in just TWO WEEKS,
as many as a quarter of a million Tutsi
had been butchered and executed. By
the end of April, according to some
sources, ½ of the Tutsi population of
Rwanda were dead.
Tutsi men and boys were the primary
targets of the Hutu genocide. They were
targeted because of their possible
involvement in the RPF. Many Tutsi
women were mutilated or raped instead
of killed.
Genocide continued
In Rwandan villages, some Hutu
were forced to kill their Tutsi
neighbors or face death. There
were also instances of Tutsi being
forced to kill their own families.
By mid May, there were a reported
500,000 deaths. Bodies of Tutsi
were seen floating in all the major
rivers.
Confronted with images on the
news, the United Nations finally
agreed to send 5000 troops into
Rwanda, but there were delays and
the troops never made it in time to
stop the genocide.
Genocide ends
On July 4, 1994 the Rwandan Patriotic
Front succeeded in protecting a
number of Tutsi from the Hutu gangs.
The genocide finally came to an end
on July 18, 1994.
Many of the Hutu responsible for the
killing fled Rwanda. Some have been
captured but many are still wanted by
the new government of Rwanda for
crimes against humanity.
In the four years of Hutu-led
destruction, approximately 800,000-1
million Tutsi were killed. Only about
130,000 Tutsi survived. Almost 3/4th of
the Tutsi population has been
destroyed. Roughly 75-80% of the
deaths were males.