Rwandan Civil War
On July 16, 1994, the world watched the Rwandan Civil War finally end, 800, 000 lives later and after devastating a nation socially, economically and politically. It seemed as if the whole world watched, yet did nothing. Many Rwandans lives are very thankful to the UN's efforts but it wasn't nearly enough. Canada, among many other countries, should have been involved in the Rwandan Civil war. Canada should have especially for it has an obligation to sustain there status as a peacekeeping nation. Canada has the proud history of inventing the idea of peacekeeping with the Canadian Lester B. Pearson. More importantly, Canada could have and should have been involved in the Rwandan Civil war, to save many innocent men, children and women from death from the numerous rusty machetes.
Rwanda, a small, densely populated and landlocked country, is located in the heart of Africa. It has two main ethnic populations, the Tutsis and the Hutus. The Hutus represent 80% of the Rwandan population. Rwanda was once a Belgium colony. When Belgium withdrew from Rwanda, the Tutsis quickly took control of the businesses and the government. Although being a minority, the Tutsis were socially, economically and politically dominant.
Tensions grew rapidly between the ethnic groups, which led to the exiles, in 1959 to 1961, of many Tutsis. With the departure of the many Tutsis, the nation started to deteriorate. It quickly became poor and plagued with drought and famine. 30 years later, the Tutsis were still angry with there exiles. They wanted their country back in their control. In 1990, the exiled Tutsis created the Rwandan Patriotic Front. Unable to feed its population, let alone fight a civil war, the Hutu government agreed to give most power back to the Tutsis in 1993 with the Arusha Accord. Before the Accord could be implemented, Hutu president, Juvénal Habyarimana, broke the peace accord. Rwanda here first got a tiny