MARCH 2023:

NO VACANCY FOR TUTSI’S…

The Rwandan genocide, one of the darkest chapters in modern history, unfolded in the Spring of 1994, leading to the mass slaughter of approximately 800,000 people, primarily from the Tutsi ethnic group. The roots of this tragedy can be traced back to the colonial era when Belgium, the colonial power, favored the Tutsis, exacerbating ethnic tensions.

The Rwandan genocide occurred between April 7 and July 15, 1994, during the Rwandan Civil War. During the period, that lasted 100 days, members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were killed by armed Hutu militias. The most widely accepted scholarly estimates are around 500,000 to 662,000 Tutsi deaths during that period. 

The earliest inhabitants of what is now Rwanda were the Twa, a group of aboriginal pygmy hunter-gatherers who settled in the area between 8000 BC and 3000 BC and remain in Rwanda today. Between 700 BC and 1500 AD, a number of Bantu groups migrated into Rwanda and began to clear forest land for agriculture. Historians have several theories regarding the nature of the Bantu migrations: one theory is that the first settlers were Hutu, while the Tutsi migrated later and formed a distinct racial group, possibly of Cushitic origin. An alternative theory is that the migration was slow and steady from neighboring regions, with incoming groups bearing high genetic similarity to the established ones, and integrating into rather than conquering the existing society. Under this theory, the Hutu and Tutsi distinction arose later and was not a racial one, but principally a class or caste distinction in which the Tutsi herded cattle while the Hutu farmed the land. The Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa of Rwanda share a common language and are collectively known as the Banyarwanda.

In the early 1930s, Belgium introduced a permanent division of the population by classifying Rwandans into three ethnic (ethno-racial) groups, with the Hutu representing about 84% of the population, the Tutsi about 15%, and the Twa about 1%. Compulsory identity cards were issued labeling (under the heading for “ethnicity and race”) each individual as either Tutsi, Hutu, Twa, or Naturalized. While it had previously been possible for particularly wealthy Hutus to become honorary Tutsis, the identity cards prevented any further movement between the groups and made socio-economic groups into rigid ethnic groups. 

The ethnic identities of the Hutu and Tutsi were reshaped and mythologized by the colonizers.  Christian missionaries in Rwanda promoted the theory about the “Hamitic” origins of the kingdom, and referred to the distinctively Ethiopian features and hence, foreign origins, of the Tutsi “caste”. These mythologies provided the basis for anti-Tutsi propaganda in 1994.

In 1990, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a rebel group composed mostly of Tutsi refugees invaded northern Rwanda from their base in Uganda, initiating the Rwandan Civil War. Over the course of the next three years, neither side was able to gain a decisive advantage. In an effort to bring the war to a peaceful end, the Rwandan government led by Hutu president, Juvenal Habyarimana signed the Arusha Accords with the RPF on August 4, 1993. The catalyst of the genocide in Rwanda was the assassination of Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana on April 6, 1994. 

The assassination of Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana created a power vacuum and ended the peace accords. It triggered a systematic, organized campaign of violence by the Hutu-led government against the Tutsi minority. The genocidal killings began the following day when the majority Hutu soldiers, police, and militia murdered key Tutsi and moderate Hutu military and political leaders. 

The scale and brutality of the genocide caused shock worldwide, but no country intervened to forcefully stop the killings. Most of the victims were found killed in their own villages or towns, many by their neighbors and fellow villagers. Hutu gangs hunted down victims hiding in churches and school buildings. The militia’s weapons of choice were machetes and rifles. With an estimated 250,000 to 500,000 women raped during the genocide, sexual violence was prevalent. The RPF quickly resumed the civil war once the genocide started and captured all government territory, ending the genocide and forcing the government, and génocidaires into Zaire, which is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 

The genocide would have a lasting and profound effect. In 1996, the RPF-led Rwandan government launched an offensive into Zaire, home to exiled leaders of the former Rwandan government and many Hutu refugees, starting the First Congo War, and killing an estimated 200,000 people. Today Rwanda acknowledges two public holidays to mourn the genocide, and “genocide ideology” and “divisionism” are criminal offenses. Although the Constitution of Rwanda states more than 1 million people perished in the genocide, the real number killed is likely lower.   

The genocide is forever marked by gruesome acts of violence, but from that darkness came countless instances of heroism and survival.

Paul Rusesabagina, a Hutu hotel manager, played a pivotal role during this horrific period. Rusesabagina managed the Hôtel des Mille Collines in Kigali, which sheltered over 1,200 Tutsi refugees. His story of courage and humanity amidst the chaos of the genocide became widely known. He used his position and influence to protect those seeking refuge, often at great personal risk.

Rusesabagina‘s story gained international attention and was later adapted into the film titled Hotel Rwanda, released in 2004. The movie, directed by Terry George, with a screenplay co-written by George and Keir Pearson, and starring Don Cheadle as Paul Rusesabagina and Sophie Okonedo as Paul’s wife, Tatiana Rusesabagina offered a poignant portrayal of the genocide’s horrors and Rusesabagina’s efforts to save lives. The film sheds light on the broader tragedy while also honoring individual acts of heroism.

After the genocide, Rusesabagina faced a complex and controversial legacy. Some praised him as a hero, while others questioned his actions and motivations during and after the genocide. In later years, Rusesabagina became a vocal critic of the Rwandan government, which accused him of supporting rebel groups and arrested him in 2020.

The Rwandan genocide, the story of Paul Rusesabagina, and the film Hotel Rwanda serve as important reminders of the capacity for both unspeakable cruelty and extraordinary bravery in times of conflict. It also highlights the complex moral and political issues surrounding such tragic events.