History

There are two kinds of gratitude: The sudden kind we feel for what we receive, and the larger kind we feel for what we give.
-- Edward Arlington Robinson

Belgium granted independence to Rwanda on July 1, 1962, after having first been ruled by Germany up until the end of WWI. Rwanda has always had a long history of unrest, mainly between the ethnic groups; the Hutu and the Tutsi. Fighting broke out in 1957 after the crowning of Kigera V, who the Hutus claimed had not been properly chosen. The Hutus emerged victorious and dominated the country for a long time. During this unrest, some 100,000 Tutsis fled to neighboring countries. In 1964, following an incursion from Burundi, many Tutsis were killed in Rwanda, and numerous others left the country.
Against a backdrop of ingrained divisive and genocidal attitudes, repeated massacres, the persistent overflow of refugees, and the lack of potential for peaceful political change, the Rwandese Alliance for National Unity (RANU) was formed in 1979 by some Rwandese, mainly Tutsi’s, in the Diaspora with an objective of assembling Rwandese people to resolve these problems. It was with these forces that Uganda invaded Rwanda. Over the coming years, strife between Hutus and Tutsis in Rwanda and neighboring countries led to the slaughter of millions of people by Rwandan soldiers and Hutu gangs. Over 2 million Rwandans, nearly all Hutus, fled the country and crowded into refugee camps in countries where Hutu extremists held power.
Over 1 million Hutu refugees flooded back into the country in 1996 after a UN appointed tribunal began trying a number of powerful people who had a hand in the genocide, and up to now, about three-and-a half million Rwandese refugees have been repatriated and resettled. Re-growing Rwanda’s society has been difficult and ongoing task. In 1994, there were no functioning schools, hospitals, factories or government departments and the economy was in ruins.
Since then, Rwanda’s progress has been steady and positive, focusing on rebuilding and re-educating. Various groups have been set up to deal with remnants of a troubled past: including a Genocide Survivors Fund, a Human Rights Commission, a Unity and Reconciliation, as well as great strides in Rwanda’s legal system. Economic recovery has been consistent since 1994 when real GDP declined by 50% and inflation stood at 65%. Rwanda has been welcomed to join the East African Cooperation (EAC), in hopes that there will be further cooperation and economic integration between its surrounding countries.

Kinyarwanda Words of the Day
What is your name? - Witwande (WitWAHNday)
My name is ____ - Nitwa heather (NEETwah heather)
Excuse me - Imbabazi (ImBahBahZee)
Good -Meza (MAYza)
Bad - Bibi (BeeBee)