[BROOK]

Originally Posted by KathyT

If this is an example of "problems before the whites got there"...it's no comparision. Rwanda was an ethic battle within the country, basically a civil war.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1288230.stm?lss
"Between April and June 1994, an estimated 800,000 Rwandans were killed in the space of 100 days.

Most of the dead were Tutsis - and most of those who perpetrated the violence were Hutus.

Ethnic tension in Rwanda is nothing new. There have been always been disagreements between the majority Hutus and minority Tutsis, but the animosity between them has grown substantially since the colonial period.

1994: RWANDA'S GENOCIDE

The two ethnic groups are actually very similar - they speak the same language, inhabit the same areas and follow the same traditions. "

Africa is a continent which has always been misunderstood. When one hears the name Africa, disparity and struggle comes to mind. To many Africa is a continent filled with poverty, famine, disease, and underdevelopment. This may be true in present day circumstances, however before European colonization Africa was a nation far from the shackles of disparity and struggle. During the period of pre-colonization Africa was a nation thriving with rich cultures, including African philosophy and art, and a leading pioneer in the field of commerce. There are many diverse and distinct cultures in Africa. Each country has its own language, cultural identity, and unique history. For instance, the people of Tanzania whose native tongue is Swahili are culturally and historically different from the people of Somalia whose native tongue is Somali. African philosophy is an intriguing and insightful area, which disappointedly receives very few acknowledgements. Many do not know that there is an essence of knowledge and enlightenment in African philosophy. Plato, the famous philosopher is to have said that his “…alleged Theory of Ideas is borrowed from Egypt”

as for the Hutus and minority Tutsis:

Once, Hutus and Tutsis lived in harmony in Central Africa. About 600 years ago, Tutsis, a tall, warrior people, moved south from Ethiopia and invaded the homeland of the Hutus. Though much smaller in number, they conquered the Hutus, who agreed to raise crops for them in return for protection.
Even in the colonial era -- when Belgium ruled the area, after taking it from Germany in 1916 -- the two groups lived as one, speaking the same language, intermarrying, and obeying a nearly godlike Tutsi king.
Independence changed everything. The monarchy was dissolved and Belgian troops withdrawn -- a power vacuum both Tutsis and Hutus fought to fill. Two new countries emerged in 1962 -- Rwanda, dominated by the Hutus, and Burundi by the Tutsis -- and the ethnic fighting flared on and off in the following decades.