Rwanda

Certainly, the heroism of Paul Rusesabagina as reenacted in “Hotel Rwanda” was amazing, but was a different element that struck me most from the movie. The movie features the brutal massacre of the Tutsi by the Hutu. There is a scene in the movie when a Rwandan local is explaining to an American journalist the ‘differences’ between the two ethnic groups that ignited the brutality that would leave a million dead. Apparently, under colonialization their Belgian occupiers created group classification based on such factors as the size of their noses. This is a tragic example an ‘empire’ leaves ‘vestiges of colonialism’ on its occupied colony.
This calamity happened as recently as 1994 and therefore I thought it would be interesting to consider a new publication, in this case, a BBC News article. “But when the Beligian colonists arrived in1916, they saw the two groups as distinct entities, and even produced identity cards classifying people according to their ethnicity.” The Belgians sought to create an elitist class and the Tutsi were readily willing to enjoy any added privileges. Throughout Belgian occupation, which began in 1916, antipathy brewed as the Tutsi enjoyed superior educational and employment opportunities. Obviously, Hutu resentment was severe. When the Belgians leave, granting Rwanda independence in 1962, the open power vacuum escalated an already precarious situation. A vastly unpopular Hutu president, (unpopular because the economic situation was increasingly deteriorating) assumed power and anti governmental groups were forming. Almost immediately following the assassination of this president in April 1994 the genocide of Tutsis was launched. It took until July for the international community to intervene and by that time a million were dead.
This is a drastic example of how a ‘vestige of colonialism’ disrupted social order, with devastating effect.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1288230.stm