ead chiefs have made them very vulnerable. The Hutu’s race is Bantu, and therefore their ancestry is located somewhere in central or southern Africa.The third group the Tutsi’s, entered and conquered Rwanda through a combination of force and persuasion. The Tutsi represent a little more then 15 percent of the population and were militarily advanced compared to the Hutu. The Hutu come from Ethiopia, and became the most powerful tribe in Central Africa. The Tutsi’s acquired culture and beliefs from the Hutu’s. This aided in their assimilating and eventual success of tribal domination throughout Rwanda and Burundi .The Tutsi were clearly a minority in the region. However, to say that this minority dominated over the majority Hutu is too simple. The Tutsi were more numerous and dominant in some areas than others. The Tutsi adopted the Hutu language, customs and traditions.The Hutu and Tutsi still battle today as both groups fight for land, freedom, and power. Another significant actor involved with the genocide in Rwanda and Burundi is the east African neighboring nation of Tanzania. Tanzania has served as a place of safe refuge for the fleeting people of Rwanda ad Burundi. One example of Tanzania’s “Open Arm Policy” was in 1993, when they accepted nearly 300,000 citizens of Burundi who fled for their lives crossing the border to escape the bloody coup. A second example of their humanitarian efforts was in 1994, when over 500,000 people of Rwanda escaped the massacres of their homelands and retreated to the comforts of the neighboring nation, Tanzania .While there are many problems that in some way led to the genocide that occurred in Rwanda and Burundi, it is my contention that the dominant problem was the complete social division within the two countries. The division between the Hutu and Tutsi cuts through all aspects of life. The division that exists has defined life in these two v...
