Rwandan Genocide
2/9/202654 min
For hundreds of years, Rwanda’s Hutu and Tutsi groups had lived in relative harmony. But the arrival of European colonists enforced and exaggerated the differences between them, until, from the mid-twentieth century, resentment began to boil over. By 1994, the two groups were sworn enemies. Over 100 days, violence engulfed the country, as members of the Hutu majority worked systematically to exterminate the Tutsi. Spurred on by government and military officials, neighbour turned against neighbour, friend against friend, until hundreds of thousands lay dead.
But what precipitated this senseless mass killing? Why were so many ordinary peo...
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First 90 secondsJohn Hopkins· Host0:00
This episode contains content that some may find distressing. [birds chirping] It's late September 2006. In a small village in Rwanda's Eastern Province, the day dawns bright and humid. A woman pulls open the creaking wooden door of her small house and steps out into the sticky heat. As she follows a familiar dusty path through the village, a group of giggling school children rush past, and one of her neighbors calls a greeting. She raises her hand in acknowledgement but does not stop. She has no time to linger and chat today. The dirt road is fringed with lush green trees, home to a dazzling array of bird species, their raucous cacophony singing into the vivid blue sky. Soon she comes to the wooden pens that house her two dairy cows, her main source of income, especially since the death of her husband. Usually, the milking is the first job of the day, but today her daughter is doing it in her place. She calls out to thank her, then continues towards the village center. In the main square, a long table has been set out in the shade, with six elders already sitting behind it, sporting distinctive green, yellow, and blue striped sashes. This is a Gacaca court, and