Country: Rwanda

Group: Tutsi

Date Finalized: 09/21/2022

Team: Esha Kubavat (lead), Vianney Mancilla, Jacob Kebe, Juwairiah Afridi, Madison Schultz

Content Warnings: Genocide, Discrimination: ethnicity, Lethal Violence.

Approximate Time Period: 1959-1962

The Tutsi– also called the Batusi, Tussi, Watussi, or Watutsi–constitute about 9% of the population. The Tutsi entered the region that became Rwanda in the 14th or 15th century dominating the local populations over time. Under Belgian colonial rule (1914-1962), colonial authorities originally favored the Tutsi over other ethnic groups, which created tensions with the Hutu (Britannica, 2022).  In 1959, the Hutu people led a revolution against the Tutsi, which forced out around 330,000 Tutsi people (Minority Rights, 2015). After a plane crash killed two prominent Hutu officials in 1994, another genocide occurred, killing 800,000 Tutsi, and causing many others to leave.  Over many decades, the Tutsi and the nation of Rwanda have recovered economically and socioeconomically (United Nations, 2022). This is considered a case of forced away because substantial numbers of the Tutsi people moved away from the country to avoid ethnic-based persecution and discrimination. It is important to note that the discrimination and violence faced by the Tutsi people was heavily influenced by the Belgian government. Belgian colonialism forever changed the relations of the Hutu and Tutsi.

Data Quality: Data quality for the Rwandan Tutsi forced away is rated a ⅔ because the information is credible, but is not sourced from peer-reviewed journals.

Sources

  1. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. (n.d.). Rwanda. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved September 14, 2022, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Rwanda-people History.com Editors. (2009, October 14). Rwandan genocide. History.com. Retrieved September 14, 2022, from https://www.history.com/topics/africa/rwandan-genocide
  2. Minority Rights Group. (2021, July 29). Rwanda – World Directory of Minorities & Indigenous Peoples. Retrieved September 14, 2022, from https://minorityrights.org/country/rwanda/
  3. United Nations News. (2022, April 7). 28 years after the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, ‘stain of shame endures’. Retrieved September 13, 2022, from https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/04/1115792