RWANDA: A Brief History
Ethnic tension in Rwanda is nothing new. There have been always been disagreements between the majority Hutus and minority Tutsis, but the animosity between them has grown substantially since the colonial period. The two ethnic groups are actually very similar - they speak the same language, inhabit the same areas and follow the same traditions. But when the Belgian colonists arrived in 1916, they saw the two groups as distinct entities, based almost entirely on their aesthetic qualities. The Belgians considered the Tutsis as superior to the Hutus because of their height, slightly lighter skin color, and more traditionally Anglo facial features. They even produced identity cards classifying people according to their ethnicity. Not surprisingly, the Tutsis welcomed this idea, and for the next 20 years they enjoyed better jobs and educational opportunities than their Hutu neighbors.

Resentment gradually built up, culminating in a series of riots in 1959 when the Hutus overthrew the ruling Tutsi king. More than 20,000 Tutsis were killed in the conflict, in retribution for the hardship created by their complicity with the Belgians, and some 150,000 more were driven into exile in the neighboring countries of Burundi, Tanzania and Uganda. Over subsequent decades, Tutsis became the scapegoats for every crisis.

When Belgium relinquished power and granted Rwanda independence in 1962, it was the Hutus – and all their years of oppression and hostility – who took control of the government. Eventually, it was the children of exiled Tutsis who later formed a rebel group, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), and began a civil war in 1990. The war, along with several political and economic upheavals, exacerbated ethnic tensions, culminating in April 1994 in the genocide of roughly 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus. The Tutsi rebels defeated the Hutu regime and ended the killing in July 1994, but approximately 2 million Hutu refugees - many fearing Tutsi retribution - fled to neighboring Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, and the former Zaire. Since then, most of the refugees have returned to Rwanda, but about 10,000 that remain in the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo have formed an extremist insurgency bent on retaking Rwanda, much as the RPF tried in 1990.

Despite substantial international assistance and political reforms since 1994 - including Rwanda’s first local elections in March 1999 and its first post-genocide presidential and legislative elections in August and September 2003, respectively - the country continues to struggle to boost investment and agricultural output. Any kind of justice or ethnic reconciliation is complicated by the real and perceived Tutsi political dominance. Kigali’s increasing centralization and intolerance of dissent, the nagging Hutu extremist insurgency across the border, and the nation’s involvement in two wars in recent years in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo continue to hinder Rwanda’s efforts to escape its bloody legacy.

Rwanda is a poor rural country with about 90% of the population engaged in (mainly subsistence) agriculture. It is the most densely populated country in Africa; landlocked with few natural resources and minimal industry. Primary foreign exchange earners are coffee and tea. The 1994 genocide decimated Rwanda’s fragile economic base, severely impoverished the population, particularly women, and eroded the country’s ability to attract private and external investment. However, Rwanda has made substantial progress in stabilizing and rehabilitating its economy to pre-1994 levels, although poverty levels are substantially higher now. The GDP has rebounded and inflation has been curbed. Export earnings, however, have been hindered by low beverage prices, depriving the country of much needed hard currency. Despite Rwanda’s fertile ecosystem, food production often does not keep pace with population growth, requiring food imports. Rwanda continues to receive aid money and was approved for IMF-World Bank Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) initiative debt relief in late 2000. Kigali’s high defense expenditures have caused tension between the government and international donors and lending agencies. An energy shortage and instability in neighboring states may slow growth in 2005, while the lack of adequate transportation linkages to other countries continues to handicap export growth.

• Over 100,000 men sit in prison
  

• The majority of the population is women and children

• The median age of the population:

• Average life expectancy:

• 20% of all children die before the age of 5
  

• Major infectious diseases (degree of risk: very high)

• AIDS/HIV affecting large percentage of the population
  

• Currently over 65,000 child headed households