In this article, Professor George Izangola claims the only difference between the Hutus and Tutsis are class differences. He implies that they are the same ethnicities, but their wealth decides if they are a Hutu or a Tutsi. If they were wealthy then they were a Tutsi, but if they were poor or a farmer then they were labeled a Hutu. This interesting statement may have some truth behind it. I do not think they are exactly the same people, but over time, the two cultures might have mixed in some areas, so that they lost sight of the differences between them and it came to be that Hutus were poor farmers and Tutsis were wealthy ranchers. In addition, according to some historians, when the Tutsis came to Rwanda they adopted some of the Hutu culture, so it is very probable that they entirely integrated into Hutu society. However, no matter what the case is both are responsible for violence committed over these class differences that might not even be legitimate. Some people wrongly think the Tutsis are innocent and the Hutu’s are all at fault because they only know of the 1994 Rwandan genocide. However, the Tutsi committed as much violence to the Hutus as well. But it is not entirely their fault, for they were viewed as superior to the Hutus by European powers, so they oppressed the Hutus. Therefore, when the time came the Hutu’s wanted revenge. If the Hutus and Tutsis really are the same though, than it is just the same people killing each other.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/africa/jan-june99/hutus_tutsis.html
I thought that this article was interesting and the whole idea the the Tutsis and Hutus were a lot more similar than they though they were. To think that they were once all integrated as one group is really interesting. I liked how you reminded us that the conflict between the two groups wasn't always just the Hutus attacking the Tutsis, but that they both disliked each other. You did a great job on your blog and it taught me a lot about the Hutus and Tutsis.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Maddie. It is very interesting to think that that the Hutus weren't just the bad guys, and that the Tutsis played a large role in it also. It is weird to think that the Hutus and Tutsis were actually similar when you look at the physical differences. Very well done.
ReplyDelete~Katie
wow like the other comments by Katie and Maddie, i was amazed to hear that the Tutsis did some killing too. That is some interesting piece of news. Thanks for sharing. By the way, nice background.
ReplyDelete-Donald-