1 / 27

Genocide in Rwanda: 100 Days of Terror in the Land of A Thousand Hills

Genocide in Rwanda: 100 Days of Terror in the Land of A Thousand Hills. GEOGRAPHY. - Rwanda is a small, land-locked country in Central Africa - It borders 4 countries: - Uganda to the North - Burundi to the South - Tanzania to the East - Democratic Republic of the Congo to the West.

matia
Download Presentation

Genocide in Rwanda: 100 Days of Terror in the Land of A Thousand Hills

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Genocide in Rwanda:100 Days of Terror in the Land of A Thousand Hills

  2. GEOGRAPHY - Rwanda is a small, land-locked country in Central Africa - It borders 4 countries: - Uganda to the North - Burundi to the South - Tanzania to the East - Democratic Republic of the Congo to the West

  3. THE LAND OF A THOUSAND HILLS Because much of Rwanda is hilly or mountainous, it is called the land of a thousand hills.

  4. SYMBOLS OF RWANDA • - The flag of Rwanda was adopted on October 25, 2001 • - The new flag was symbolic of a fresh start – the previous flag was associated with the genocide of 1994 • - Each of the flag’s colors has significance: • - Blue: happiness and peace • - Green: the hope of prosperity • - Yellow: economic development • - The sun on the flag represents enlightenment • - The Rwandan motto in Kinyarwandan is “Ubumwe, Umurimo, Gukunda Igihugu,” which means "Unity, Work, Patriotism."

  5. FACTS ABOUT RWANDA • Population: 10.5 million • Over ½ of Rwanda’s population is under 18 years old • Capital City: Kigali • Languages Spoken: Kinyarwanda, English, French

  6. FACTS ABOUT RWANDA - Rwanda is the only country in the world that has more women in the government than men (55%) - Rwanda is environmentally friendly: Plastic bags have been banned in the country since 2006.

  7. RWANDAN WILDLIFE Rwanda’s Volcano National Park is home to one of the world’s most rare and highly endangered species – The Mountain Gorilla.-only about 630 remain in the world-vegetarian; only known predators are leopards, crocodiles, and humans-newborns weigh about 4 pds, but develop twice as fast as humans

  8. COLONIALISM IN RWANDA: A TRAGIC LEGACY • 1885 –The Berlin Conference of European Powers was held to divide Africa among colonial powers. Germany • got Rwanda.

  9. COLONIALISM IN RWANDA: A TRAGIC LEGACY 1894 – The first European colonists arrive in Rwanda

  10. COLONIALISM IN RWANDA: A TRAGIC LEGACY • 1918 – Under the Treaty of Versailles at the end of World War I, Germany lost Rwanda to Belgium. • - The Belgian colonists divided • Rwanda’s population into distinct • groups: • 1. Tutsi • 2. Hutu • - The minority Tutsi (14%) are • favored over the Hutu (85%) • - The Tutsi are considered superior • because the Belgians liked their • facial features better and • decided they were the superior • “race.”

  11. COLONIALISM IN RWANDA: A TRAGIC LEGACY

  12. COLONIALISM IN RWANDA: A TRAGIC LEGACY

  13. COLONIALISM IN RWANDA: A TRAGIC LEGACY

  14. COLONIALISM IN RWANDA: A TRAGIC LEGACY • 1926 – Belgians introduce a system of ethnic identity cards differentiating Hutus from Tutsis. • 1959 –Tutsis began to aggressively pursue independence from Belgium • - The Belgians, fearing their colonial rule was coming to an end, supported the Hutu in an uprising against the Tutsi to try to ensure their continued power • - 50,000 Tutsis flee to Burundi. • - Thousands of Tutsis are killed.

  15. RWANDA: AN INDEPENDENT NATION 1962 – Belgian withdraws – Rwanda becomes an independent nation. 1963-1990: -The Hutus gain power and repeatedly attack Tutsis, causing them to flee the country (more than half leave). -Refugee Tutsis in Uganda form the RPF (Rwandan Patriotic Front) 1990-Aug. 1993: -RPF attacks the government -President Habyarimana signs Peace Accord, promising to share power -2,500 UN Troops stationed in Kigali

  16. RWANDA: RISING CONFLICT Sept. 1993-March 1994: -President Habyarimana stalls on setting up a shared-power government. -A Hutu civilian army, called the Interhamwe, is formed. -Anti-Tutsi propaganda is run through Radio Rwanda, the main radio station in Rwanda. -By March 1994, foreigners and international organizations evacuate the country, convinced that a massacre is about to break out.

  17. The Genocide Begins: 100 Days of SlaughterApril 6, 1994 – July 18, 1994

  18. THE GENOCIDE BEGINS April 6, 1994 – President Habyarimana and the president of Burundi, Cyprien Ntaryamira, are killed when Habyarimana’s plane is shot down near Kigali Airport. – Theory of Hutu Responsibility: Hutu Extremists, suspecting that the president is finally going to implement the Peace Accords are believed to be behind the attack – Theory of Tutsi Responsibility: Tutsi members of the RPF, including current president Kagame and one of his advisors are believed to have killed them. – That night the killing begins

  19. 100 DAYS OF BRUTALITY April 7, 1994 – The Rwandan Armed Forces (FAR) and the Interahamwe set up roadblocks and begin killing Tutsis with machetes – On this day, ten Belgian soldiers with the U.N. who were assigned to guard the moderate Hutu Prime Minister, are tricked into giving up their weapons. They are tortured and murdered. April 9-10, 1994 – France and Belgium send troops to rescue their citizens. American civilians are also airlifted out. No Rwandans are rescued, not even Rwandans employed by Western governments in their embassies April 11, 1994 – At the Don Bosco school, protected by U.N. soldiers, the number of civilians seeking refuge reaches 2,000. That afternoon, the U.N. soldiers are ordered to withdraw to the airport. Most of the civilians they abandon are killed.

  20. 100 DAYS OF BRUTALITY April 21, 1994 – The U.N. cuts its forces from 2,500 to 250 April 30, 1994 – The U.N. Security Council spends 8 hours discussing the crisis. The resolution omits the word "genocide" in their condemnation of the violence. Had the term been used, the U.N. would have been legally obliged to act. May 17, 1994 – The slaughter of Tutsis continues. The U.N. agrees to send troops defend civilians because "acts of genocide may have been committed,“ but deployment is delayed because of arguments over who will fund the effort. July 1994 – The Rwanda Genocide ends when the RPF gains control of the country.

  21. 100 DAYS OF BRUTALITY

  22. INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE – The United Nations – Although some United Nations Peace-Keeping Forces were stationed in Rwanda, they were strictly to forbidden to intervene – Despite the requests of the soldiers to help, the soldiers were told to simply “monitor” the situation – 10 Belgian soldiers killed immediately after the genocide began – Most of the remaining soldiers were withdrawn on April 20th – The United States – The United States denied the seriousness of the fighting, arguing over the definition of the word “genocide” – There was no American cooperation – Bill Clinton, who later called his choice of inaction in the Rwandan Genocide his greatest regret from his presidency said in Rwanda in 1998, “It may seem strange to you here, especially the many of you who lost members of your family, but all over the world there were people like me sitting in offices, day after day after day, who did not fully appreciate the depth and speed with which you were being engulfed by this unimaginable terror." – Africa had no force to intervene

  23. ATTEMPTS AT JUSTICE – The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) – Rape is first recognized as an offense of genocide – 60+ indictments are made – Rwandan Courts – 125,000 detainees – 2,000 cases handled after 4 years – “Justice on the Grass” – Informal revenge – Took place in the countryside of Rwanda

  24. THE LASTING EFFECTS OF GENOCIDE: THE ORPHANS OF RWANDA • Rwanda has one of the highest numbers of orphans in the world • Lots of children live in child-headed households – which means there are no adults living with them • Siblings live together and take care of one another

  25. THE LASTING EFFECTS OF GENOCIDE: A NATION PLAGUED BY POVERTY – Although the people of Rwanda continue to work very hard to rebuild their lives after the devastation of 1994, many people still live in poverty – About 4 in 10 people live on less than $1 per day (36%)

  26. RWANDA TODAY – Paul Kagame is Rwanda’s current leader – Kagame was a leader of the RPF – He is Rwanda’s first Tutsi president – He has been in power since 1994 – He was just re-elected to office ______________________________________________________________________________ – Rwanda is still in the process of recovering and struggling to heal and rebuild – Many Hutu who fled from the country after the genocide have returned – Rwanda is showing signs of rapid development – The government has prompted reconiciliation and economic development

  27. As Rwanda continues to heal and grow, it is important to remember the Rwandan proverb, “The truth passes through fire, but never burns.”

More Related