Rwanda and DRCongo are two examples of conflicts that were causes of conflict-induced, forced migration.Conflict-induced displacement, a type of forced migration, is when people are forced to leave their region, because of violence, armed conflict, and/or discrimination of religion, race, social group or political opinion. Both of the countries mentioned have similarities and differences between the causes of unrest, and the long term and short term causes of the conflict.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo, short DR Congo or DRC, is a country situated in Central Africa with a long history of civil unrest. The official language is French, it is supposed to be an ethnically neutral language, due to the many ethnic groups found in the DRCongo. During the Belgian colonization French and Dutch were both official languages but French was more widely spoken. Today about 30% of the population speak French either as their first or second language. The Belgian colonization played an important role in the history of DR Congo. In 1884-1885 at the Berlin West Africa King Leopold II got the rights for the Congo. The many natural resources of the Congo, such as rubber, were a way for the Belgian king to increase his wealth, but it led to brutality against the local population. The rubber brought fame to King Leopold but the Congolese population, still to this day, feel like they do not get recognized enough. The DRCongo suffered a long period of suppression, corruption and poor leadership. Even after they gained independence from Belgium on 30 June 1960, they were still described as unstable. Colonialism, however was not the only longtime cause of the weakening of the country, others were the cold war and the democratic transition of the DRC...
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... war on the other hand wasn’t a corrupt government it had mostly to do with the conflicts of the two main ethnic groups. After the Belgian colonization more than 100,000 Tutsis fled to the surrounding countries, due to violence and reprisal between the two groups. Then in 1990 the RPF(Rwandan Patriotic Front) a group existing mostly of Tutsi refugees that fled over thirty years ago invaded Rwanda. In 1990 political tension came up, also due to the bad harvest, following the bad weather that year. The war stopped in August 1993. Then another short term effect occurred when president Habyarimana's jet was shot down killing all passengers, including the president. President Habyarimana returned home after negotiations in Dar es Salaam, and the Hutus suspected the Tutsis of the President's assassination. That was the beginning of the three month long Rwandan genocide.
...abor to get what he wanted, ivory and rubber. Leopold was able to colonize and pillage Congo for its resources during the Scramble for Africa through forced labor. The quote that sums up my essay and the book is best described at the end of chapter 15. Massacring huge numbers of natives will eventually frighten the survivors into gathering rubber. This shows the intentions of forced labor by the Force Publique and the reason for the population drop in Congo during Leopold’s rule.
King Leopold and his allies’ had great power over the Congo, which he soon exploited for its large supply of rubber. As said in the King Leopold’s Ghost, “For Europ...
The land Leopold had obtained was about eighty times larger than that of Belgium itself. Plus, Leopold was proclaimed the “sovereign” ruler of the entire Congo Free State, granting him the power to exercise total control, where as, in Belgium, Leopold was forced to rule under a constitutional monarchy.... ... middle of paper ... ... “Africa Imperialism” History of Imperialism.
It is widely debated why exactly King Leopold decided to conquer the Congo, but the general consensus seems to be that it was out of the belief that “the highlands of the Congo may be as rich in gold as the mountains of the western slope of the American Continent” (Stead). In the mid-1870s, the King hired Henry Stanley, who was familiar with many parts of Africa, to help him go about conquering. During the following years Stanley stayed in Africa, talking various tribes into signing over their lands and rights. After this was completed the King officially took over the Congo, renaming it the Congo Free State. This was especially ironic because all natives of the country were either forced to give up their way of life in exchange for virtual slavery in the ivory trade, agriculture, or the rubber traffic, or die trying to escape fate. Leopold was undeterred by the amount of suffering and death in the Congo, brought on by his rule. Belgian soldiers and officials were known for their cruelty in their methods to make, and then keep, Congo natives wo...
Sudan, which is located in northeast Africa, is ranked number 190 based on the amount of migrants per thousand people with a total of -4.44 migrants per thousand people. For roughly 12 years (from 2001-2013), Sudan has faced many challenges that push it’s people out of the land and pull them towards other places. These factors are known as push and pull factors. Even though there are many challenges that come with immigration, the results are more rewarding than what they would have been in Sudan. After migrating out of Sudan, these Sudanese migrants also face long-term consequences because of their decision to move.
After learning of Lord Stanley’s expedition through the Congo, and his offer to work for any interested nation King Leopold saw an opening for Belgium in the Congo. Having an interest in acquiring wealth and increasing Belgium...
The Rwandan genocide occurred due to the extreme divide between two main groups that were prevalent in Rwanda, the Hutu and the Tutsi. When Rwanda was first settled, the term Tutsi was used to describe those people who owned the most livestock. After the Germans lost control over their colonies after World War I, the Belgians took over and the terms Hutu and Tutsi took on a racial role (Desforges). It soon became mandatory to have an identification card that specified whether or not an individual was a Hutu, Tutsi, or Twa (a minority group in Rwanda). The Tutsi soon gained power through the grant of leadership positions by the Belgians. Later on when Rwanda was tying to gain indepe...
(Countries at Risk). The genocide in Rwanda began when the tension between the Hutus tribe and the Tutsis tribe steadily increased. After the European country, Belgium, colonized Rwanda, they gave more power to
The RPF decided to create a government consisting of a Hutu and a Tutsi holding the highest government positions. As the RPF took control of the government, “some two million Hutus – both civilians and some of those involved in the genocide – then fled across the border into DR Congo… fearing revenge attacks”(“Rwandan Genocide: 100 days of slaughter”). However, the violence did not stop here. The RPF then became angry at the Democratic Republic of Congo, claiming that the Democratic Republic of Congo “letting[let] Hutu militias operate on its territory” (“Rwandan Genocide: 100 days of slaughter”). As a result of the RPF’s claims about the Democratic Republic of Congo, they have invaded the Democratic Republic of Congo two times(“Rwandan Genocide: 100 days of slaughter”). The problems of the Rwandan Genocide has led to chaos in the Democratic Republic of Congo that has caused around 5 million deaths(“Rwandan Genocide: 100 days of slaughter”). In an attempt to punish those who were involved in the genocide, a large number of people have been sent to court. This genocide goes to show you how seemingly small problems between two groups can grow over time if not addressed, and cause major problems in the
Africa has been an interesting location of conflicts. From the conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea to the revolutionary conflict in Libya and Egypt, one of the greatest conflicts is the Rwandan Genocide. The Rwandan Genocide included two tribes in Rwanda: Tutsis and Hutus. Upon revenge, the Hutus massacred many Tutsis and other Hutus that supported the Tutsis. This gruesome war lasted for a 100 days. Up to this date, there have been many devastating effects on Rwanda and the global community. In addition, many people have not had many acknowledgements for the genocide but from this genocide many lessons have been learned around the world.
Since the late 1800’s, almost all of Africa had been under European colonial rule, but this changed drastically in 1960. Sixteen African nations gained their independence that year, including the former Belgian Congo, which became the Democratic Republic of the Congo on June 30. One of the key personalities that made this possible was Patrice Lumumba, who experienced widespread support in gaining independence and became the first Prime Minister of the DROC. However, he lost much of this support once he was in office, and lasted fewer than 200 days. Lumumba’s ability to communicate was a key reason for his success and failure.
... attention allowed economic exploitation in the Congo and its people devastated by human rights abuses, and even today the lack of international attention has caused many conflicts in and around the Congo. The economic exploitation of the Congo during colonial times robbed the country of wealth which could have been used to develop the land, and the lack of wealth has contributed to Congo’s poor standing in the world today. Lastly, the human rights abuses in the Congo Free State contributed to economic and political troubles during the colonial period and has continued into the present day, as human rights abuses are still prevalent in that region of Africa. Due to the lack of international attention, economic exploitation, and human rights abuses, the Congo Free State was harmful to the Congo region of Africa and its legacy continues to harm that region of Africa.
When Congo gained its independence from Belgium it struggled to develop and remained a weak state. There were many factors that led to Congo being unable to progress and create strong institutions within its countries borders. “Political divisions along the ethnic lines were prevalent, though this fact could be misleading. Ethnicity became the primary source of political mobilization i...
Over a period from 1960-1965, the first Republic of the Congo experienced a period of serious crisis. There was a terrible war for power that displayed senseless violence and the desperation to rule. There were many internal conflicts among the people. The country eventually gained independence from Belgium. For many countries this would be a time for celebration. Unfortunately for the people of the Congo this became a time to forget. Almost immediately after independence and the general elections, the country went into civil war. Major developed cities like Katanga and Kasai wanted to be independent from the Lumumba government. Different factions started to fight the government and Katanga and Kasai tried to secede from the rest of the country out of fear of the mutinous army that was out of control looting and killing.
They killed almost one million people within a three-month span (Uvin, Peter. 2009). This number is crazy. The Hutu took every chance possible to kill off the Tutu. This is all because of religion and beliefs. Thus, was the main reason for the civil war. The Hutu believed that their belief was right and the Tutsi’s was not (Fujii, Lee Ann. 2008). The government was part of the Hutu religion and was a lot stronger then the Tutsi people. This leads the Natural Law Theory. The strong gets want they want and weak don’t. Therefore, the Hutu took advantage of Tutsi population. They blocked off food and resources and made it hard for poverty areas of Rwanda to survive (Fujii, Lee Ann. 2008). The government controlled everything and left many of the rebels out to dry and defend for themselves. This is morally wrong and should not be accepted. The only safe places were with the UN, and the Red Cross but as the months went on they soon left as well. The tragedy of this event and 3 months must be one of the most terrible events in history. It was ignored by the rest of the world as they acted like the Rwanda population were not worth