Historical Background
The Hutus and Tutsis had tensions between each other for a long time beginning between 1894 and 1918 when Belgium favored the Tutsi minority over the Hutus. Then in 1959, Hutus forced about 300,000 Tutsis to flee the country, reducing them to an even smaller population. After Rwanda gained independence in 1962, ethnically motivated violence began more and more which led to a military group installing a moderate Hutu in power. This Hutu leader later was elected president under the newly ratified constitution and signed an agreement calling for a transition government. This would have made it so that the power was shared among ethnic groups, and this angered many Hutu extremists that would eventually initiate the Rwandan genocide.
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War Between Two Tribes
The genocide began on April 6, 1994 when a plane carrying Burundi's president was shot down over Kigali. Many blamed Hutu extremists for this but within an hour of the crash the Presidential Guard, Rwandan Armed Forces and Hutu militia groups set up road blocks and began slaughtering any Tutsis they saw. Some leaders were then slaughtered as well along with the moderate Hutu Prime Minister. The slaughtering spread from Kigali across Rwanda quickly and lasted for 3 whole months before it came to an end. Government sponsored radio messages were broadcasted over Rwanda to tell Hutus to slaughter their neighbors if they were Tutsis or moderate Hutus. By the time Rwandan Forces(RPF) took back control of Rwanda, over 800,000 people had been killed along with about 2 million Hutus fleeing the country.
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International Response
During the Rwandan genocide, almost all other countries remained isolated and out of the problem. While the genocide was happening the United Nations had the withdrawal of a U.N. peacekeeping operation(UNAMIR) which caused them to not be able to help governmental transitions. The U.N. security council finally voted in May to send a better force of about 5,000 troops. When the force arrived in full, French troops were heading into Rwanda from Zaire to stop the genocide. The Rwandese Patriotic Front limited their intervention to a "Humanitarian Zone" which saved tens of thousands of Tutsis but also allowed some of the plotters of the genocide to escape.
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May, 14 1994
I have never seen such chaos happen before my eyes. I try to think of it as just one of those bad dreams but it is not. Everything is real and happening here and now. Ever since King Habyarimana died the Tutsi were left helpless. You see your fellow neighbours and friends on the dusty road. Laying there helpless while flies hover around at their wounds. Who can even imagine killing all those innocent people? I have tried to imagine myself as a Hutu. It is difficult to think through their perspective. Imagining myself slaughtering young children with a machete in my hand while they scream and plead "I promise I won't be Tutsi anymore!" It is almost like the Hutu have been taken from their bodies and their souls have left reality. This was the same thing I heard last night while I was hiding. The moans and screams of the women and the mens desperate attempts to fight back. The Hutu Power Radio station ringing in my ear about "squashing the infestation." I can still hear the cries and yells. It won't go away and it never will.
-Tharcisse Mukama
I have never seen such chaos happen before my eyes. I try to think of it as just one of those bad dreams but it is not. Everything is real and happening here and now. Ever since King Habyarimana died the Tutsi were left helpless. You see your fellow neighbours and friends on the dusty road. Laying there helpless while flies hover around at their wounds. Who can even imagine killing all those innocent people? I have tried to imagine myself as a Hutu. It is difficult to think through their perspective. Imagining myself slaughtering young children with a machete in my hand while they scream and plead "I promise I won't be Tutsi anymore!" It is almost like the Hutu have been taken from their bodies and their souls have left reality. This was the same thing I heard last night while I was hiding. The moans and screams of the women and the mens desperate attempts to fight back. The Hutu Power Radio station ringing in my ear about "squashing the infestation." I can still hear the cries and yells. It won't go away and it never will.
-Tharcisse Mukama
Above is an entry from the journal of a person, Tharcisse Mukama, during the Rwandan Genocide. She is a Tutsi who is hiding and is saying that she can not believe what is happening. She talks about how she saw neighbors and friends laying dead on the road and wonders how one person can take the life of another because of what ethnic group they are a part of. Then she goes to talk about how she could hear the Tutsis cries for help and the Hutu Power Radio telling people to "squash the infestation." But what impacted her the most is how she can still hear the moans and cries of hurt Tutsis and how they will never leave her.