The Rwandan Genocide“It is our responsibility to empower the powerless by giving voice to the voiceless”-(Irwin Cotler “Six Lessons from the Rwandan Genocide”)When the Rwandan Hutu majority betrayed the Tutsi minority, a destructive mass murder erupted in which neighbor turned on neighbor and teachers killed their students; this was the beginning of a genocide. In this article I will tell you about the horrors that the Rwandan people faced as the genocide destroyed their homes, and I will also tell you about the mental trauma they still face today. Hutu and Tutsi Origins When Rwanda was first colonized, the people there raised livestock, those with the most livestock were considered “Tutsi” and everyone else was “Hutu”. Before Europeans arrived and settled in Rwanda, Hutus could easily transform into Tutsis through marriage or by gaining livestock, while Tutsis could transform into Hutus by losing livestock. It was only when Belgium took control, after Germany lost most of its colonies during World War I (and the signing of the Treaty of Versailles), that the names took on a racial role. They (the Belgians) required everyone to have an identity card that labeled them as Tutsi, Hutu or Twa, the small group of hunter-gatherers who made up 1% of Rwanda's population. Both the Belgians and the Germans thought that the Tutsi minority had more European characteristics, such as lighter skin and a taller build, and attributed all the responsible roles to the Tutsis. This angered the Hutus. Later, in 1959, when Paddock faced a Hutu-instigated rebellion, Belgium reversed the roles of the Hutu and Tutsi, giving the Hutu all the power in the new government. This angered the Tutsis and animosity between the two groups has grown ever since. riots but only reached a small part of the target group. Conclusion In the years following the genocide, we as a people had questioned our past decisions and our country's decision to stay out of the genocide until it was too late. I too questioned my country's decision. Why didn't the United States interfere with the genocide and become the hero my favorite historical anime, Hetalia, made it out to be? I believe that not helping the innocent people killed in Rwanda was wrong among all the countries in the world, but now it is too late to change the past and we can only look to the future. We can look to the future and hope and pray that another genocide never occurs, but it is futile. As long as there are people, there will be hatred and as long as there is hatred there will be murders.