Ethnic Identity Cards in Contemporary Rwanda
In the 1930s Rwanda’s Belgian administration issued identity cards—a policy that would remain for over a half-a-century and one that would not create ethnicity, but instead would ensure its social salience. These instruments of documentation would be key in fomenting Rwanda’s devastating genocide in 1994.
During the early 1990s the Hutus—who comprised a significant majority of the Rwandan population—were being manipulated as political tools by President Juvénal Habyarimana’s regime. Under an imposed order to democratize, Habyarimana rallied the majority Hutus against what he depicted as their racial enemy—the Tutsis—in a measure to prevent both regional and class division from becoming politically relevant issues. Thus, this political climate ensured that national identity would be defined singularly across ethnic lines—a dangerous prelude to the ensuing genocide. The tense situation became inflamed with Habyarimana’s mysterious death in 1994. Quickly, Hutu administration implemented a policy to kill any and all Tutsi—a process believed to be simplified by identity cards.
Read more about this topic: Ethnic Groups In Rwanda
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