Genocide of Rwanda: A Case Study Bryan Schilling Keri Rose Scott Johnson Scott Johnson www.geographic.org/flags/new3/rwanda_flags.html

Asking students to grapple with an issue as horrible as genocide, termed”the crime without a name” by Winston Churchill, is a daunting, wrenching, and above all, sad challenge. Yet, as the film “Ghosts of Rwanda” shows, while people and governments turned their backs on what was happening in Rwanda in the spring of 1994, some individuals stood up to the horror and acted effectively, often with breathtaking heroism. Students can witness both the depths to which humans can sink and the heights to which they can soar. www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/teach/ghosts/

Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide Article 2 In the present convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group, as such: Killing members of the group Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group. Scott Johnson www.hrweb.org/legal/genocide.html

A Century of Genocide Armenian’s 1915-1923, 1.5million dead European Jews 1933-1945, 11 million dead Bosnia 1992-1995 Rwanda 1994, 937,000 dead Darfur Current, 2 million and counting Scott Johnson news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1288230.stm

People of Rwanda Twas first people in region, now one percent of total population Hutu’s migrated in 1st century Tutsi’s left Ethiopia and conquered Hutus in 16th century BUT!!!! Belgian colonists defined it differently!! A Hutu was a person with squashed nose and less than ten cows. A Tutsi had a long nose and more than ten cows. Scott Johnson

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/belgium and en.wikipedia.org/wiki/germany Colonial History 1890-European powers meet in Brussels and declare Rwanda a German colony. No Rwandans were present. 1916-Belgium occupies Rwanda during World War I 1919-Belgian League of Nations mandate officially recognizes Rwanda as a Belgian colony 1962-On July 1st, Belgium declares Rwandan independence, not Rwanda. Scott Johnson en.wikipedia.org/wiki/belgium and en.wikipedia.org/wiki/germany

Colonial history Originally a German colony Became a Belgian colony following WWI Hutus and Tutsis given ID cards that identified them by ethnicity, and became the foundation of hatred that led to civil violence and genocide Enforced monocrop of coffee which eventually led to economic catastrophe in the country when coffee prices went belly up on the international market, and led to initial stages of civil violence Keri Rose

Tutsi Made up approximately %14 of population. Belgians saw them as more regal in physical characteristics because they were taller and more slender Were mainly herdsman, and had control of the cattle. Belgians equated this with the ability to rule. Keri Rose

Hutu Made up the majority of the population Were viewed as more savage by the Belgians than the Tutsis because they were shorter and stockier Were mainly farmers Keri Rose

Rwanda Genocide Began April 1994 An estimated one million people killed in the span of three months Weapons used were mainly machetes and grenades The world watched from afar, although they were aware of what was occuring Killing took place in homes, stadiums, churches, hotels, orphanages, etc… Over three quarters of the Tutsi population was killed The genocide was said to be revenge for the years of Tutsi rule over the Hutu during colonization Keri Rose

The U.N. Intervention The role of the U.N. Romeo Dalliare Bryan Schilling

Media Coverage Did the press do its job? What were the factors that affected the coverage of Rwanda? Bryan Schilling

Tribunals Was justice finally served? Whose stories were told? Bryan Schilling

Rwanda Today / The Aftermath Learning to Forget, or Forgetting to Learn? Consequences… Bryan Schilling