By: Hannah Conner and Karlee Kuc

RWANDA’S GENOCIDE

MA P

OF

AFRICA

Map of Rwanda

Background on Rwanda

• The Rwandan population is made up of two groups, the Hutu’s and the Tutsi’s

• Most of the Rwandan population belong to the Hutu ethnic group, traditionally crop-growers.

•  For many centuries Rwanda attracted Tutsis - traditionally herdsmen - from northern Africa.

• For 600 years the two groups shared the business of farming, essential for survival, their language, heir culture, and their nationality.

• Now 600 years later, the Tutsis tended to be landowners and Hutus the people who worked the land

Tutsi (left) and Hutu (right) men standing together.

Tutsi vs. Hutu• Hutu people feared and resented the Tutsi’s because

they remembered past years of oppressive Tutsi rule.• Although the Tutsi were herders, settling on the

grasslands above the Hutu farmers, there was significant cultural exchange between the two groups.

• The Tutsi adopted the Bantu language of the Hutu, whilst the Hutu adopted the feudal political structure of the Tutsi.

VS.

Governmental Tensions

• When European colonists moved in, the two groups separation became more apparent.

• It was the practice of colonial administrators to select a group to be privileged and educated 'intermediaries' between governor and governed.

• The Belgians chose the Tutsis: landowners, tall, and to European eyes the more aristocratic in appearance.

• This thoughtless introduction of class consciousness unsettled the stability of Rwandan society.

• Some Tutsis began to behave like aristocrats, and the Hutu to feel treated like peasants. A political divide was born.

Tutsi and Hutu: Social Inequalities of Colonialism led to Genocide

Influenced by Faith

• 1956 A Hutu rebellion begins against the Tutsis and Belgians.

• 1959 Hutu's had seized power and were stripping Tutsi communities of their lands.

• January 1961 The Tutsi monarchy is abolished.

• July 1, 1962 Rwanda gains its independence. A politically inexperienced Hutu government began to face internal conflicts as well. Tensions grew between communities and provincial factions. Tutsi resistance was continually nurtured by repressive measures against them.

• 1973 They were excluded from secondary schools and the university

Missionaries came from Europe, bringing a new political twist: the church taught the Hutu to see themselves as oppressed, and so helped to inspire revolution.

Civil War Starts• 1988 Many Tutsis retreated to exile in

neighbouring countries, where they formed the Front Patriotique Rwandais, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), trained their soldiers, and waited.

• 1990 The RPF invade Rwanda, starting a civil war.

• 1991 A new constitution allows for multiple political parties.

• August 3, 1993 The Arusha Accords are agreed upon, opening government positions to both Hutu and Tutsi. A ceasefire was achieved in 1993, followed by UN-backed efforts to negotiate a new multi-party constitution; but Hutu leaders and extremists fiercely opposed any Tutsi involvement in government.

Genocide BeginsApril 6, 1994--The plane

carrying Rwanda's President Juvénal Habyarimana was shot down, almost certainly the work of an extremist. This was the trigger needed for the Hutus' planned 'Final Solution' to go into operation. The Tutsis were accused of killing the president, and Hutu civilians were told, by radio and word of mouth, that it was their duty to wipe the Tutsis out. First, though, moderate Hutus who weren't anti-Tutsi should be killed. So should Tutsi wives or husbands. Genocide began.

Left- Rwanda president whose plane was shot down by unknown person

Massacres Began • April 7, 1994 Hutu extremists begin killing their political opponents.

• April 9, 1994 Massacre at Gikondo - hundreds of Tutsis are killed in the Pallottine Missionary Catholic Church. Since the killers were clearly targeting only Tutsi, the Gikondo massacre was the first clear sign that a genocide was occurring.

• April 15-16, 1994 Massacre at the Nyarubuye Roman Catholic Church - thousands of Tutsi are killed, first by grenades and guns and then by machetes and clubs.

• April 18, 1994 The Kibuye Massacres. An estimated 12,000 Tutsis are killed after sheltering at the Gatwaro stadium in Gitesi. Another 50,000 are killed in the hills of Bisesero. More are killed in the town's hospital and church.

Picture of the interahamwe militia's used machetes

Massacres (Cont.)• Lists of targets were

circulated• Those included were:

• All born of Tutsi fathers• Supporters of

democracy• People involved in the

human-rights movement• The interahamwe militia

used machetes to hack their victims to death in the interest of saving ammo

Tutsi man who survived being attacked during the genocide with a machete

Rwanda Genocide• This 10-week span of

massacres is known as the Rwanda Genocide

• Government radio told Tutsi people to gather in churches, schools, and stadiums

• This made them an easier target

• Some managed to hold off the militia for days or weeks with sticks and stones

• The Rwandan army and presidential guard were sent in to kill them with machine guns and grenades

• The interahamwe militia put up roadblocks

• Used these to block off areas and attack citizens

• The militia stole cattle and milk from their victims

• Woman were brutally raped

Rwandans Flee• April 28-29 Approximately

250,000 people, mostly Tutsi, flee to neighboring Tanzania.

• May 23, 1994 The RPF takes control of the presidential palace.

• July 5, 1994 The French establish a safe zone in the southwest corner of Rwanda.

• July 13, 1994 Approximately one million people, mostly Hutu, begin fleeing to Zaire (now called the Democratic Republic of the Congo).

Rwanda Genocide & Casualties• Around 800,000 men,

woman, and children were killed during the genocide’s 10-week span.

• mid-July 1994 The Rwanda Genocide ends when the RPF gains control of the country.

• President Paul Kagame took control in 2000.

Present day Rwanda

• Paved roads run through the country. Rwanda is among the safest places to walk around in Africa.

• It is also one of the cleanest places in Africa• Women make up 48% of the parliament, which has passed

many laws in recent years to increase women’s rights.

• The current president of Rwanda is a man named Paul Kagame.

• Rwanda is trying to achieve universal primary education

• There are functional hospitals and a plan to provide universal healthcare