Rwanda is a small but bustling country. Despite being the size of Munster it is home to some 14 million people. That makes it the most densely populated country in Africa. There are more than seven times as many people per square kilometre in Rwanda as in Ireland. Traveling the winding roads from village to village you see that the land of a thousand hills is teaming with life.

Yet it is not long since the stench of death wafted over those same hills. In early 1994, we in Ireland were stocking up on inflatable hammers in advance of the USA World Cup. At the same time, the Rwandan government was stockpiling weapons to turn on its own people. On April 7th a machete wielding Hutu mob began to rampage through Rwanda. By the World Cup’s final whistle, on July 17th, around 800,000 Tutsi were dead.^* Almost 2.5 million fled their homes for shelter. The peaks and valleys in Rwanda’s population (Figure 1), reminiscent of the country’s rolling hills, have a dark story to tell.

Before my recent visit, a vague recollection of the genocide was the extent of my knowledge of Rwanda. I don’t think I’m all that unique in my ignorance. Mention the word ‘Rwanda’ in a game of word association and the most likely word to follow is ‘genocide’. But my short time there taught me something of the complexity of the country and I want others to see that too. I want to tell you about Rwanda’s struggle for modernity, the warmth of its people, and the richness of its land. I don’t want to write about the genocide. But to appreciate what is great about Rwanda I must start at its lowest point. The genocide shouldn’t define Rwanda but its ugly truth cannot be avoided. Nor should Rwanda’s remarkable journey since then be taken for granted.

As with many of Africa’s tragedies, the genocide has its roots in European colonialism. After a brief period under German rule, Rwanda became a Belgian colony in 1917. The colonists exploited tribal differences. The minority Tutsi people were installed as an administrative class. The majority Hutu were expected to accept a life of subsistence. The Belgian’s formalised this divide and rule approach in the early 1930s. It was decreed that anyone owning more than ten cows at the moment of decree was Tutsi. A child born after that date simply inherited the class given to their father. The classes were firmly and permanently fixed. This sowed seeds of resentment. The Hutu were stripped of any right to social mobility, let alone the opportunity of it.

The chaotic unravelling of this wretched system began in the swinging sixties. Belgium, a bitterly divided country, was wrestling with its own social inequalities. As the Belgians unpicked Flemish-Walloon, tensions there was a growing realisation of parallels between the segregation that existed in Belgium and Rwanda. Revolution broke out in Rwanda. The Belgian’s dismantled the Tutsi dominated system and organised elections. The result was an overwhelming majority for the Hutu nationalist movement. With the tables turned, the Tutsi minority found itself in an increasingly hostile land. With each year, the dehumanisation of the Tutsi population ratcheted up. Rwanda became a totalitarian, one-party state, on a course for genocide.

The Hutu Ten Commandments, published in 1990, were part of a systematic attempt to incite hatred. Among the commandments it was stated that “any Hutu who does the following is a traitor: makes a partnership with Tutsi in business; invests his money or the government’s money in a Tutsi enterprise; lends or borrows money from a Tutsi; gives favors to Tutsi in business (obtaining import licenses, bank loans, construction sites, public markets, etc.).”

The army established militias in preparation for the blood-letting. By the eve of the genocide, 50,000 Hutu were trained and armed. Farm implements such as machetes and hoes became weapons. Neighbours became victims. A new radio station, RTLM, was launched with the sole aim to drum up hatred and division among the population. In the run up to the genocide the station made 252 broadcasts calling on the Hutu to kill Tutsi. It was incredibly successful in its aim–a reminder of the power of mass media in spreading hate.

The next gruesome step involved the murder of moderate leaders. Only extreme voices would be heard throughout the frenzy that would begin the next day. The army, police and militia set up checkpoints throughout the country. Using the identity cards implemented by Belgium, Tutsi were systematically identified and murdered. The orders were to spare no one. The Regime coerced reluctant Hutu civilians to join in the slaughter. Those who refused often faced death themselves. The UN, Belgium, France and other Western powers stood by. France even stands accused of supporting the Hutu government. Towards the end of June a UN force entered the country on a humanitarian mission, but it was too late.

One force that did make a difference was the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). The RPF, led by Paul Kigame (the current President of Rwanda), at war with the Government since 1990, was observing a ceasefire since 1993. As the genocide began, the RPF occupied the country with speed, encircling the capital, Kigali, on 4 July 1994. It defeated the last Government forces two weeks later, taking complete control of the country. While this ultimately ended the genocide, it did not end the bloodshed. Some RPF members were responsible for retaliation against the Hutu, leading to thousands more deaths and widespread displacement.

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As you walk along the exhibitions at the Kigali Genocide Memorial, you feel the growing knot in your stomach as the human catastrophe reaches its climax. With such a devastating tragedy, you’d be forgiven for thinking there is no hope for Rwanda. Decades of colonial greed, with divisions created simply to enable more efficient economic exploitation. A poor country, smothered by hate. But strangely, you emerge with a feeling of hope. Hope for a country that is undergoing a remarkable transformation. A country where more than half of its people were born after the genocide. In my next post, I’ll share that story.

CN

^*Estimates vary, within the range of 500,000 to 1.1m.

^† WorldData.info