Rwanda is not only an African country with panoramic hills and kind laughing people. It is a country where only 22 years ago, during just one hundred days, there eight hundred and fifty thousand people, which was one-seventh of the total population of Rwanda, were killed. In the civilized 20th century, almost one million people were killed without the use of gas chambers, crematories, extermination camps or other modern technical innovations. The victims fell down mostly from hands of neighbors and relatives with machetes and other melee weapons. This sorrowful massacre of the Rwandan people was left without any attention from the side of the rest of the world. Any European community or American public had no influence on what was happening in Rwanda. Those events came into focus only when the Tutsi army took full control of the country and the world community understood that the only way to pass around the crisis in Africa is to stop the genocide. The essay expresses regret to the Rwandan tragedy and tries to explain the roots of the relationship between Hutus and Tutsis that led to the genocide. Without politics and any interest it aims to investigate the reasons of the event and to find out the main consequences of the massacre.
The Atrocity against Tutsi People
First of all, it is important to establish that the events in Rwanda internationally and in Rwanda itself were named to be a genocide. Genocide is a universal madness, when the actions of a certain group of people lose a human form. Officially, genocide is an intentional, deliberate destruction of any nation, religious group, race, which is directed to its total devastation. Genocide may include a systematic, in the rough, immoral form of humiliation of honor and dignity, that is, psychological murder, leading to a broken spirit, and could be not only the physical act of violence and deprivation of life. Genocide is a characteristic of dictatorships. In democracies, this fatal act of violence is allogenic.
The Historical Preconditions of the Massacre
The 2016 marks 22 years, which passed after the genocide of Tutsi people in Rwanda. The bloody events in this small Eastern state in Africa began on April 7, 1994 the next day after the crash of an aircraft with the Hutu President on board. In the small central African country with a population of seven million, for a hundred days, from April to June in 1994, almost one million people have been cut off. What was a reason of a massacre is the main question to answer at the beginning of the investigation. Today, every July, people traditionally sing a song called “Ibuka”, which means “do not forget”. Looking at peaceful streets of the city today, it is difficult to imagine that only twenty two years ago, the streets were littered with corpses, and the lakes and rivers were red with blood. On the night of April 7, 1994, after the death of President, the roadblocks arose across the whole country just in a few minutes. Hutu’s groups began to check citizens' documents and kill all those people, who have a passport with the indication “Tutsi” in the "ethnicity". According to the interview of sentenced people, murderers are explaining their actions by the desire to be protected. Blind hatred and captured civilians. Following the armed extremists, they related themselves to the brutal massacre of the fellow citizens: the elderly, women and children. Those, who refused to participate in the crimes, were considered traitors.
The Early Years
The territories of Rwanda after the Berlin Conference in 1884-1885 years have passed under the protectorate of Germany. In the early 20th century, invasion by Belgian troops from the territory of the Belgian Congo seized the territory. Since 1918, by the decision of the League of Nations, Rwanda went under a protectorate of Belgium (Mamdani 99). Both, the German and the Belgian local governments preferred to give administrative places in the country to Tutsi, because, historically, they were more aristocratic and educated. But from the middle, of the 20th century, Tutsi began to claim for the autonomy of Rwanda, the colonial administration decided to take the path of least resistance and lowest risk and began to involve in the authorities Hutu.
In Rwanda, the ethnic division began in the early decades of the 20th century, when the Belgian colonialists came here with the principle of "divide and rule" (Mamdani 41). They introduced a rule to receive a passport, which featured a graph indicating the "Hutu" and "Tutsi". Tutsi originally were a nomadic tribe. It is believed that they came from the northern lands, specifically, from Ethiopia. The Hutu were farmers. Tutsi were more adventurous. In fact, in pre-colonial Rwanda, there was no separation by ethnicity, and the Hutus and the Tutsis were the representatives of different social classes. The baby could be born Hutu, and grew up and become a Tutsi, depending on a social status. At this point the special anthropological and linguistic differences between the Tutsi and Hutu do not exist, mainly because of mixed marriages. But when in the 15th century Tutsi came from North and conquered the residing on the territory tribes, the differences really existed. The Hutu were engaged in agriculture. According to some anthropological sources, Hutus were originally shorter and had a darker color of skin. However, in general, the two tribes are closest to each other ethnic groups among others from the anthropological and linguistic perspective. The Tutsi were better in the ruling positions of society compared to the rest of the population of Rwanda. Lots of people moved into the ranks of Hutu became rich. Thus, the social group has become more distinguishable on the basis of social, rather than ethnical basis.
Having become a local aristocracy during the Belgium protectorate, they received all key positions in the administration. However, they represented a minority of the population. Later regular conflicts between Tutsis and Hutus began to intensify. In 1960, Rwanda lived the overthrow of the monarchy, which has become a logical continuation of the uprising of Hutu people against the king of Tutsi. Already at that time, many Tutsis have immigrated to neighboring countries. Thus, when Rwanda gained independence in 1962, rebellious Hutu came to power and started to persecute Tutsis. In 1973, Tutsi children were forbidden to attend high school and university. Such a straightforward policy has led to an exodus of Tutsi to neighboring countries.
The Modern Years
In 1990, a civil war broke out, in which the rebelled Tutsi people achieved military successes. President Juvenal Habyarimana (Hutu) was forced to agree to form a coalitional government with the leader from Tutsi to calm down the situation (Straus 41). On April 6, 1994, together with the president of neighboring Burundi, Cyprian Ntariamira, who was also a Hutu, while returning from talks in Tanzania, where the terms of the agreement were specified, his plane was hit by two missiles (Straus 24). Both presidents were killed.
Suddenly, the Hutu “Ten Commandments” gained an extraordinary popularity. They demanded that the Hutu ideology of power taught in schools and that the army was made from Hutu people. The eighth commandment stated that “Hutu should forget about an indulgence to the Tutsis” (Straus 179). The most important role in this controlled process, before it reached the desired condition, belonged to propaganda. Press incited hatred against Tutsis, using any pretext and without embarrassment. In December 1993, the "Kangura" magazine had on its cover an image of a machete and the title: "What kind of weapons do we use to settle accounts with cockroaches for good?” (Melvern 50). Cockroaches was a nickname for the Tutsi (Straus 158). In a country with an embracing level of illiteracy the main source of information was radio. State media cultivated hatred in society and prepared it for the genocide. Advocating genocide was carried out not only at the political level, but also in the local administrations, authorities were spreading the idea among the population, including young people. Children in 1990’s grew up in the ideology of separation. People trusted the state, received information from the radio. For years, the two main radio stations competed in demonizing Tutsi, at the same time declaring their originators of all troubles. In the days of a massacre, the radio informed where Tutsi were hiding. It also provided Hutu with the instructions given on the radio of a different kind: do not throw the corpses on the road, cover them with palm leaves to carnage place could not be found by aerial photography.
At the beginning Hutu lacked a structure. They created two organizations “stand shoulder to shoulder” and “United by one goal”. At the right moment, they should have only get weapons. In 1993, Rwanda imported half a million of machetes. Armed to the teeth, “stood shoulder to shoulder and united by one goal” became stormtroopers in a genocide. However, neither the army nor the presidential guard did not concede them. Testifying in the International Criminal Court, the former Prime Minister of Rwanda, Jean Kambanda, admitted that the genocide was a topic question, which actively was discussed during the political meetings (Melvern 192). He quoted one of the ministers who spoke in favor of getting rid of all Tutsi. By the way, this minister was a woman. Her idea was formulated clearly: “Without all the Tutsi Rwanda’s problems will be solved” (Melvern 220).
A key role in the plot belonged to Colonel Theoneste Bagosora (Cohen 24). Until then he had acted from behind the scenes. At his command, a blacklist of those who must be destroyed firstly was drawn up. He was the main organizer of the stormtroopers. The troops of UN presented in the country to control the situation were violently murdered. In such a way, the road to genocide for Hutu was clear.
For hundred days, the country was littered with corpses. Hutu killed Tutsi with machetes wherever they were finding them: neighbor killed neighbor, close relatives killed husbands, wives and children (Herbst n.p.). According to Herbst, some women prepared tools for killing, others - stood at checkpoints, encouraged their children to go to kill Tutsis and destroy their homes (Herbst n.p.). With the culmination of the genocide, the quantity of the victims increased and the massacre became even more brutal: several tens of thousands of people in one place were burning alive, covered with the molten rubber, with tied hands and feet thrown into the river, by cutting off various parts of the body. From five to seven thousand Tutsis were burnt in a monastery. Their whereabouts were given the nuns of the monastery, and, according to some reports, they also supplied petrol executioners. The propaganda of extermination of enemies influenced at all people in the country. An essential part of the genocide was absolutely pervasive, almost not knowing the exceptions practice of violence against women (Thompson 367). The report, prepared by the Organization of African States in 2000, said: "We can say with confidence that virtually all women who survived the genocide, raped, or other forms of violence" (Thompson 223). The only difference is that one was killed and others were left alive. The International Criminal Court for Rwanda found it necessary to specifically mention this in its judgment in 1998: "Sexual violence was an integral part of the process of destruction of the Tutsi ethnic group” (Thompson 371).
After the Genocide
Having come to power, a provisional government consisting of representatives of the Hutu, blamed Tutsi, who represented a minority of the population of Rwanda, in their expansion of other social groups of the Rwandan population. The army and ordinary citizens among Hutus took up the sharp machete and began the mass extermination of those who for decades considered to be their enemies. In just one hundred days, more than 800 thousand people were killed. And on July 4, 1994 the forces of the Rwandan Patriotic Front, created fled into neighboring Uganda (Cohen 79). Tutsis, under the command of Paul Kagame took the city of Kigali. They put an end to the tragic events, and their leader has become the country's president.
In hindsight, a lot of sharp criticism and self-criticism sounded. The current Rwandan government has accused France as much in the promotion of genocide and even brings criminal claims against the then leaders of France: President Mitterrand, Prime Minister Balladur and Foreign Minister Juppe (Wallis 110). President Clinton complained that five thousand U.S. troops could have saved more than five thousand lives. Secretary General Kofi Annan, in a special report in December 1999 found a “systemic failure” of the UN (Barnett 44). Repentance Kofi Annan clearly has a personal character. At that time, the UN Secretary General was Boutros Boutros-Ghali, but Kofi Annan was in charge of peacekeeping operations (Barnett 28).
Today, a passport in Rwanda does not have a mark of ethnicity. Thus, officially, the Hutu and Tutsi in appearance are indistinguishable. Everybody in the country is entitled to receive an education and the government launched numerous social programs. Today, as well as in the past, Hutu constitutes a numerical majority of the Rwandan population (85%), Burundi (84%). Tutsi are still in the minority (Mamdani 264). They are presented by 2 million people out of the 12 million of the total population of Rwanda (Mamdani 264).
Genocide is when all human laws and regulations are canceled. There are no innocents, because everybody is required to participate. Ten percent of those killed in the days and nights in Rwanda are Hutu, who wanted to stay on the sidelines. More than a million involved in the genocide in Rwanda people were sentenced to life imprisonment, including executions. However, many directly and actively involved in the bloody action people, today are alive and free. They strongly deny any involvement in the extermination of peoples. Those who sit for life, are giving interviews in they call their actions as stupidity, which led to the following of propaganda of the media (Thompson 55). So, it turns out, at silliness people become executioners. This idea is too little proof of their repentance. Those, who were “customers” or linking people, now are hiding in a neutral country under the look of ordinary, unremarkable citizens with ice face and strong eye-glances and deny everything. However, Yolanda Mukagasana, the author of numerous books about the genocide in Rwanda, thinks that the country should move forward. She states in an interview:
“Some of my neighbors still have the feeling of hatred. We raised more than a century in this hatred. We were taught not to love but to hate. In these crimes political and religious leaders were involved. Now we have no choice, we must learn to live together. We were killed by members of our own families, because the Tutsi and Hutu used to create families together. Now we cannot divide the country into two parts: for some, and for others. I always say that it is necessary to fight against the ideology of division, genocide ideology, because once it takes root in society, it is very difficult to get rid of it” (Thompson 50-51).
The government is making efforts to get rid of divisions. Rwanda does not focus on how to try to find the differences between Hutu and Tutsi. The main task of the government is to make sure that everybody considers himself to be a Rwandan citizen. There are people who still continue to perceive these two groups, as different ethnic groups, but this division does not contribute to the development of the state. The Rwandan genocide is one of the clearest evidence that the violation of the principle of equality required for the world, sooner or later leads to tragic consequences. The long-standing harmonious existence of one nation consisting of different social classes had been violated by those who have decided to divide and conquer. With a desire to be united and live in peace, Rwandan people learn to live again.
Conclusion
The beginning of April 1994, forced the world to pay attention to the Central African country Rwanda. The front pages of newspapers yelled about the country’s terrible genocide, in which around a million people were killed in a three months period. Rwanda's history is typical for the majority of African countries, as its boundaries were established artificially. At the end of the 19th century, the country with neighboring Burundi became a German colony. After the First World War, Rwanda and Burundi were united and became a mandated territory of Belgium. In 1962, the country declared its independence. The division into Hutu and Tutsi had not ethical, but social connotation, since there were the possibility to change a social status from the Hutu to Tutsi and backwards. The Hutu organized massacres of Tutsis by killing thousands of co-citizens. They used machetes in massacres. The active role played local media, especially, radio stations. The essay proves that the central cause of the genocide in Rwanda was not related with the ethnicity. The massacre turned to be a reason of difference in social classes, imposed by the European colonists. Trying to exterminate Tutsi, Hutus who did not want to take part in the genocide, also became victims. They represented one-tenth of all the people killed during one hundred days of this atrocity against humanity. Thus, under the influence of the crowd, angry “fighters for justice” has swept away those, who originally was not an enemy, but did not want to participate in a terror, or the conflict wore that idea rather than just a nationalist. It was encouraged, and in the process of terror became mandatory, the participation in the extermination of the Tutsi. Thrown into the river corpses crowded scarce water resources in Africa. The lack of normal conditions for the disposal of the huge number of deaths led to a sanitary catastrophe - the cholera epidemic, infections and poisonings. The life of a large number of people has claimed sickness, hunger, lack of medical care. Thus, the results of the massacre were catastrophic. Of course, the genocide has strong psychological consequences for the country. However, the population of Rwanda has found internal forces to return on the path of reconciliation, which helped to avoid major and more disastrous consequences.
Works Cited
Barnett, Michael N. Eyewitness to a Genocide. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2002. Print.
Cohen, Jared. One-Hundred Days Of Silence. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2007. Print.
Herbst, Jeffrey. "The Unanswered Question: Attempting To Explain the Rwandan Genocide". Foreign Affairs. N.p., 2009. Web. 31 Mar. 2016.
Mamdani, Mahmood. When Victims Become Killers. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2001. Print.
Melvern, Linda. Conspiracy To Murder. London: Verso, 2004. Print.
Straus, Scott. The Order of Genocide. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2008. Print.
Wallis, Andrew. Silent Accomplice. London: I.B. Tauris, 2006. Print.
