A Brief History:
The roots of the
Rwandan genocide can be traced by to the 1800s when Germany, and then Belgium,
colonized the area. The Europeans favored the Tutsis, the wealthy minority,
over the Hutus, the peasant majority. The division between the two groups was
further exacerbated when, ‘[i]n 1933 the Belgians issued identity cards to
everyone in the country. Each card bore a stamp for Hutu or Tutsi…Even if Hutu
amassed enough riches, they could never join the ruling class – they were
marked for life” (January 79). These identification cards would later be used
to target the Tutsi during the genocide.
The tides turned in 1959 when the Hutu rebelled after the death of the Tutsi king. Europeans were kicked out of the country and violence raged against the Tutsi. “Through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, the Tutsi in Rwanda lived uneasily with their Hutu compatriots. Whenever the economy appeared to be failing, the rulers blamed the Tutsi…The country’s leaders, fearful that they were losing their grip on power, spoke louder and louder against the Tutsi, saying they were to blame for everything that was wrong in Rwandan society” (79-80). With the blame being placed upon them after the shift in power, some Tutsi fled Rwanda. A group of them that fled to Uganda formed the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) which fought against the rule of the Hutu. Fearful that the Tutsi would reclaim power, the “Rwandan president, Juvénal Habyarimana, created a civilian militia, along with his police force and army units, to defend the Hutu against what he called the Tutsi threat. He named this group Interahamwe, or ‘those who stand together’” (80). Tensions continued to escalate and the country was falling apart, so in August 1993, the president signed a peace treaty to divide power between the two groups. On his return from Rwanda from peace negotiations in April 1994, his plane was shot down.
While the identity of the person/group that shot down the plane remains unknown, the Hutu immediately blamed the Tutsi. “In the next twenty-four hours, the Hutu methodically hunted down moderate politicians (many of them Hutu) who favored the peace accords with the RPF. A leading figure, Prime Minister Uwilingiyimana, was surrounded with her husband and children by Hutu militia and shot down in a UN compound. Ten Belgian soliders, part of Uwilingiyimana’s escort, were taken prisoner and then hacked to death with machetes” (81). Using radio broadcast, Hutu extremists initiated follow Hutus to eliminate their Tutsi friends and neighbors. Hutu who resisted or refused to take such actions were also targeted. They were massacred in their homes, their churches, their schools, on the roads as they fled, and in the swamps where they hid.
The United States and UN were reluctant to intervene and were careful not to use the word “genocide” when discussing the events in Rwanda. Such an acknowledgement would have forced them into immediate action (Nardo 63-65). The end of the genocide came when the RPF invaded and reclaimed power. In August 1994, Paul Kagami was elected president, and he began to work on putting an end to the conflict. “Hoping to lessen these tensions and thereby help the country heal itself, the government adopted a two-pronged approach to dealing with the former killers. This policy consisted of a mix of forgiveness and justice. It was widely seen as necessary from a practical standpoint because many hundreds of thousands of people had participated in the genocide” (Nardo 81). A court (the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR)) was established to persecute the worst offenders. “After years on the run, Théoneste Bagosora, the genocide’s chief architect, was captured and tried. In 2008 the ICTR found him guilty of multiple murders and sentenced him to life in prison” (82). In 2004, 40,000 prisoners who confessed to participating in the genocide were released from prison. Alongside their Tutsi victims, they are working to rebuild the country.
(My brief outline of these events were summarized from Brendan January’s Genocide: Modern Crimes Against Humanity – pages 76-93: “Chapter Five: The Tutsis of Rwanda,” –The Crime of Genocide: Terror Against Humanity by Ray Spangenburg & Kit Moser – pages 65-75: “Chapter 6: “Rwanda: Incited Massacre” – and Don Nardo’s The Rwandan Genocide. See book citations under “Citations” tab.)
The tides turned in 1959 when the Hutu rebelled after the death of the Tutsi king. Europeans were kicked out of the country and violence raged against the Tutsi. “Through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, the Tutsi in Rwanda lived uneasily with their Hutu compatriots. Whenever the economy appeared to be failing, the rulers blamed the Tutsi…The country’s leaders, fearful that they were losing their grip on power, spoke louder and louder against the Tutsi, saying they were to blame for everything that was wrong in Rwandan society” (79-80). With the blame being placed upon them after the shift in power, some Tutsi fled Rwanda. A group of them that fled to Uganda formed the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) which fought against the rule of the Hutu. Fearful that the Tutsi would reclaim power, the “Rwandan president, Juvénal Habyarimana, created a civilian militia, along with his police force and army units, to defend the Hutu against what he called the Tutsi threat. He named this group Interahamwe, or ‘those who stand together’” (80). Tensions continued to escalate and the country was falling apart, so in August 1993, the president signed a peace treaty to divide power between the two groups. On his return from Rwanda from peace negotiations in April 1994, his plane was shot down.
While the identity of the person/group that shot down the plane remains unknown, the Hutu immediately blamed the Tutsi. “In the next twenty-four hours, the Hutu methodically hunted down moderate politicians (many of them Hutu) who favored the peace accords with the RPF. A leading figure, Prime Minister Uwilingiyimana, was surrounded with her husband and children by Hutu militia and shot down in a UN compound. Ten Belgian soliders, part of Uwilingiyimana’s escort, were taken prisoner and then hacked to death with machetes” (81). Using radio broadcast, Hutu extremists initiated follow Hutus to eliminate their Tutsi friends and neighbors. Hutu who resisted or refused to take such actions were also targeted. They were massacred in their homes, their churches, their schools, on the roads as they fled, and in the swamps where they hid.
The United States and UN were reluctant to intervene and were careful not to use the word “genocide” when discussing the events in Rwanda. Such an acknowledgement would have forced them into immediate action (Nardo 63-65). The end of the genocide came when the RPF invaded and reclaimed power. In August 1994, Paul Kagami was elected president, and he began to work on putting an end to the conflict. “Hoping to lessen these tensions and thereby help the country heal itself, the government adopted a two-pronged approach to dealing with the former killers. This policy consisted of a mix of forgiveness and justice. It was widely seen as necessary from a practical standpoint because many hundreds of thousands of people had participated in the genocide” (Nardo 81). A court (the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR)) was established to persecute the worst offenders. “After years on the run, Théoneste Bagosora, the genocide’s chief architect, was captured and tried. In 2008 the ICTR found him guilty of multiple murders and sentenced him to life in prison” (82). In 2004, 40,000 prisoners who confessed to participating in the genocide were released from prison. Alongside their Tutsi victims, they are working to rebuild the country.
(My brief outline of these events were summarized from Brendan January’s Genocide: Modern Crimes Against Humanity – pages 76-93: “Chapter Five: The Tutsis of Rwanda,” –The Crime of Genocide: Terror Against Humanity by Ray Spangenburg & Kit Moser – pages 65-75: “Chapter 6: “Rwanda: Incited Massacre” – and Don Nardo’s The Rwandan Genocide. See book citations under “Citations” tab.)
Statistics:
- It is estimated that the genocide claimed approximately 800,000 lives (January 92)
Broken Memory
By Élisabeth Combres
Translated by Shelley Tanaka
Published: 2007
The only clear memory Emma has of her mother is her cry of “You must not die, Emma!” before she was brutally murdered by a group of Hutus while Emma hid behind the couch. She escaped the house and found shelter with an old woman, but ten years later, Emma is still living with the nightmare of that night. As the people who committed the murders of almost a million people are released from prison, Emma is forced to confront her nightmares.
Although this is a work of fiction, it is based off stories researched by the author and focuses more on the (unnamed) post-traumatic stress disorder that Emma suffers from. Combres effectively gives a very general exposure to the Rwandan genocide, making the book ideal for younger readers who might not be ready to handle the event itself head-on.
By Élisabeth Combres
Translated by Shelley Tanaka
Published: 2007
The only clear memory Emma has of her mother is her cry of “You must not die, Emma!” before she was brutally murdered by a group of Hutus while Emma hid behind the couch. She escaped the house and found shelter with an old woman, but ten years later, Emma is still living with the nightmare of that night. As the people who committed the murders of almost a million people are released from prison, Emma is forced to confront her nightmares.
Although this is a work of fiction, it is based off stories researched by the author and focuses more on the (unnamed) post-traumatic stress disorder that Emma suffers from. Combres effectively gives a very general exposure to the Rwandan genocide, making the book ideal for younger readers who might not be ready to handle the event itself head-on.
The Rwandan
Genocide (Perspectives on Modern World History)
Edited by Alexander Cruden
Published: 2010
This collection of twenty essays is a wonderful resource for readers wanting a detailed account of the Rwandan genocide. It includes historical background, controversies surrounding the genocide, and personal narratives. The narratives are particularly moving, and the essays about the lack of involvement from the UN and other world powers to stop the genocide and bring justice to the perpetrators are eye-opening and reveal why there needs to be some major changes in how events of genocide are handled. The back of the book contains a detailed timeline of events, as well as a number of further resources to turn to for further information.
Meant for older teens, these essays contain a wealth of information that is especially important for those wanting more in depth knowledge on the Rwandan genocide. The essays on the lack of response provide valuable insight, and perhaps we can remember these lessons when people are in such desperate need of help.
Edited by Alexander Cruden
Published: 2010
This collection of twenty essays is a wonderful resource for readers wanting a detailed account of the Rwandan genocide. It includes historical background, controversies surrounding the genocide, and personal narratives. The narratives are particularly moving, and the essays about the lack of involvement from the UN and other world powers to stop the genocide and bring justice to the perpetrators are eye-opening and reveal why there needs to be some major changes in how events of genocide are handled. The back of the book contains a detailed timeline of events, as well as a number of further resources to turn to for further information.
Meant for older teens, these essays contain a wealth of information that is especially important for those wanting more in depth knowledge on the Rwandan genocide. The essays on the lack of response provide valuable insight, and perhaps we can remember these lessons when people are in such desperate need of help.
As We Forgive
Directed by Laura Waters Hinson
2009
This is a powerful documentary that addresses life in Rwanda 12 years after the genocide, and the steps the country is taking to rebuild. The main element addressed in the film is people dealing with the release of over 40,000 prisoners in 2003 who confessed to participating in the genocide. Filmmakers focused on five people: Rosaria, a survivor who was severely beaten, and whose husband and four children were murdered; Saveri, an ex-prisoner who killed Rosaria’s sister and her sister’s children; Chantale, a survivor whose entire family (out of 42 people, only she and her brother survived) was murdered; John, an ex-prisoner who killed Chantale’s father; and Joy, a 15-year-old orphan living at/attending the Sonrise School, which was set up for orphans of the genocide and AIDS victims. In heartbreaking testimonies, we witness the struggles survivors and ex-prisoners have in forgiving – survivors struggle to forgive the killers, and the killers find it difficult to forgive themselves. It also makes viewers contemplate the idea of forgiveness – is it impossible, or do you try to forgive and move on?
Through the testimonies of the people in this documentary, we witness some of the fear the victims faced and endured. These interviews convey the raw emotions of the memories of the genocide and their efforts to rebuild, move on, and confront the people who murdered loved ones. We also see the fears, regret, and struggles of some of the perpetrators as they seek the forgiveness of the people whose lives they destroyed. Sometimes images are more powerful than words, and this documentary is a vital piece to seeing the impact such atrocities have, and to remembering the horrors.
Directed by Laura Waters Hinson
2009
This is a powerful documentary that addresses life in Rwanda 12 years after the genocide, and the steps the country is taking to rebuild. The main element addressed in the film is people dealing with the release of over 40,000 prisoners in 2003 who confessed to participating in the genocide. Filmmakers focused on five people: Rosaria, a survivor who was severely beaten, and whose husband and four children were murdered; Saveri, an ex-prisoner who killed Rosaria’s sister and her sister’s children; Chantale, a survivor whose entire family (out of 42 people, only she and her brother survived) was murdered; John, an ex-prisoner who killed Chantale’s father; and Joy, a 15-year-old orphan living at/attending the Sonrise School, which was set up for orphans of the genocide and AIDS victims. In heartbreaking testimonies, we witness the struggles survivors and ex-prisoners have in forgiving – survivors struggle to forgive the killers, and the killers find it difficult to forgive themselves. It also makes viewers contemplate the idea of forgiveness – is it impossible, or do you try to forgive and move on?
Through the testimonies of the people in this documentary, we witness some of the fear the victims faced and endured. These interviews convey the raw emotions of the memories of the genocide and their efforts to rebuild, move on, and confront the people who murdered loved ones. We also see the fears, regret, and struggles of some of the perpetrators as they seek the forgiveness of the people whose lives they destroyed. Sometimes images are more powerful than words, and this documentary is a vital piece to seeing the impact such atrocities have, and to remembering the horrors.
The Rwandan
Genocide (World History)
By Don Nardo
Published: 2011
Part of the Lucent World History series, this book is packed with information. It details the history of the country, as well as the social and political events that led to the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of people. The author also describes the actions taken by the government at the end of the genocide to rebuild the country and ensure that another cycle of murder did not start by people seeking revenge. There are also a number of resources provided for readers wanting more information on the subject.
This book is a great resource to introduce young people to such an ugly moment in history. It is not intimidating and does a wonderful job outlining the history of the area to give readers an understanding of the root of the tensions and conflict. This history serves as an important reminder of the havoc hatred, fear, and mob mentality can cause.
By Don Nardo
Published: 2011
Part of the Lucent World History series, this book is packed with information. It details the history of the country, as well as the social and political events that led to the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of people. The author also describes the actions taken by the government at the end of the genocide to rebuild the country and ensure that another cycle of murder did not start by people seeking revenge. There are also a number of resources provided for readers wanting more information on the subject.
This book is a great resource to introduce young people to such an ugly moment in history. It is not intimidating and does a wonderful job outlining the history of the area to give readers an understanding of the root of the tensions and conflict. This history serves as an important reminder of the havoc hatred, fear, and mob mentality can cause.