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MelanieKistingandSueMaadir
KelseyAgarandBethanySmith
EnglishIIHonors
1December2015
CountryofBlood
A country torn apart by thousands is suffering at the hands of ruthless and barbaric
citizens, waiting to be annihilated from existence. The Rwandan Genocide of 1994, was a
disaster waiting to happen after centuries of a periodically tense relationship between the Hutu
and Tutsi it was the systematic planning to carry out the extermination of thousands of people.
The Rwandan Genocide was a devastating massacre that affected its inhabitants and the
surrounding countries in a negative manner, and the avoidance of the issue is still impacting
societiesinRwanda,surroundingcountries,andtheworldsconscious.
The Rwandan Genocide was forced upon the people of Rwanda as a result of disputes
over government control caused by President Habyarimana's plane beingshotdown,leavingthe
position of president temporarily open. Althoughtheresponsiblepartyfortheplanescrashwas
never discovered, it is believed to be the work of Hutu extremists. In fact, ordinary Hutu
Citizens represented the strongest Hutu killing force in the country (Powell). Tutsi families
suddenly found themselves being persecuted and hunted by the Hutuwhohadbeentheirfriends
and family the previous week.

Voluntarily and involuntarily, the Hutu killed around

eighthundred thousand people. Throughout the country, Tutsis fled to places thought
safehospitals, churches, and schoolsbut such congregation only made it easier for theHutusto
find and kill them in mass (Powell). The number of people killedduringthegenocidecould

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have been reduced if t
he people hadnt grouped togetherinsuch large masses. Largemassesof
people also impacted the tensions between the tribes as too many people from one tribe were
livingcloserandclosertotheothertribe.
The Rwandan Genocide of 1994 was the result of built up tensions between two tribes
who had trouble keeping peace for as long as they had live
d together. The Hutu and Tutsi had
been living together for a very long time before the genocide, and part of their tensions were
caused by other countries inserting themselves and showing how powerful they could become.
The German colonialgovernment,begunin1898andcontinuinguntil1916,pursuedapolicyof
indirect rule that strengthened the hegemony of the Tutsi ruling class and the absolutism of its
monarchy (Rwanda). The Tutsi were chosen in colonial times as dominant over the Hutu
because of the differences in the physical appearances of the two tribes. They had an overall
appearance similar to a European man which resulted in them having easier lives and higher
positions of power. They arrived so long ago, though, that by now many Tutsi and Hutuhave
intermarried, and in some cases many of the physical differences have disappeared
(Spangenburg 66). Thedifferencesthatexistedduringcolonialtimeshadsignificantlydecreased
bythetimeofthegenocide.
After one hundred days and thousands of deaths, the Rwandan genocide finally came to
an end on July 4th, 1994, with the victory of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF)who hadtaken
the capital of Rwanda and declared a ceasefire. More than800,000civiliansprimarilyTutsi,
but also moderate Hutuwere killed during the campaign (Rwanda). Almost a million
people in Rwanda alone were affected by thegenocideandwereeitherkilled,participatedinthe
discrimination and killing, lost a family member, or were forced to leave the countryforsafety.

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Those accused of participating in the genocide were primarily tried in one of three types of
court systems:theInternationalCriminalTribunalforRwanda(ICTR),Rwandannationalcourts,
or local gaca courts (Rwanda). Even though some have been put on trial,manystill remain,
harassing and torturing citizens of Rwanda, making it increasingly difficult for rehabilitation of
the country and efforts to regain a normal lifestyle. While the government did little to help
Rwanda in its time of need, it hashoweversoughtouttofindways inensuringthepreventionof
another genocide and in the reconstruction of the country. Symbols of the country such as the
constitution,flag,andnationalanthemwerechangedinhopeofequalityandestablishingpeace.
To conclude, the 1994 massacre of Rwanda is just another example of how humanity
tends to fall into a pattern of war and elucidation. After the worldwide realization of the pain
and suffering that occurredinthecountryofRwanda,peoplehaveonlythenopened theireyesto
what could have been done in prevention of the event. It is the worlds duty to educate and
enlighten people about the consequences of hostilities, inspiring and encouraging future leaders
toensurethatthishorriblemassmurderdoesnotoccuragain.

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WorksCited
Anderson, Tim. "Rwandan Genocide."
Rwandan Genocide (2009): 1.
MiddleSearchPlus
.Web.
17Nov.2015.
Powell, Jessie Bishop. "
Rwandan Genocide
."
Great Events from History: The Twentieth
Century, 19712000
. Ed. Robert F. Gorman. Hackensack: Salem, 2008. n. pag.
Salem
Online
.Web.17Nov.2015.
"Rwanda genocide of 1994."
Britannica School.
Encyclopdia Britannica, Inc., 2015. Web. 16
Nov.2015.
Spangenburg, Ray, and Diane Moser.
The Crime of Genocide : Terror Against Humanity.
BerkeleyHeights,NJ:EnslowPublishers,2000.Print.

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Outline:
I.RwandanGenocide
A.OverallDescription
B.Significance
C.Statistics

II.Hutuvs.Tutsi
A.ColonialDifferences
B.PowerandGovernmentControl

III.GenocideEffects
A.Aftermath
B.EffectsonRwanda
C.InfluenceonAmerica