The Blood is on Our Hands Essay -- Essays Papers

The Blood is on Our Hands The two main tribes that occupy the vast land of Rwanda, Africa are the Tutsi and Hutu tribes. According to David Rieff, author of Rwanda and Genocide in the Twentieth Century, Rwanda gained its independence from France a little over forty years ago and the territory has been involved in or been on the verge of a civil war between the two tribes ever since. During most of the colonial period the Tutsis had control because of the influence of the Banzugu, the white French man. The Banzugu only occupied about one percent of the population but they obtained most of the material wealth within Rwanda. The Banzugu separated the Hutus from the Tutsis socially based on there physical features. The Tutsis were thought to be the superior tribe because of their non-African appearance, pale skin and their aquiline noses. Since the beginning of their tribal existence the two tribes have lived next to one another, believed in the same religion and spoke the same language. After Rwanda gain ed its independence from France the Tutsis held the majority of the power and authority. The Tutsis only held the control for a short period of time before the Hutus took control. When the Hutus took control many Tutsis fled Rwanda in fear of their lives or stayed and were murdered (1-2). This was just a preview of the rage to come in April of 1994. About nine months before the massacre broke out the governments involved in the peacekeeping agreement signed what was called the Arusha Accords. This treaty was to be an international agreement to help control the constant battling between the Hutus and the Tutsis. On August 4, 1993 only five short days before the funding to the Rwandan government was revoked, Presi... ...f 1994 in Rwanda in the amount of time it would have taken you to read this paper over fifty-five innocent people would have been put to death! Works Cited Burkhalter, Holly J. â€Å"The Question of Genocide: The Clinton Administration and Rwanda.† World Policy Journal 11.4 (1994): 44-55. Byrne, Louise. â€Å"Doctors Battle to Contain Cholera in Rwandan Camps.† British Medical Journal 309 (1994): 289 Des Forges, Alison, et al. Leave None to Tell the Story: Genocide in Rwanda. New York: International, 1999. Gourevitch, Philip. We Wish to Inform You that Tomorrow We Will be Killed with Our Families: Stories from Rwanda. New York: Farrar, 1998. Ignatieff, Michael. â€Å"The Next President’s Duty to Intervene.† New York Times 13 Feb. 2000, late ed., sec. 4: 17. Rieff, David. â€Å"Rwanda and Genocide in the Twentieth Century.† The New Republic 214 (1996): 27-37.