Revisiting the Rwandan Genocide: Hutu or Tutsi?
 Author
Peter Gwin
 Photographs
David Guttenfelder
7  More »
f you've never been to Rwanda, the only thing you might know about the
country is that there are two main ethnic groups, the Hutu and the
Tutsi. That's really what the country boils down to, right? The Tutsis
were the victims of genocide, and the Hutus were the perpetrators. So
you get off the plane and immediately start trying to figure out who
is who.
Am I talking to someone who lost his family, or someone who wiped one
out? Tutsis are tall and thin (you've read that somewhere), except
when they aren't. Hutus have broad noses (someone told you that),
except when they have narrow noses. The real giveaway, however, is
that traditionally Tutsis are herders, and Hutus are farmers, except
for the Tutsis who grow crops and the Hutus who keep cattle. And then
there are the ones who live in the city and do neither.
From left to right: Donald Bizimana, 72, a genocide survivor from
Kamonyi district. Hyacinthe Mukandayisenga, 17, an orphan who lost
both of her parents. Delphine Ishimwe, 7, from the town of Rwamagana.
Launch Gallery
In fact, they speak the same language, Kinyarwanda, eat the same food,
go to the same schools, root for the same football teams, and in many
cases, marry and raise children together.
It's so difficult to tell them apart that even the Tutsis and Hutus
can struggle. There is a famous story that Hutu militiamen attacked a
group of school children and ordered them to divide themselves by
ethnicity—Hutus on one side, Tutsis on the other. The children
refused. So the militia killed them all.
From left to right: Assouma Uwineza 30, a student of finance at the
Independent University of Kigali. Charles Nkuliyinka, 62. Patricia
Mukazitoni, 54, a farmer.
Launch Gallery
One of the first things the post-genocide government did was to
eliminate the ethnic designation on national identity cards, which
were manipulated by the Belgians after World War I to divide the
population and keep it subjugated. And the national census no longer
tracks ethnicity, so at least officially, no one knows how many of one
or the other there are. The government has implemented a campaign
encouraging people to discard these labels on their own, and it's
widely considered impolite to ask someone about their ethnic
background. We are all one nation is the idea. If you ask one of these
people what are you, he or she is likely to answer Rwandan.
An identification card lies near the altar inside the genocide
memorial at Ntarama Church. Today, Rwandan national identity cards no
longer note an individual's ethnicity.
Launch Gallery
David Guttenfelder and National Geographic staff writer Peter Gwin are
currently in Kigali documenting the 20
th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide for National Geographic. This
week, they share their words and images from Proof. Guttenfelder is
posting these and other iPhone photographs in real time on Instagram
at
@dguttenfelder and @natgeo.
THERE ARE 7 COMMENTS. ADD YOURS.
 Rita Hanneman
April 5, 2014
Many of us are proud of our ethnicity which makes it somewhat sad that
these people have to deny it. But, if it was just a political device
by a conqueror than it is wonderful that they are now denying it.
 Kamuzi John William
April 5, 2014
Quite interesting. This is a good proof that many non-Rwandans still
ignore what happened in Rwanda in the 1990s. Ask the ICTR (the
victors' court); ask people like Peter Erlinder, Robin Philpot, Pierre
Péan, etc. and try to get a bit of the truth.
 susan price
April 5, 2014
I agree. The colonial powers set up many African nations to fail. Once
they pulled out of actual occupation, they have done all they can to
extract mineral wealth from the people.
 Raul Manuel Cancela
April 5, 2014
I like his article. Brief, precise and expressive. In my opinion, the
pains of Africa come for the most part from the colonial powers of the
past or from the present. They can act at sight or secretly.
 Paula
April 5, 2014
And what does the American gov require of the people who are not yet
citizens of United States of America – but to carry a "Green Card"?
http://www.google.ca/gwt/x?gl=CA&hl=en-CA&u=http://proof.nationalgeographic.com/2014/04/05/revisiting-the-rwandan-genocide-hutu-or-tutsi/&q=revisiting+rwandan+genocide+hutu+tutsi&sa=X&ei=O4lKU63tAYKk0QXu2YHYAw&ved=0CB0QFjAA
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