Rwanda Persuasive Speech

591 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The consequences of genocide on the general negative impact

Our nation has been shaken by a great tragedy. For the past 100 days, we have been in a state of turmoil with constant violence. Brother fighting brother, neighbor fighting neighbor, father fighting son, there was no limit to brutality we witnessed.
Yet, together, we have been able to rise above the evil. The evil that has split us in the past. The evil that will no longer exist in Rwanda. But how will we keep that evil from coming back and infecting us again? We, as one, must learn to make peace with one another. We must put our differences aside and learn to love one another. Years of hate will be difficult to ignore, but the respect that will emerge from our efforts will overpower that.
I speak to you today, not as a Tutsi, but as your fellow Rwandan. I am not your opponent, but rather a comrade. I understand the tension that is still present now between the Hutus and Tutsis, but how can we ever develop if we cannot work together? We see each other as enemies, not friends. Are we not countrymen? Are we not of Rwandan blood? Have we not lived and watched each other grow up into the people we are today? Then why, I ask, must we be hostile towards one another? …show more content…

Human beings can choose the kind of life that they want to live. What’s important is that you choose life..and then live.” We may allow our labels of “Tutsi” and “Hutu” control the aspects of our lives, but we have the willpower to break those bonds. We were all born Rwandans, yet we decided to call ourselves “Tutsi” and “Hutu”. Why? We are more than our ethnicities. We are more than just names. We are countrymen. We are brother and sister and we must walk together towards a brighter future. We all have a common goal that we’re all trying to achieve. We can come together and reach that goal

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of An Ordinary Man And Hotel Rwanda

    1043 Words  | 3 Pages

    The ethnic division within the Rwandan culture played an integral role during the genocide. In 1918, Belgium is given the authority to govern the territory of Rwanda-Urundi under the Treaty of Versailles. Under Belgian rule, the traditional Hutu-Tutsi relationship was morphed into a class system favouring the Tutsis over the Hutus. The Belgians eventually created a system of ethnic identity cards differentiating Hutus from Tutsis. This would become a central driver of the Rwandan genocide. In the movie there are many instances where Rwandan citizens are asked to show their identity cards. In most cases, those who were not Hutu would be punished. Another example of the geopolitical struggle between these two ethnicities was illustrated through the media. Media is used as a platform to convey a message that influences the thoughts and actions of individuals around the world. Since Hutus are the majority in Rwanda, they were able to exert their influence over the Tutsis through mechanisms such as the media. Throughout the country, local Hutu power radio stations were aired calling for the extermination of Tutsis. The station would often find ways to dehumanize the Tutsis. In most cases they would refer to Tutsis as ‘cockroaches’. In order to create an accurate portrayal of the genocide, the film used the exact recordings from the Hutu power radio.

    Read More

  • Australia Persuasive Speech

    476 Words  | 1 Pages

    Picture a stunning sandy beach, waves lapping on the shoreline and the sun setting on the horizon creating a breathtaking atmosphere. The never-ending golden sand stretching as far as the eye can see. This is Australia.

    Read More

  • Left To Tell By Immaculee Ilibagiza Summary

    1288 Words  | 3 Pages

    It was hard for me to believe that something like this could happen, and it take so long for this country to get help. Immaculee’s family consisted for her father Leonard, who was a farm owner and was well respected within the community Kigali. Tutsi’s and Hutu’s looked up to him, her mother Marie Rose was a school teacher, her oldest brother Aimable attended boarding school, second oldest Demascene a brilliant scholar who earned his master’s, and the youngest brother Vianney. During the 1994 genocide Immaculee lost her entire family except for her brother Aimable who was off miles away in school. It was unbelievable how the people you once considered your friends, you offered advice to, and even helped out financial could turn their backs on you because of your ethnic make-up was a Tutsi. I learned that a country that is controlled by a government that lacks knowledge will only create disaster. Disaster that can spread amongst a community and create hate, separation among individuals, and cause people to kill innocent individuals because of their ethnic make-up. It amazed me at just how influential the government was to have Hutu’s hate and kill their Tutsi neighbors whom they once

    Read More

  • Gourevitch's 'Hotel Rwanda'

    660 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Hutu and the Tutsi have been in conflict with each other for years but after what happened in 1994 I don’t think that anyone will ever forget. In that year Rwandas Presidents plan was shot down and he was killed. In the days following is when the genocide started, because the Hutu believed that it was the Tutsi that shot down the plan and killed the President because he was a Hutu. The United Nations let this go because of the killing of ten of their own and because of their rules of engagement that resulted from the ten Belgian members being killed while trying to protect the Prime Minister. During a short time period of only a few months about 800,000 Tutsi and Hutu moderates were killed by the militia, other groups and even neighbors.

    Read More

  • Rwanda Genocide Compared with Hotel Rwanda

    2517 Words  | 6 Pages

    The Order of Genocide: Race, Power, and War in Rwanda. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, London. 2006. The 'Standard' of the 'Standard'. Rusesabagina, Paul.

    Read More

  • Rape as a War Tactic in the Rwandan Genocide

    2041 Words  | 5 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Genocide in Rwanda: Extreme Denial of Human Rights

    1536 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...the hills of Rwanda will never be forgotten, and neither will the unspeakable horrors that took their lives. Every single person in this world must realize that we are all humans, we are all the same, and we all must work to promote peace. Above all, we must never let such violence, massacre, and bloodshed recur.

    Read More

  • Rwanda Genocide

    1159 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many innocent lives were taken during the genocide in Rwanda in 1994. Philip Gourevitch’s “We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families,” explains why the genocide that occurred in Rwanda should not be written off in history as just another tribal disagreement. This book entails the stories of Gourevitch and the people he interviewed when he went to Rwanda. These stories express what people went through during the genocide, the loss they saw, the mass killings they tried to hide from, and the history of what led to the Rwandan genocide. Rwanda’s colonial past did influence the development of the genocide in Rwanda. The hatred between the Hutus and the Tutsis had been going on for many years before the genocide.

    Read More

  • The Tutsi And Hutu People In Rwanda

    964 Words  | 2 Pages

    Before Rwanda had been colonized, the Tutsis and Hutus lived coexistent lifestyles, they were unconnected indigenous groups that survived together without dislike towards each other. Some Tutsis and Hutus were local chiefs within Rwanda, and during this time there was no judgment or conflicts between the groups. After World War I, Belgium had claimed Rwanda as a colony and acknowledged the Tutsis as the natural born leaders of the country. All of the light skinned Tutsis were given Identity cards in order to distinguish them from the “low class” Hutus. At this time, racial pressures arose as the Hutus were beginning to be mistreated.

    Read More

  • Rwandan Genocide

    1007 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Rwandan Genocide

    1104 Words  | 3 Pages

    When Rwanda was first settled, the people there raised cattle, the ones with the most cattle were considered “Tutsi” and everyone else was ‘Hutu”. Before the Europeans came and settled Rwandan, Hutu could easily change to Tutsi through marriage or by gaining cattle and Tutsi could change to Hutu by lost of cattle. It wasn’t until Belgium took control after Germany lost most of it’s colonies during World War One (and the signing of the Treaty of Versailles) that the names took on a racial role. They (the Belgians) required everyone to have an identity card that labeled them Tutsi, Hutu, or Twa- the small group of hunter-gathers who made up 1% of Rwanda’s population. The Belgians and German both thought the Tutsi minority had more European characteristics, such as lighter skin and a taller build, and gave the Tutsi all the roles of responsibility. This angered the Hutu. Later, in 1959, when

    Read More

  • Ethical Issues in Hotel Rwanda

    961 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are several ethical issues surrounding the decision by the Hutu politicians to start the genocide. It is unfair and unethical for the Hutus to blame the entire Tutsi tribe for the president’s death. The Hutu politicians are so much driven by hatred that they fail to consider the innocent lives to be lost in the planned genocide. Instead, they organiz...

    Read More

  • The Rwandan Genocide: Factors that Contribute to Genocide

    2659 Words  | 6 Pages

    "Rwanda Genocide." Global Issues in Context Online Collection. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Global Issues In Context. Web. 12 Apr. 2010.

    Read More

  • Assassination Of The Rwanda Genocide

    881 Words  | 2 Pages

    The assassination of President Habyrimana sparked political unrest in Rwanda. While flying in a plane, an unknown killer shot the plane down. There were no survivors of the crash. On that day, violence broke out in Rwanda, for the Hutus believed that the Tutsis were the cause of the death of their president. Originally, the terms ‘Tutsi and Hutu’ was based on the amount of cattle a person owned. Tutsi were the people who owned cattle while the rest were Hutus. These social groups were not set in stone, for they can change through marriage or buying cattle. Afterwards, when the Germans took over Rwanda, the terms began to identify a racial group. Since the Tutsi looked more Europeans, having lighter skin and a taller look to them. Because of this, they were given a larger amount of responsibility, upsetting the Hutus. Then, World War I happened, giving Belgium control of Rwanda. The country forced everyone to have an identity card, explaining if someone is Hutu, Tutsi, or Twa (hunters) (Rosenberg 4). Therefore, t...

    Read More

  • The Effects of Colonization on Rwanda

    864 Words  | 2 Pages

    Under the Hutu’s government reign the people of Rwanda voted to become a republic. A year later on July 1, 1962 Ruanda-Urandi became two separate countries. Though Belgium was no longer in power over Rwanda, ethnic dissension continued to affect the people. At independence a Hutu was elected, and later on another Hutu whom favored his ethnicity came into power. Hutu’s continued to dominate the governme...

    Read More

More about Rwanda Persuasive Speech

Open Document