How Did The Belgian Colonize Rwanda?
During the early 1900’s the Belgians had been colonizing Rwanda. The Belgians used the Hutu people who at the time were a majority, as slaves. The Belgian’s favored the Tutsi because they looked more “white”. The belgians would look at the skin tone, the size of their lips and the width of the bridge of their noses to determine this. The Belgians put the Tutsi people in charge of the Hutu’s but when the Belgians decided to leave the area they left the Hutu people in charge. The Hutu were furious with the Tutsi for all the years of forced slavery they had to endure by their fellow countrymen. In 1959 the Hutu’s initiated a revolution that caused as many as 300,000 Tutsi’s to flee the country. By early 1961 the Hutu’s had forced the Tutsi leader
out of office and in 1962 the Belgians had granted independence to Rwanda. In 1973 the Hutu’s elected general Juvenal Habyarimana as president. The president had been planning to sign a treaty with the Tutsi people when his plane was shot down. The Hutu people were enraged and they blamed the Tutsi for this. The Hutu rebel forces which were known as the Interahamwe saw this as an opportunity and they began to slaughter the Tutsi people. The Hutu army allowed this to happen because it was a way to get rid of the Tutsi without getting their hands dirty. The Tutsi rebel forces soon began to fight against the Interahamwe. In 1994 the United Nations sent some 5,000 troops into Rwanda to set up refugee camps and help the civilians but they were under strict orders not to interfere in what the United Nations believed to be a civil war. The Interahamwe targeted any and all Tutsi they could find and they even targeted Hutu people who they deemed as traitors for attempting to help the Tutsi. One of those Hutu’s was Paul Rusesabagina. Paul successfully hid his wife and kids along with 1,268 Hutu and Tutsi refugees for a total of three months.
out of office and in 1962 the Belgians had granted independence to Rwanda. In 1973 the Hutu’s elected general Juvenal Habyarimana as president. The president had been planning to sign a treaty with the Tutsi people when his plane was shot down. The Hutu people were enraged and they blamed the Tutsi for this. The Hutu rebel forces which were known as the Interahamwe saw this as an opportunity and they began to slaughter the Tutsi people. The Hutu army allowed this to happen because it was a way to get rid of the Tutsi without getting their hands dirty. The Tutsi rebel forces soon began to fight against the Interahamwe. In 1994 the United Nations sent some 5,000 troops into Rwanda to set up refugee camps and help the civilians but they were under strict orders not to interfere in what the United Nations believed to be a civil war. The Interahamwe targeted any and all Tutsi they could find and they even targeted Hutu people who they deemed as traitors for attempting to help the Tutsi. One of those Hutu’s was Paul Rusesabagina. Paul successfully hid his wife and kids along with 1,268 Hutu and Tutsi refugees for a total of three months.