Historical
Overview
During
the
colonial
period,
Belgium
divided
the
Rwandan
people
into
two
distinct
ethnic
groups,
Hutus
and
Tutsis.
The
Hutus
comprised
around
85% of
the
population
while
the
Tutsis
made
up the
other
15%.
The
Belgians
saw
the
two
groups
as
distinct
entities,
and
even
produced
identity
cards
classifying
them
according
to
their
identity.
Belgians
considered
the
Tutsis
to be
superior
to the
Hutus,
which
led to
Tutsis
acquiring
better
jobs
and
more
educational
opportunities.
However,
in
1962,
Belgium
relinquished
power
and
granted
Rwanda
its
independence
and
the
Hutu
majority
ceased
control.
Over
subsequent
decades,
the
Tutsis
were
portrayed
as the
scapegoats
for
every
crisis.
Some
Tutsis
and
moderate
Hutus
responded
by
fleeing
the
country
and
joining
the
Rwandan
Patriotic
Front
(RPF),
which
began
opposing
and
fighting
the
Hutu
led
government
in
Rwanda.
Violence
between
the
Hutu
government
and
the
RPF
resided
throughout
the
early
1990's.
The
final
nail
in the
coffin
came
on
April
6,
1994
by the
death
of
Rwandan
President
Juvenal
Habyarimana,
a
Hutu,
when
his
plane
was
shot
down
above
Kigali
airport.
The
Hutu
government
accused
the
RPF of
the
attack
and
immediately
a
campaign
of
violence
spread
from
the
capital
throughout
the
country
against
the
Tutsis.
What
followed
was 3
months
of
slaughter
and
genocide
and
the
death
of
800,000
Tutsis.
In
July
the
RPF
captured
Kigali
and
declared
a
ceasefire.
UN
troops
and
aid
workers
began
arriving
to
help
maintain
order
and
restore
basic
services.
Although
the
massacres
are
over,
the
legacy
of
genocide
continues
and
the
search
for
justice
has
been a
long
and
arduous
one.
Many
of
those
guilty
of
genocide
have
been
captured
in
Rwanda;
however,
some
of the
ringleaders
have
managed
to
evade
capture,
and
many
who
lost
their
loved
ones
are
still
waiting
for
justice.
Bibliography
Websites
Frontline:
PBS
Online
The
Triumph
of
Evil
Frontline:
PBS
Online
Valentina's
Nightmare
Frontline:
PBS
Online
Ghosts
of
Rwanda
-
"Ghosts
of
Rwanda,"
a
special
two-hour
documentary
to
mark
the
10th
anniversary
of
the
Rwandan
genocide
examines
the
social,
political,
and
diplomatic
failures
that
converged
to
enable
the
genocide
to
occur.
The
website
includes
an
area
with
resources
for
the
teacher.
New
York
Times
on the
Web
Children
of
Rwanda's
Genocide
Photographs
by
Vanessa
Vick
-
This
collection
of
images,
taken
by
photographer
Vanessa
Vick,
illustrates
the
struggles
of
Rwanda's
children
after
the
genocide--
those
living
or
working
on
the
streets;
those
living
in
institutions
and
those
who
live
in
households
with
no
adults.
Wikipedia
-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rwandan_Genocide
Human
Rights
Watch
-
http://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/rwanda
Rwanda
Government
-
This
tribunal,
set up
by the
UN
Security
Council,
is
charged
with
aiding
in the
process
of
national
reconciliation
in
Rwanda,
maintaining
peace
in the
region,
and
prosecuting
persons
responsible
for
committing
genocide
and
other
serious
violations
of
international
humanitarian
law
committed
in the
territory
of
Rwanda
between
1
January
1994
and
31
December
1994.
Lesson
Plans
American
University
Center
for
Human
Rights
and
Humanitarian
Law
The
Genocide
Teaching
Project
Genocide
in
Rwanda
-
This
90-120
minute
lesson
plan
for
grades
10-12
has
students
participate
in a
jigsaw
activity
to
explain
key
events
in
Rwanda’s
history,
the
relationship
between
the
Tutsis
and
the
Hutus,
the
role
of
the
international
community
in
the
Rwandan
genocide,
the
issues
that
Rwanda
faces
in
the
post-genocide
era,
and
identify
actions
that
can
be
taken
to
stop
genocide.
Holocaust
Museum
Houston
Education
Center
and
Memorial
Rwanda
Genocide
Lesson
Plan
-
A
lesson
plan
for
high
school
students
that
seeks
to
provide
an
overview
of
the
Rwandan
genocide,
create
an
understanding
of
the
subject
of
genocide,
and
understand
the
genocide
through
the
eyes
of
Romeo
Dallaire.
The
lesson
utilizes
a
host
of
print
and
media
sources.
Books
Gourevitch,
Peter.
(1998).
We
wish
to
inform
you
that
tomorrow
we
will
be
killed
with
our
families:
Stories
from
Rwanda.
New
York:
St
Martin's
Press.
Dallaire,
R. &
Power,
S.
(2003).
Shake
hands
with
the
devil:
The
failure
of
humanity
in
Rwanda.
New
York:
Carroll
and
Graff
Publishers.
Barnett,
M.
(2003).
Eyewitness
to a
Genocide:
The
United
Nations
and
Rwanda.
New
York:
Cornell
University
Press.
Mamdani,
M.
(2002).
When
victims
become
killers:
Colonialism,
nativism,
and
the
genocide
in
Rwanda.
New
Jersey:
Princeton
University
Press.
Hatzfeld,
J. &
Sontag,
S.
(2005).
Machete
season:
The
killers
in
Rwanda
speak.
New
York:
Farrar,
Straus
&
Giroux.
Rusesabagina,
P.
(2006).
An
ordinary
man:
An
autobiography.
New
York:
Penguin
Group.
-
This
is the
autobiography
of
Paul
Rusesabagina,
the
manager
of the
famous
Hotel
Mille
Collines.
During
the
1994
genocide
in
Rwanda,
the
Mille
Collines
served
as a
safe
refuge
for
nearly
1200
Tutsis
and
moderate
Hutus.
The
movie
Hotel
Rwanda
is
based
on
Rusesabagina
and
the
Mille
Collines.
Films
George,
T.
(2004).
Hotel
Rwanda.
(2005).
Rwanda
Alive:
Those
who
Listen.
Journals
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