Be aware! The Tutsi Response

We Rwandans, both Hutus and Tutsis should have learned our lessons. You Hutus have messed up because blindly killing more than 800,000 of our innocent compatriots represent an ignominy. It sad to say, but many of you would never be in peace with your minds after the tragic events of 1994. The fact that a handful of this genocide perpetrators are since swimming in craziness is here to corroborate our assertions. You guys know that killing is totally reprehensive in our culture; therefore anyone of you who has blood on his hand will have to partially pay during his/her lifetime before rotting in hell in the life hereafter. The legendary foolishness of some of your political leaders has led our beautiful country to disaster. One has to be completely naïve to fall in the traps of those whose only goal is to divide us so they can keep their hegemony in our continent. The Belgians objectives were to spread the deadly seeds of discord within our nation. Unfortunately they succeeded and this will leave indelible marks in the history of Rwanda. We have to warn you that the only viable way is the one leading to the suppression of any form ethnic division. One step toward reaching such goal would be to banish ethnic identity cards and we did it. We are asking every “clean” Rwandan to come back. This nation needs all its sons to rebuild what have been cruelly destroyed. We will not compromise with those of you who choose the path of violence to destabilize this country. Any foreign country who would try to put their nose in our business would face fierce adversity. The recent decision to end our diplomatic relationship with the French government is a clear demonstration of our unwillingness to be manipulated by the strangers. Rwanda is one and indivisible, the Hutus versus Tutsi problematic is close to been obsolete.

Really? The Hutu Respond

Prior to the Belgians entering our country we lived in peace and harmony. We agreed to farm for you in exchange for protection. Then the Belgians came in and stroked your egos to the point that you felt you were better than us and that you deserved everything and we got nothing. So naturally we had to do something to show you that we were serious about not taking it anymore. While we don't condone murder, we feel that it was a necessary measure to get our point across to you. And although violence and resentment still exist at least you guys know how far we are willing to go to preserve culture and integrity. Until you have decided to recognize that we are a people worthy of respect and rights we will be unable to coexist and as such turmoil will continue to reign. We were the original people to this area and when you came we welcomed you with open arms and found a balance. We helped you find your way in this new terrain and have continued to loyally fulfill our end of the deal. However, once the Belgians came you seemed to have forgotten all the things that we shared and felt that it was necessary to put us down. All we are asking is that you let bygones be bygones and allow us to return home and resume life as it was before all of this violence and death. Once again democracy could reign and we could live as one people, and help each other out. If you could only see it like we do democracy means progress. This would help us move to the future and develop ourselves into the nation we could be. Tearing ourselves down amongst each other is detrimental to our progress as a nation, and has made us the object of ridicule by other countries. So let us set aside our differences and once again live in the harmony we once knew.

The Tutsi Perspective

Since the arrival of the Tutsi people into the region of Rwanda and Burundi they were able to dominate the much larger population of the Hutu. The Tutsi are much taller and were herdsmen while the Hutu were smaller and were farmers of the land. The Tutsi seemed to posses a greater knowledge than the Hutu people and were able to form an army that exerted their dominance over the region. Even though the Tutsi had conquered the region they lived in relative peace with the Hutu until the arrival of the first Europeans at the beginning of the 19th century. The Tutsi were favored by these Europeans because of their lighter skin and their dominance and ability to lead. There was no racial exploitation on the part of the Tutsi although they were in control, but the Europeans saw to it to exploit the situation and a harsh caste system developed. Social mobility allowed wealthy Hutu to marry into Tutsi families and Tutsi who had fallen on hard times could take up farming and become Hutu. It was more than racial it was an extreme upper class and extreme lower class. The Europeans further added to the problem by taking sides and favoring one over the other, Tutsi over Hutu, but then switch their position causing Civil War to break out. Each outside group that came to power in the region exploited the two tribes and caused them to commit terrible injustices over the other.
From the Tutsi perspective they were in power, they had the ability to mobilize and army to gain dominance over the Hutu. They came to power because they were a much more organized people and brought stability to the region. They possessed far greater knowledge and the drive to succeed and this was recognized by educated Europeans. The Tutsi earned the right to rule the region through hard work, innovation, and determination. The Hutu people could not do for themselves what the Tutsi had done and that is to turn the region into one that at one point was one of the richest in the world. Only when the manipulation of the Belgian’s switched to put the less educated and unorganized Hutu in power did the region fall apart. The Hutu could not be satisfied with this nor were they capable of running an organized country. They only sought revenge against the Tutsi for their rule for centuries over them. The Hutu were not educated nor did they possess the ability to lead. The lower class was meant for work and service not for leadership, which clearly before Europeans started meddling in the affairs of the Tutsi, was the case. Did the country rule itself and prosper under the expertise of farming? No it was clearly that of the superior Tutsi organization. The Europeans are to blame for unsettling this natural balance and turning the uncivilized Hutu against the Tutsi. If the Tutsi are not superior and natural leaders over the much larger population of Hutu, then how is it that so few Tutsi were able to gain control of the region? The Tutsi also did not try to exterminate the Hutu out of existence, but when the Hutu were put in control of the region they sought on several occasions to eliminate the Tutsi population. They did not gain control through natural circumstances either, the Hutu were placed in control after the Tutsi tried to fight the Europeans for independence of the country. The Hutu would rather be puppets of an outside regime than fight for their own independence. The Tutsi have given more to the region than the Hutu who need to accept their natural order as the working class and give way to the Tutsi who have the natural ability to bring organization and stability to the region.

References:
History World, (2007). History of Burundi. Retrieved July 13, 2007, from History World Web site:
http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ad25
Kitnu, R. (2005). THE TRUTH BEHIND THE RWANDA TRAGEDY . Retrieved July 13, 2007, from The Mail
Archive Web site: http://www.mail-archive.com/ugandanet@kym.net/msg18926.html
The Christian Century, (1994). Hutu and Tutsi. (Rwanda). Retrieved July 13, 2007, from HighBeam Encyclopedia
Web site: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-15498250.html

Hutus

The Hutu are the largest of the three ethnic groups in Burundi and Rwanda, according to the United States Central Intelligence Agency, 84% of Rwandans and 85% of Burundian are Hutu (CIA Factbook, 2007). The Hutu arrived in Africa and dominated the area until the arrival of the Tutsi. The Tutsi were a Hamitic people who migrated south from what is now Ethiopia, conquering the Hutu kingdoms and establishing dominance over the Hutu and Twa between the 1400s and the 1700s, who already resided there (Wikipedia, 2007). Tutsis moved south from Ethiopia and invaded the homeland of the Hutus. Though much smaller in number, they conquered the Hutus, who agreed to raise crops for them in return for protection. The civil war in Rwanda broke out and resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Tutsis and moderate Hutus. Since the Hutu started the riots and ultimately the war, many fled upon the conclusion fearing retribution. Millions of refugees fled to Zaire and Tanzania. However, even before this occured, a Tutsi king and aristocracy had long dominated the Hutu majority. The Tutsi king limited Hutus’ education and employment (CNN.com, 1996). As a result of all of this, the Hutus are simply seeking indemnity for the crimes they committed, equal rights, freedom, and the ability to achieve whatever they desire.

Reference:

Central Intelligence Agency (2007). The World Factbook. Africa. Retrieved July 14, 2007, from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/.

Wikimedia project, Inc (2007). Wikipedia the online encyclopedia. Hutu. Retrieved July 14, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hutu

CNN.com (1996). Year in review 1996. Retrieved July 14, 2007, from www.cnn.com