Bhattacharyya, Rituparna, Pulla, Venkat Rao, Kalinganire, Charles, and Rwanyiziri, Gaspard (2023) 1994 Rwanda Holocaust: A Critical Analysis of Xenophobia Mutating to Genocide against the Tutsi. In: Bhattacharyya, Rituparna, (ed.) Genocides and Xenophobia in South Asia and Beyond: A Transdisciplinary Perspective on Known, Lesser-known and Unknown Crime of Crimes. Routledge, Abingdon, England, pp. 261-285.

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Abstract

This chapter devotes itself to critically analysing how xenophobia and its variants mutated, resulting in the Holocaust against the Tutsis in Rwanda in 1994. The authors revisit the bitter reality of xenophobia and address the ramifications in Rwanda. In so doing, the chapter attempts to demonstrate how in the wake of genocide the communities attenuate trauma, rebuilding gradually, and the factors responsible for their reconstruction; it also narrates how the Rwandan government and the communities are seeking justice through deploying International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), the National Court System and the traditional Gacaca Court System.

This chapter begins with a brief description of the history of Rwanda, demonstrating the similarities and dissimilarities between the Tutsi and the Hutu communities. It also discusses how xenophobia, tensions, fear and hatred among the two communities escalated, spearheading more than 100 days of genocide. However, far too little is known about how Rwanda re-emerged from the 1994 remnants. Therefore, this chapter also discusses how post-genocide Rwanda responded to alleviate the eerie mourning deathscape to a state of radiating light. In doing so, the chapter brings to the fore some of the unique homegrown initiatives that helped in the process of reconciliation and rebuilding Rwanda.

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