"Tensions between the Hutu and Tutsi groups had been made worse by Rwanda's colonial rulers – Germany from the 1890s, then Belgium from the First World War. They both reinforced the Tutsi’s position of power within Rwandan society, making the Hutus even more resentful."
Ryszard Kapuscinski
Ryszard Kapuscinski
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"It was never about civilization. Never about tribe or race. It was always about greed, arrogance, and power.
And when we finally grasped the horror...It was too late."
Sometimes In April
And when we finally grasped the horror...It was too late."
Sometimes In April
In the 1930s, colonists from Germany and Belgium started to formally classify Rwandans by examining physical features, thus proclaiming class and social status. A result of this classification was racism, which was was perpetrated by local politicians and media.
“This genocide was not an uncontrollable outburst of rage by a people consumed by 'ancient tribal hatred'... [It] resulted from the deliberate choice of a modern elite to foster hatred
and fear to keep itself in power.” Allison Des Forges |
"Belgians struck up a quick liking with the Tutsi minority. Because of this, they created a strict caste system - something that had never before existed in Rwanda.This created resentment and tension. When Belgium left in 1959, all hell broke loose, as the Hutu majority rioted and drove many Tutsi out of their own country, while killing many others. From that point forward, the Hutu majority reversed the caste system, making the Tutsi the lower class. While the actual genocide took place in 1994, because of the havoc Belgium wreaked throughout the 20th century, Tutsi had been horribly mistreated, exiled, tortured, discriminated against, and killed with no repercussions on a daily basis since 1959."
Kerry Zukus
Kerry Zukus
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In 1933, Rwandans were issued identity cards stating whether they were Hutu, Tutsi, or Twa.
“In 1933-34, the Belgians conducted a census in order to issue ‘ethnic’ identity cards, which labelled every Rwandan as either Hutu (85%) of Tutsi (14%) or Twa (1%). The identity cards made it virtually impossible for Hutus to become Tutsis, and permitted the Belgians to perfect the administration of an apartheid system rooted in the myth of Tutsi superiority… Whatever Hutu and Tutsi identity may have stood for in the pre-colonial state no longer mattered; the Belgians had made ‘ethnicity’ the defining feature
of Rwandan existence.” Philip Gourevitch |
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Coffee, a major crop in Rwanda, saw plummeting prices in 1989, bringing about economic and social strife.
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The Hutu magazine 'Kangura' used political ads and cartoons to encourage Hutu violence against Tutsis. This magazine cover (left) translates to "What Weapon Shall We Use to Conquer Cockroaches One and For All?” and contains a cartoon of a machete, which became the symbol for the Rwandan Genocide.
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'Kangura' also published the Hutu ten commandments in 1990 (below).
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April 6, 1994: Plane Shot Down in Rwanda: ABC, 1994.
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On April 6th, 1994, Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana’s was assassinated. That evening, the massacres began.
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