Effect of Colonization on the Relationship Between the Tutsi and the Hutu

The Tutsi people had migrated to the region of the Hutu. They were only 15% of the population, yet they were able to gain control of the region. Although they had political power in the region, they did not suppress the Hutu. The middle and upper class Hutu were treated the same as the Tutsi. The Tutsi did not treat the lower class Hutu badly, but the expected them to pay their taxes. In terms of physique, the Tutsi were skinnier, taller, and lighter in skin color, opposite of the Hutus. Before contact with the Europeans, the Tutsi communicated very well with the Hutu who were darker in skin color. They traded with each other and made a connection through their similarity in herding cattle. They even intermarried.

First European contact occurred in 1894 by the Germans. The Tutsi had much more similar physical characteristics to the Europeans than the Hutu and for this reason the Germans made the Tutsi greater than the Hutu. They also justified this idea by stating that because the Tutsi were similar to the Europeans, they naturally had more power and status in the country.The effect of the introduction of European culture and globalization led to the change in the Tutsi's value of equality with their neighbors. The introduction of this form of racism led to the rift between the Hutu and the Tutsi. Before their tribal affiliations, physical characteristics had no meaning. The two groups got along very well, but because the Europeans gave the affiliations racial meanings, the two groups turned on each other.

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             After World War I, Belgium was given control of this colony. During this time, the Tutsi had become increasingly stronger and were more oppressive on the Hutu. They had a system of Corvee which was like slavery but the Tutsi elite did not actually own the slaves. The Tutsi elite were actually manipulated by the colonists to treat the Hutu in this manner so that they could make their economy prosper. This sort of cruel behavior was never used before by the Tutsi until the colonialists had introduced it into their economy. Increasing power of the Tutsi led the Belgian government want to give power to the Hutu. Tutsi wanted to become independent but the Belgians knew that after leaving that the Tutsi would not continue to be exploited. For this reason they created a situation in which the Hutu would gain power. They declared that the Hutu would have the responsibility of what would occur in Rwanda, stripping the Tutsi of their power. This power change led to a sudden drop in the Tutsi's role in society and status which hurt their self worth. This further fueled the hatred between the two groups which ultimately led to the Rwandan genocide. The genocide lasted from April to July 1994. It was basically a 100 day period of Ethnic cleansing by the Hutu to eliminate the Tutsi and make them flee from Rwanda.

        The Hutu were massacring men, women, and children of all ages. Women were more subjected to sexual assault. For this reason, in present day, 70% of the Tutsi population are HIV positive. Women and young girls of the Tutsi today have a very negative view on life because of the sexual assaults they underwent during the genocide. Also many families were pulled apart during this time period.

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        In sum, the effect of globalization led to the tensioning of the relationship between the Tutsi and the Hutu. The Europeans initially declared the Tutsi as the higher power and manipulated the Tutsi elite into oppressing the Hutu. This deepened the resentment. Then the Europeans switched the power roles of the two groups and conveniently left the scene which led to a regime of Hutu leadership. This eventually led to the massacre of thousands of people. Before the Europeans, the Tutsi were in leadership and the Hutu were subservient, but they were content. Both groups were content with their relationship and equal in their society, but with the introduction of globalization, a long-term issue was encouraged.

        Even today, there is a strong resentment between the Tutsi and the Hutu. They have created a divide with each other because of this conflict which stems from the introduction of color and tribal affiliations by Europeans. One of the Hutu rebel army leaders described their relationship with the Tutsi in 2008. He said "We are fighting every day because we are Hutu and they are Tutsi. We cannot mix, we are always in conflict. We will stay enemies forever."

References:

Ka Hon Chu, Sandra, and Anne-Marie de Brouwer. N.d."Rwanda

Genocide Victims Speak Out | Herizons Magazine." Rwanda Genocide Victims Speak Out | Herizons Magazine. http://www.herizons.ca/node/334. accessed March 23, 2014.

"The Rwandan Genocide. N.d." The Rwandan Genocide.

http://modernhistoryproject2012.wordpress.com/history-of-hutu-tutsi-relations/. accessed March 23, 2014.