The Role of Hate Speech in the Rwandan Genocide
by Vennisa Owusu-Barfi
Source: The Atlantic
In our current political and social climate, language has become an incredibly powerful tool in shaping identity, culture and communication. As a language learning community, we need to be conscious of how language can be used negatively as an instrument of division, primarily through hate speech. To do so, we need to identify what qualifies as hate speech, but doing so remains a very contentious and difficult problem to solve.
The United Nations defines hate speech as any form of speech that discriminates or negatively targets a group of people based on their religion, nationality, race or sexuality. 1 In our current era of easy and rapid transmission of information on the internet, identifying and curbing the spread of hateful messaging has become a nearly impossible task to perform. However, learning the role and devastating impacts of hate speech broadens our understanding on how damaging hateful language can be. In this article, we’ll discuss the role of hate speech in one of the deadliest genocides on the African continent: the Rwandan genocide.
Background
Source: University of Chicago
In 100 days about 800,000 Rwandans were killed by fellow Hutu extremists fueled by decades of ethnic hate and ideology. Hutus,Tutsis and the minority Twas existed centuries before the advent of German arrival in Rwanda in 1897 and Belgian colonization in 1926. Though hierarchies existed in the eight kingdoms which existed in Rwanda, they were fluid and depended on caste and land and cattle ownership. These were made more rigid by the Belgian government with the introduction of arbitrary standards of ethnic differences like height and nose width to create divisions among Hutus and Tutsis. Movement between classes were further solidified with the introduction of ID cards specifying whether individuals were Hutu or Tutsi, preventing any upward mobility for individuals in lower classes; this led to increased resentment of the Tutsi. 2
Role of Language
Decades of reinforcement of these arbitrary differences led to a culture and cycle of propaganda and anti-ethnic sentiments between both groups in a relentless power struggle. Language became a powerful tool for leaders to consolidate power by shifting blame onto either Hutu or Tutsi opponents. In the 1994 genocide, the radio station RTLM with Hutu majority government backing fueled Hutu hatred with hate propaganda and frequently inciteful rhetoric with the goal of stirring up extremist Hutu violence against Tutsis and moderate Hutus. With direct government support, a charged climate of hostility was normalized with the aim of a gradual dehumanization of Tutsis, moderate Hutus. This culminated into the large-scale and brutal genocide that followed in April 1994. 3
The Present
Source: katakkenya.org
It has been 30 years since April 1994 and Rwanda has developed into one of the most politically stable and fastest growing economies in Africa and the world. Today language has been used to rebuild and reunite a country torn apart by ethnic division and hatred. Rwanda has taught us that it is possible to build a new sense of identity and community through language and also learn to celebrate our differences and acknowledge mistakes made in the past.
Extra Links:
Information on travel and tourism in Rwanda: https://www.visitrwanda.com/
Learn Swahili, one of the languages spoken in Rwanda on NKENNE: https://www.nkenne.com/
Below is a great article for further reading if interested: https://www.bu.edu/ilj/files/2020/08/Article_HeftiJonas.pdf
Sources:
UN strategy and plan of action on hate speech - united nations. (n.d.). Retrieved May 30, 2022, from https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/documents/UN%20Strategy%20and%20Plan%20of%20Action%20on%20Hate%20Speech%2018%20June%20SYNOPSIS.pdf
Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. (n.d.). Rwanda genocide of 1994. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved May 30, 2022, from https://www.britannica.com/event/Rwanda-genocide-of-1994
Ndahiro, K. (2019, October 24). In Rwanda, we know all about dehumanizing language. The Atlantic. Retrieved May 30, 2022, from https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/04/rwanda-shows-how-hateful-speech-leads-violence/587041/