The Role of Ideology in Fueling Ethnic Conflicts

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Race Ideology in Fueling Ethnic Conflicts
The Rwandan genocide is one of the most widely discussed genocide to have happened that incorporated massive bloodshed among the people of the same country within a very short period. The genocide left more than one million people dead the incorporated women, children, and men who were slaughtered in only less than four months (Batware, 1). In 1994, these inhuman attacks happened, and the genocide incorporated a conflict between the Hutus majority and the Tutsi minority (Batware, 1). Though the genocide is blamed on ethnic animosity, there is a belief that colonial ideologies played a major role in fueling the ethnic tensions. Rwanda was colonized by Belgium and before their departure in 1959, the colonialists were seen to be favoring the Tutsis regarding education and development compared to their countrymen the Hutus (Batware, 1).
Consequently, the Belgians had established a model of identification cards which was used to identify one’s ethnic background. This led to increased tribal segregation. This ethnic ideology led to the overthrowing of the Tutsi king and subsequently formation of the Hutu government in 1962 (United Nations, 1). The overthrowing of the Tutsi King led to the death of more than 150,000 Rwandese in the years that followed while others fled the country (United Nations, 1). The children of those who went into exile and established a resistance or militia group to oppose the government.

The group comprised of the Tutsis mainly since they were the ones who had been targeted by the earlier violence. They came back to Rwanda with the ideology of good governance, the return of previously displaced refugees to their home and democracy. The government, on the other hand, formed by the majority Hutu was determined to retain power rather than address the previous ethnic injustices and profiling that had been perpetrated by the colonial government. This marked the beginning of one of the bloodiest genocide in history.
Just like Rwanda, United States is made up of different ethnic groups who feel they have the same ideology of historical injustices (O’Neil, 1). These injustices could as well be blamed on the colonialists in the United States. When the colonialists settled in America, they profiled different ethnic groups and treated them differently by favoring some while discriminating and mistreating others. For instance, the blacks were treated as slaves to work in a white man’s farm, and they did not have right. Even after independence and abolition of slave trade, these injustices continued, and it led to the civil war in the United States that left a lot of people dead. Though the war stopped, the injustices and profiling continued to date. Different ethnic groups live in hatred with each other and keep on competing against each.
Currently, racism is one of the major social injustices that cause ethnic animosity towards each other. Each ethnic is competing on how to control power over each other. In the name of good governance and democracy, United States politics are trying to win more support from the different races in the country (O’Neil, 1). The United States politics including the recently completed general elections revolve around the ethnic ideologies, and some of the races have been accused of discriminating the other. Furthermore, others have even formed gangs. For instance, in the recently completed general elections, the President-elect slogan was to make America great again, and this was through his policies which he stated in his campaigns that he would deport some of the races he claimed not to be Americans to their ancestral homes. The racism ideology being seen in America today is the same that was in Rwanda where some ethnic communities presumed to have the right to rule the country over others.
In summary, Rwandan genocide was caused by ethnic ideology; the same ethnic ideology has gained roots in the United States. If not addressed, this might lead the United States to the same root as Rwanda, either in the near future or generations to come.
Work Cited
BIBLIOGRAPHY Batware, Billy. “Rwandan Ethic Conflicts: A Historical Look at Root Causes.” Acuns organisation Website, 2012. http://acuns.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/RwandanConflictRootCauses.pdf.
O’Neil, Denis. “Ethnic Identification Process.” Anthro palomar education website, 2011.http://anthro.palomar.edu/ethnicity/ethnic_3.htm.
United Nations. “Rwanda: A Brief History of the Country.” United Nation Organisation website, 2016.http://www.un.org/en/preventgenocide/rwanda/education/rwandagenocide.shtml.