Rwanda

What’s Rwanda?

Rwanda is a small country in central Africa. The population is approximately 11 million people, and their official language is Kinyarwanda. It’s capital is Kigali and President Kagame is now the official chief of state. The major religion is Christianity. The life expectancy in Rwanda is 54 years for men and 57 for women.

In Rwanda, there are three distinct ethnic groups: Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa. Originally, the division of Hutu, Tutsi and Twa was a profession-based division. It all changed when Belgium colonized Rwanda and made identity cards for all Rwandans, creating a division in the Rwanda society. Although divided, the groups shared their language, their culture, and nationality. They shared business with each other and lived peacefully together. There were lots of intermarriages between Tutsi, Hutu, and Twa.

Even though they lived together as neighbors, ethnic tension has always existed in Rwanda between the Hutu and Tutsi since the ethnic division.

Tension in Rwanda

When the Belgium arrived and start colonizing Rwanda, they introduced class-consciousness that eventually damaged the social stability of the Rwandan society. In that era, the Belgians chose the Tutsi to be ‘intermediaries’ or middleman between the Belgians and the Rwandans. The Belgians gave privileges as well as education for the Tutsi such as jobs and educational opportunities, and for the next 20 years, the Tutsi (minority) ruled Rwanda. The political situation was altered when Missionaries came to Rwanda from Europe and taught the Hutu to see themselves as oppressed people. The Hutu was inspired by the missionaries to start a revolution, and in 1956 their rebellion began. By 1959, the Hutu had gain power and made Tutsis fled. The Tutsi fled to neighboring countries and made the RPF or Rwandan Patriotic Front.

In 1990, the RPF rebels fought and civil war began. Tension between the Rwandan government (led by Hutu) with the RPF (led by Tutsi) was greater than ever, and in 1993 a ceasefire was achieved. UN-backed efforts had tried to negotiate a new multi-party constitution but Hutu extremist opposed the idea of Tutsi in the government.