World Geography
Genocide in Africa:
Focus on Rwanda
Between April 1994 and July 1994 approximately 800,000 Rwandans were killed in a short, but devastating act of genocide. The roots of the Rwandan genocide are closely tied to its colonial history. Like most African nations, Rwanda was colonized by European powers. The Germans were the first to occupy the country (1894-1916) before the Belgians gained control of Rwanda during World War I. The population of Rwanda was made up of two main ethnic groups: the Hutu (who formed the majority of the population) and the Tutsi (who were in the minority).
The Hutu and the Tutsi lived in peace with each other during the German occupation of Rwanda. There is no historical evidence of tension or violence between the two ethnic groups during this time. When the Belgians took over Rwanda in 1916, they were worried about their ability to maintain control over the people of Rwanda. Like many European imperialists, the Belgians adopted a policy of “divide and conquer”. They placed a lot of attention on the ethnic differences between the Hutu and the Tutsi. The Belgians created an identity-card system that designated all Rwandans as either Hutu or Tutsi. According to the Belgians, the Tutsi were light-skinned and more “European” than the dark-skinned Hutu. The Belgians gave more rights and privileges to the Tutsi people of Rwanda. The Tutsi were given access to better education, better jobs and many even held positions in the Rwandan government. This favoritism created a lot of tension and resentment. The Hutu were angry that the Tutsi received
Tutsi Identification Card favorable treatment and they directed that anger, not at the Belgians,
but at the Tutsi.
In the late 1950s & early 1960s, a growing number of African nations were gaining their independence from Europe. The more educated and more prosperous Tutsi began to pressure the Belgian government to grant Rwanda its independence. The Belgian government turned its back on the Tutsi and established a new alliance with the Hutu. Between 1959 and 1962, the Hutu killed more than 15,000 Tutsi at the orders of the Belgian government. Another 100,000 Tutsi fled Rwanda into neighboring countries like Uganda. The Tutsi that remained in Rwanda were stripped of their wealth and status. The Hutu remained in power even after Belgium granted Rwanda its independence in 1962.
Throughout the 1980s, small militias of Tutsi tried to attack the Hutu government to regain some of the power that they’d lost. Small-scale violence between the Hutu and Tutsi was commonplace in Rwanda until 1993. That year the Hutu President of Rwanda, Juvenal Habyarimana, reached a peace treaty with the Tutsi. He agreed to give the Tutsi greater power in government and allowed many Tutsi to move back to Rwanda. The Hutu president’s actions pleased the Tutsi, but angered many Hutu. On April 6, 1994, less than a year after the peace agreement was reached, President Habyarimana’s plane was shot down by Hutu militants.
Within 24 hours of the president’s assassination, the Hutu militants, who’d been planning to exterminate the Tutsi for years, began killing Tutsi in the capital city of Kigali. Throughout the city, Tutsi were separated from Hutus, where they were hacked to death with machetes. The Hutu militias worked in shifts slaughtering all Tutsis in the capital. Death squads went from neighborhood to neighborhood murdering both Tutsi and any Hutu who did not support their actions.
Radio stations brought news of the killings to Tutsi living in the countryside. Government broadcasts encouraged the Tutsi to gather together in churches, schools and stadiums. The Tutsi did not know that the Hutu were behind these broadcasts. Gathered together in one spot, the Tutsi became easy targets for the Hutu militants. Within two weeks, more than 250,000 people had been killed by the Hutu militants. The Hutu focused their slaughter on men and boys at the beginning of the genocide, but as the killing progressed they turned their attention to Tutsi women and girls. By the end of April 1994, the
Tutsi victim displays his scars United Nations estimated that nearly one half of the Tutsi population had been killed.
The United Nations was aware of the genocide as it was taking place, but the situation was deemed “too risky” for the U.N. to intervene. The United States was aware of the violence too, but did not refer to the violence as “genocide” until late May of 1994. U.S. government officials spent much of April, May and June debating over the appropriate actions that the U.S. should have taken. The U.S. spoke with the Hutu militant leaders and asked them to stop the violence, but no actions were taken when the requests were denied.
The Tutsi army (known as the RPF) began fighting back against the Hutu immediately. After waging a 4 month battle against the Hutu, the capital city fell to the Tutsi and the Hutu signed a peace treaty on July 18th, 1994. In just over 100 days, approximately 800,000 people were killed in the Rwandan genocide (750,000 Tutsi and 50,000 Hutu moderates).
Name: World Geography
Date: (30 points)
Core:
Genocide in Rwanda:
Reflection Questions
Fact Check
1. Identify the two major ethnic groups found in Rwanda (2 points)
a. ______
b. ______
2. Identify the European country that colonized Rwanda in 1916. ______(1 point)
3. Identify the ethnic group was favored by the colonists when they first took over in 1916. ______(1 point)
4. Identify two different ways that the Europeans showed favoritism to the group you identified in question #3. (2 points)
a. ______
b. ______
5. Explain why the colonists favored that ethnic group. ______
______(4 points)
6. Explain why the government began to favor a different Rwandan ethnic group in the late 1950s. ______
______(4 points)
7. Describe what occurred in Rwanda between 1959 & 1962. ______
______(3 points)
8. Identify the group of Rwandans who controlled the country when it gained its independence in 1962. ______(1 point)
9. Explain why Hutu militants assassinated the Hutu President of Rwanda on April 6, 1994. ______
______(4 points)
10. Describe the role that Hutu played in the Rwandan genocide. ______
______(3 points)
11. Describe the role that the United Nations and the United States played in the Rwandan genocide. ______
______(4 points)
12. Identify the number of people were killed by the Hutu militants during the Rwandan genocide. ______(1 point)
Reader Response (20 points)
1. Read the statement below and explain whether you agree or disagree. Use evidence from the text to support your response.
The Rwandan genocide was indirectly caused by its colonial past. It’s likely that the genocide would’ve never occurred if it wasn’t for the policies of the Belgian government.
______
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