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Imperialism In Rwanda

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Years of conflict between two of Rwanda’s main ethnic groups, the Hutus and the Tutsis, resulted in The Rwandan Genocide, claiming 800,000 lives. This conflict stemmed from Rwanda’s early colonial and postcolonial history. Two ethnic groups dominated Rwanda, a Belgian colony until 1962. The upper class herdsman and landowners, the Tutsis, were chosen by the Belgians to serve as an intermediary between the government and the people. As a result, the Tutsis became a privileged group, with education and economic advantages. Unlike the Tutsi experience, the Hutus remained mostly underprivileged farmers, treated poorly by the Belgian governing body. (Gale Student Resources in Context) Belgium introduced two key components into Rwandan society, Christian missionaries and modern weaponry. The Christian missionaries reached out to the Hutus in the hopes that they would seek redemption. The Hutus, enraged by their second class citizen status, refused this offer and decided to use the new weapons to rebel against the …show more content…

In 1993, The United Nations attempted to help the victims of the Rwandan civil war by using a peacekeeping operation called the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda, also known as UNAMIR. However, when the UN force started to experience casualties in April 1994, they quickly abandoned the effort. Although the UN stopped helping Rwanda, France quickly provided aid. The creation of small safety zones protected fearful Tutsis from the violence. With the war finally coming to an end, the UNAMIR regained strength. (History.com) Repair of Rwanda began, with different movements being created and activated. In 1996, the Movement of Refugees brought back over 600,000 people who fled from Rwanda to Zaire, now known as Congo. Following this major reparation, this movement returned 500,000 refugees from Tanzania at the end of December, 1996. (Background notes:

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