Country: Rwanda

Group: Hutu

Date Finalized: 9/28/2022

Team: Kelsey Dwyer (lead), Noelle Collings, Austyn Evans, Aria Robinson, Anthony Un

Content Warning: Violence, Racism, Slavery

Approximate Time Period: 1930s and 1980s

During Belgium rule of Rwanda (1918-1962), colonial officials put Tutsi in positions of power, leaving the Hutu largely subjugated and powerless.  The Hutu were first subjected to forced labor during the Belgian administration. In an effort to develop authority and a controlled system of power in Rwanda, Belgians pressured Tutsis to act as labor managers for Hutu workers (Braeckman, 2021). The Belgian rule forced Hutu people, who usually worked as farmers or builders, to participate in this hierarchy (Blouin, 2013). In 1930, the Belgians introduced a uniform village coffee quota which regulated the production and exportation of coffee. In order to reach this requirement, the Belgian government instructed Tutsi chiefs to subject the Hutus to forced labor, telling Tutsis, “You whip the Hutu or we whip you” (Blouin, 2013). The Hutus were subjected to violent punishments if they did not maintain a solid work ethic, such as lashes (Blouin 2013). Even after Rwanda achieved independence from Belgium, the Hutu experience of forced labor persisted. In the 1980s, the Hutus experienced forced labor due to ‘Umaganda’, which was a policy implemented by the president, Juvenal Habyarimana. Even though Habyarimana was a Hutu, he still disliked anyone who did not approve of his regime. Thus, the ‘Umaganda’ policy forced nearly all Rwandans to perform unpaid labor, except for the few that were especially favored by Habyarimana, so many Hutus still experienced this discrimination (Verwimp, 2000), .

While ethnic-based forced labor targeted specifically against the Hutu was not very common in Rwanda post-colonial era, a significant mistrust of the Tutsis by the Hutus still remained in the villages where Hutus were subjected to forced labor (Blouin, 2013). Ultimately, the ethnic conflict between the Hutus and the Tutsis resulted in the Rwandan genocide in 1994. Post-genocide, relief organizations have made a significant effort to rebuild the country and eliminate ethnic conflict (Costanza, 2014). Identity based on ethnicity is no longer permitted and several institutions acknowledge progress towards bringing perpetrators to justice and reforming the political system of Rwanda (HRW, 2014).

The overall data quality for this case study was 3/3. There was a vast amount of credible sources that covered all sides of this ethnic conflict and disparity.

Sources:

  1. Blouin, A. (2021). Culture and Contracts: The Historical Legacy of Forced Labor. The Economic Journal, Volume 132, Issue 641, Pages 89–105, https://doi.org/10.1093/ej/ueab031
  2. Costanza, K. (2014). Rwanda: 20 years later. World Vision. https://www.worldvision.org/disaster-relief-news-stories/rwanda-20-years-later#today
  3. Human Rights Watch. (March 28, 2017). Rwanda: Justice After Genocide—20 Years On. https://www.hrw.org/news/2014/03/28/rwanda-justice-after-genocide-20-years
  4. Braeckman, C. (2021). Belgium’s role in Rwandan Genocide. Le Monde Diplomatique. https://mondediplo.com/2021/06/11rwanda
  5. Verwimp, P. (2000). Development ideology, the peasantry and genocide: Rwanda represented in Habyarimana’s speeches. Journal of Genocide Research, 2(3), 325-361. https://francegenocidetutsi.org/VerwimpDevelopmentIdeology.pdf