1. Holocaust Memorial Day 2014
Twenty Years On: Rwanda Remembered
©WorldAIMS

2. Rwanda Remembered
In 1994, the African country of Rwanda witnessed one of the most brutal and swift genocides in recent times.
Within the space of just 100 days it is estimated that over 800,000 Rwandans were killed.
But why?

3. Rwanda Remembered
Rwanda is very small country located in central Africa. It is often referred to as the ‘The land of a thousand hills’. It is a stunningly beautiful country, yet in 1994 it made the headlines for all the wrong reasons

4. The background...
Rwanda’s population is mainly made up of two different ethnic groups- Hutu and Tutsi.
Belgian colonists favoured the Tutsi race and they received better opportunities and benefits.
Resentment between the two groups grew resulting in severe violence in 1959
When Rwanda gained independence in 1962, the Hutus gained power and Tutsis were portrayed as the national scapegoat

5. What happened...
Rwanda’s economy was suffering. President Habyarimana was losing popularity
The Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) was formed mainly by Tutsi refugees. Their aim was to overthrow the President.
On April 6th 1994 the President was assassinated when his plane was shot down.
This sparked an organised retaliation from Hutus on the Tutsi population
Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana who was assassinated

6. What happened...
Within hours of the assassination, Hutu recruits were dispatched to carry out a wave of slaughter.
The extreme Hutu regime believed the only way to remain in power was to completely wipe out the Tutsis
Over 30,000 Hutus were mobilised into action, using machetes, and bombings etc to destroy the Tutsis they came across. They were offered incentives such as land, food and money to participate in the genocide

7. How the world responded...
Rwanda was largely left alone by the international community as the genocide unfolded.
The UN withdrew their troops after the murder of ten of their soldiers
Numerous attempts by the UN to negotiate a ceasefire unfortunately amounted to nothing.

8. The impact...
Eventually the RPF captured the capital city, Kigali and the Hutu government collapsed.
Two million Hutus then fled the country, many of the refugees that fled have since been implicated in the massacres
Over 800,000 were left dead, mainly Tutsi but some Hutu as well.
The Kigali Memorial Centre for the Genocide

9. One of the many mass grave sights across Rwanda
The impact....
One of the many mass grave sights across Rwanda
At first a multi ethnic government compromising of both Hutu and Tutsi politicians was established. The new Hutu President and his Tutsi Deputy failed to work together and the President was then jailed on charges of ethnic violence. The Tutsi Deputy, Paul Kagame, assumed the presidency and remains President to this day despite several accusations against his role in the former President’s assassination. Conflict between Hutu and Tutsi refugees still continues to this day.

10. Why is it important to remember?
The Rwandan genocide reminds us that sadly, genocide is not restricted to something that just happened during the Second World War
The impact of the genocide is still being felt in neighbouring DR Congo where there has been years of conflict between Hutu and Tutsi refugees
It is important to remember and educate in the hope to prevent further conflict and to see how Rwanda chose to react to and remember its past.
This fighting still continues to this day, in the DRC and is estimated to have caused up to five million deaths.
Yet Rwanda itself has done much to rebuild itself showing that recovery is possible.