Essentialism In Rwanda
Conflict is prominent in our world today and that is obvious in the small African country of Rwanda where Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups are engulfed in a bloody battle for control of their country. There are many differing ideas as to what the rest of the world, mostly Western countries, should do about the current conflict. Some would argue that the West must intervene in this African affair in order to establish peace, but I do not believe that an intervention would be helpful. As a Nigerian citizen who has spent his entire life in Africa underneath a watchful eye of Western nations like the United States, I believe that this problem should be handled by Africa. The current situation between the Hutus and Tutsis is based on historical jealousy
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After the end of World War II, many new nations were created and because of arbitrary lines drawn by the western powers, many different ethnic groups were sometimes included in the same nation. After the boundary lines were drawn, competition for power began to occur and the ethnicities which had been fighting for much of their history continued to act on these deep rooted hatreds. Another aspect of this philosophy is primordialism which argues that ethnic groups form strong bonds and that these bonds are more important to people than bonds that are created for civic purposes. I believe that essentialism is the best explanation for the genocide occurring in Rwanda right now because like many essentialists, I am adamant that hatred has the ability to guide human behavior. It is obvious that the Hutus hatred of the Tutsis has led to their harsh behavior toward their …show more content…
The last time that the West intervened in the region, the Belgians created a divide between the Tutsis and Hutus based on the ethnicity cards that they passed out and how they distributed the power within their colonies. The two groups have long been at odds with each other and essentialism tells us that this causes conflict, which I believe cannot be stopped by the western nations. This is not a simple mission to take out a few Hutu leaders and restore the country, Rwanda is engulfed in conflict because of their history which included mistakes from the West. Now is not the time for Belgium, France, the United States, or the UN to try to fix their mistakes with military; that time has long
After the end of World War II, many new nations were created and because of arbitrary lines drawn by the western powers, many different ethnic groups were sometimes included in the same nation. After the boundary lines were drawn, competition for power began to occur and the ethnicities which had been fighting for much of their history continued to act on these deep rooted hatreds. Another aspect of this philosophy is primordialism which argues that ethnic groups form strong bonds and that these bonds are more important to people than bonds that are created for civic purposes. I believe that essentialism is the best explanation for the genocide occurring in Rwanda right now because like many essentialists, I am adamant that hatred has the ability to guide human behavior. It is obvious that the Hutus hatred of the Tutsis has led to their harsh behavior toward their …show more content…
The last time that the West intervened in the region, the Belgians created a divide between the Tutsis and Hutus based on the ethnicity cards that they passed out and how they distributed the power within their colonies. The two groups have long been at odds with each other and essentialism tells us that this causes conflict, which I believe cannot be stopped by the western nations. This is not a simple mission to take out a few Hutu leaders and restore the country, Rwanda is engulfed in conflict because of their history which included mistakes from the West. Now is not the time for Belgium, France, the United States, or the UN to try to fix their mistakes with military; that time has long