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RWANDAN GENOCIDE.
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Ethnic cleansing campaign of 1994.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Ethnic cleansing campaign of 1994. Attempt by ethnic Hutu to exterminate Rawanda's ethnic Tutsi population. The resulting slaughter of half a million people, destruction of the country's infrastructure, population dislocation, cessation of agricultural production, reduction of Rwanda's GDP (real gross domestic product), and negative impact upon the environment. Historical overview. Public health implications.
Paper Introduction:
Ethnic Cleansing and Environmental Health
Introduction
In early April of 1994, groups of ethnic Hutu, armed mostly with machetes, began a campaign of terror that embroiled the Central African country of Rwanda. For about 100 days, the Hutu militias known as interhamwe engaged in a deliberate and premeditated attempt to exterminate the country’s ethnic Tutsi population (Children of Rwanda’s genocide, 1999). When the bloodshed ended, some 500,000 people had been slaughtered, the country’s industrial and social service infrastructure had been destroyed, much of the population had been dislocated, agricultural production had virtually ceased, and the real gross domestic product (GDP) of Rwanda was reduced by half (Children of Rwanda’s genocide, 1999).
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African elephant populations alsodeclined, as did the stock of animals hunted for their food value.Increased hunting in all of the forests and the national parks of theregion placed enormous strains on the wildlife population and also resultedin imbalances in the ecosystem. (1996). Uvin (1996) has noted that Rwanda's population density (much of whichis concentrated on the hill slopes of the central plateau and the richfertile bordering agricultural regions) increased rapidly over the past fewdecades. (1999).RIRIN-CEA Update No. 744 for Central and Eastern Africa. Human rights violations arecommonplace today, while intermittent water supply and inadequately treatedwater have also augmented the epidemiological risks faced in many parts ofthe country (United Nations Integrated Regional Information Network, 1999). Similar comments were advanced by Sato, Yasui, and Byamana (2 ), whocontend that conservation efforts in Rwanda have stalled due to increasedhunting, cultivation, and logging brought on by increased populationdensity. A massive refugee population has created a crisis inwhich governments have found themselves unable to maintain health servicesor to respond effectively to the breeding of disease in refugee camps(Kalipeni & Oppong, 1998).Environmental Health Link and Consequences Bonneux (1994) characterized Rwanda as a sad example of theconsequences of demographic entrapment. Efforts have been complicated by the fact that thousands of refugeesare returning to Rwanda and placing strains on a system already inadequateto meet the needs of Rwandans (Nkusi, 2 1). Thesudden influx of these refugees into neighboring countries mandated arelief effort which was ultimately insufficient to meet essentialrequirements. Malaria is a major problem, with 2 ,3 9.9 cases for every1 , people in Rwanda. Lanjouw, A. With per capita food production decreasing in the 198 s, the 1994genocide may well have been motivated in part by resource scarcity as muchas by the inherent racism that Uvin (1996) says is endemic in Rwandansociety. Water and sanitation systems arerudimentary in these settlement areas and 6 percent of Rwanda's peoplelive in poverty. Part of this effect has beenrecognized with respect to the decimation of the Rwandan gorillapopulation. Perhaps more significantly, the Rwandan genocide resulted inserious damage to hospitals and health centers throughout the country.Despite massive humanitarian assistance, medical care and supplies islimited in Rwanda. (2 ). More effectiveagricultural production methods and new environmental management strategiesare also being undertaken. This term refers to a process inwhich population density becomes excessive, the population itself is skewedtoward a single age cohort (in this case children the age of 15), and inwhich fragile ecosystems were fast eroding due to deforestation andunsustaining agriculture. In the beginning of the 196 s, with the advent of decolonialization,an elite core of Hutu educated at Catholic schools after World War II,overthrew the Tutsi oligarchy in a coup called the social revolution (Uvin,1996). Poverty increased dramatically after1985, leading to further marginalization of the Tutsi. TheLancet, 344(8938), 1689-1691. In 1973, the decimation or the flight of a substantial portion of theTutsi population took place. Environment Bulletin, February 23, Item 59 2. Though new environmental policy andlaws have been promulgated, enforcement of these laws is difficult at best. Pearce, F. (1994). Gulick, A. Massacres of Tutsi by theRwandan army, the presidential guards, and a new militia left hundreds deadin several instances. The government currently spends no more than two percent of Rwanda'sGDP on its health services, an amount that is negligible in light of thehealth concerns impacting upon the country (Rwanda health & population,2 2). Though the Rwandan government isundertaking numerous efforts to improve these situations, the reality ofthe problem is that as a result of its genocide, Rwanda's needs are soextensive and its resources in such short supply, that progress is slow. Available atwww.newafrica.com/profiles/Healthpopulation.asp?CountryID=4 . The refugee camps with their poorsanitation facilities are characterized by high rates of infant, child, andmaternal mortality, lowered life expectancy, and the emergence of chronicdisease states. Overwhelming povertyled young and dynamic males - peasants without land, shepherds withoutherds, workers without labor - to clear the scarce farmlands of theircompetitors in a bid to achieve the ability to provide for themselves.Additional deforestation undertaken to increase arable land alsocomplicated the ecological situation in Rwanda before, during, and after1994's crisis. Attempts to build housing toshelter the returning Rwandans are matched by efforts to create adequatesanitation and sewage/waste disposal facilities. (2 1). While Nkusi (2 1) has commented that most of the mass gravesites that were created during the genocide have been identified and"cleaned up," the damage inflicted on the Rwandan population has not beenas easy to eradicate. Against the odds. In 1994, violence began in the capital city ofKigali, ushering in a new and devastating wave of atrocities directedagainst the Tutsis. In additionto the Tutsi, the farming Hutu and the Twa (a group of potters and hunters)comprised the population. Children under the age of five,many of whom are not immunized, have a mortality rate of 2 5 per 1, children. Additionally, many of Rwanda's youngestcitizens have experienced psychological problems as a consequence of havingwitnessed massacres or the murder of family members (Children of Rwanda'sgenocide, 1999). Rwanda: A case of demographic entrapment. At issue in the plan isthe transformation of the rural scattered settlement pattern into groupedsettlements with the purpose of ensuring optimum land use, cost effectiveprovision of social infrastructure, security, and national unity andreconciliation. InRwanda, as in the Congo, poaching in the gorilla reserves increaseddramatically during the war period. In describing these issues, Paskett (1998) pointed out that over onemillion people died in the 1994 and previous conflicts with an additionalone million people now housed in refugee camps in Tanzania and Zaire. The Hutu elite, supportedlargely by the former colonial powers, developed a policy of systematicdiscrimination against the Tutsi and forbid the return of the 1 , Tutsirefugees to Rwanda. Uvin (1996, p. However, Nkusi (2 1) told the United Nationsthat the government of Rwanda lacked adequate financial and human resourcesto meet all of these pressing needs. Atotal of 1 gorillas were known to have been killed by humans from amongthe 3 mountain gorillas inhabiting the Virunga region. Knight (2 ) also commented on theimpact of Rwanda's genocide on the gorilla population of the region. As of 1985, Uvin (1996) reported that foodproduction fell to dangerously low levels as a consequence of over-farmingand excessive population density. For about 1 days, the Hutu militias known asinterhamwe engaged in a deliberate and premeditated attempt to exterminatethe country's ethnic Tutsi population (Children of Rwanda's genocide,1999). The refugee camps bordering Virunga also lead to the dumping of humanand medical waste in the area. HIV affects 11.21 percent of all Rwandan adultsfor a total of 4 , infected individuals (Rwanda health & population,2 2). Government efforts to prevent deforestation and encourage conservationhave been forthcoming, but during the reign of the interahamwe, a number ofmines were laid throughout the forest and have exploded periodically,damaging human and animal life and further damaging the forest itself. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 53(1), 57-59. Children of Rwanda's genocide. Tragedy in Rwanda: The political ecology ofconflict. Sato, H., Yasui, K., & Byamana, K. United Nations Integrated Regional Information Network. While humans are vulnerable to such effects, the indigenousgorilla population has also been affected because these animals have littleimmunity to many human diseases. Republique Rwandaise: Statement. Cholera is a problem throughout the country and isparticularly prevalent in the most densely populated areas (United NationsIntegrated Regional Information Network, 1999). Despite a massive and ongoinghumanitarian relief effort in Rwanda, continuing political and ethnictensions in Central Africa have inhibited a meaningful response on the partof the international community. Available atwww.nytimes.com/library/world/africa/index-rwanda-children.html. Access to education and military service wasalmost exclusive restricted to the Tutsi (Uvin, 1996). Most Rwandan women have over six children andinfant mortality is 123 per 1, births. Ethnic Cleansing and Environmental HealthIntroduction In early April of 1994, groups of ethnic Hutu, armed mostly withmachetes, began a campaign of terror that embroiled the Central Africancountry of Rwanda. However, with the arrival ofEuropeans in the mid-nineteenth century, sharp class divisions between theTutsi and Hutu emerged. (2 1). SocialScience & Medicine, 46(12), 1637-1638+. This report will consider the relationship between genocide andenvironmental degradation in Rwanda and argue that myriad negativeconsequences of ethnic cleansing continue to plague the country today.Historical Overview Uvin (1996) traced the history of the 1994 Rwandan genocide to thedistant past, noting that the cattle-rearing Tutsi arrived in the region insuccessive waves during the fifteenth and sixteenth century. Paskett, C.J. Alack of organized primary health care and an excessively high birth rateare major public health problems for the country (Bonneux, 1994). Knight, D. By the nineteenth century, a degree of tribalintegration through marriage had occurred. With thereturn to Rwanda of 7 , or more descendants of Tutsi refugees from the1959-1963 era, enormous strains were placed upon the agriculturalproduction system and other vital infrastructures. Whatthis means is that projects to gain access to this valuable resource havebeen undertaken with little regard for the long-term consequences ofdevelopment. Deforestation was another artifact of the conflict.Rwandan refugees and Hutu soldiers deforested some 3 square kilometers ofthe Virunga National Park in their search for food and firewood. (1996). Bonneux (1994) points out that when the 1994 violence erupted inRwanda, the country's ecology and its service infrastructure were alreadyunder enormous pressures. Environment, 38(3), 6-17. There was no organized primary health care, noimmunization program covering the highly lethal measles, tetanus, andwhooping cough epidemics that plagued the country. Available atwww.sas.upenn.edu/African_Studies/hornet/irin744.html. (2 ). Nkusi, L. New Scientist, 171(23 3),43+. Rwanda health & population. In many parts of Rwanda, efforts to clean up mass graves have beenongoing. Conflictbetween the concerns of environmentalists and government policymakers hasbeen inevitable.Public Health Implications The foregoing discussion of the environmental effects of the Rwandancrisis of 1994 (and even earlier) leads to the recognition of numerousongoing public health effects that impact upon man and animal populationsas well. In other words, the environmental and public health crises linked tothe 1994 Rwandan genocide are extensive and multifaceted. A crude birth rate of 46 per 1, is set against a crude death rateof 21 persons per 1, . When located close to scarce water reserves, refugee campsare also associated with unacceptably high levels of water pollution.Proposed Solutions Laurent Nkusi (2 1), Minister of Lands, Human Resettlement andEnvironmental Protection in Rwanda, recently told the United NationsGeneral Assembly that a plan of action had been drawn up to address issuesrelated to the ill effects of the Rwandan crisis. Many of the new resettlement sites for returneesoffer little or no health care. Gulick (1996) said that 95 percentof all Rwandans farm for a living, thus resulting in the degradation offarmland and the necessity of deforestation to create more arable land. (1999). Additionally, as the world learned during humanitarian reliefoperations, the ethnic violence also exerted a highly negative impact uponthe environment. Paskett(1998) adds to this listing of public health issues, problems related toensuring a safe and adequate supply of potable drinking water as well asthe need to augment agricultural production to ensure an adequatenutritional intake for all Rwandans. Health centers and schools, particularly those in rural areas, are indire need of improvement and in some cases, need to be totally rebuilt. Peter Uvin (1996) commented that resource scarcity andhunger appear to have played a role in the Rwandan genocide in threetransmission belts or stages. Pearce (2 ) maintained that little or no effort has been undertakento reforest the Virunga region and there are reports of ongoing illegalhunting, poaching, and logging in this area. Pearce (2 ) stated that social dislocations and disruptions ininfrastructure services such as sewage and sanitation, water filtration,and health care delivery also negatively impacted upon the entirepopulation of Rwanda. This represents a demographic trap in which itbecomes almost inevitable that racial or other tensions are likely toerupt. However, as Nkusi(2 1) pointed out, as important as the protection of an endangered speciesis, Rwanda is confronted with the necessity of feeding, resettling,employing, and caring for the health of millions of human beings. Inthe Virunga Forest, which represents less than half of one percent of thecountry's land area, 1 percent of the water cachement is located. Uvin, P. Nkusi (2 1) noted that while the most extreme poverty tends to beconcentrated in rural areas of Rwanda, there are more than two millionRwandans living in makeshift structures composed of plastic sheeting in theslums of urban areas. Efforts to provide shelter and supply water, sanitation, and wastedisposal were inadequate in Rwanda, Tanzania, and Zaire. (2 2). In the Virunga Forest, which is the natural habitat ofgorillas and other endangered wild species, deforestation was ongoingthroughout the years of conflict. Kalipeni and Oppong (1998) maintain that these mass graves and thecrowding of refugees into camps have caused outbreaks of cholera and Ebolaas well as other communicable diseases. Follow up survey ofenvironmental impacts of the Rwandan refugees on eastern D.R. The elimination of over one-half of theTutsi population in 1959-1963 made it possible for a massive migration ofHutu farmers to take over the land. These untreated grave sites became breeding grounds forvarious contagious diseases and also a locus for the leaching of humanwastes into ground water. Only six percent of the totalpopulation in Rwanda lives in urban areas and the rural population densityis 874 people per square kilometer of arable land. The refugee crisis in Africa andimplications for health and disease: A political ecology approach. In this coup, thousands of Tutsi were murdered between 1959 and1963 while 1 , Tutsi fled the country. Gulick (1996) argued that Rwanda's few remaining mountain gorillaswere in danger of extinction due in large measure to the civil war. Lanjouw (2 1) reported that the genocide in Rwanda and ongoingdeforestation to promote agricultural production has caused seriousdisruptions in the area's ecosystems. (1998). An invasion in 199 by the Rebel Patriotic Front (RFP), a small but experienced guerilla armycomposed of Tutsi, was repelled but served as a spur to further Hutuattacks on the remaining Tutsi in the country. With a current population of 8.1 million and aprojected population of 15 million by 2 3 , the ability of the Rwandangovernment to care for the basic health needs of the public is minimal(Rwanda health & population, 2 2). The majority of refugees had no alternative other than togather basic materials from the forest, hunt game, and grow crops. Refugees and land use: The need for change ina growing problem. Kalipeni, E., & Oppong, J. Lanjouw (2 1), speaking asan environmentalist concerned with protecting the habitat of the mountaingorillas and other species, has suggested that the Rwandan government needsto embark on a massive program of growing trees outside this region thatwould include reforestation as well as crop production. E, 7(5), 14-16. (1998). Thus, the problems of ethnic cleansing and tensions in Rwanda haveimpacted not only upon that country and its people but also on neighboringcountries as well. Bonneux (1994) predicted almost a decade ago that infant mortalitywould increase dramatically because of the failure of Rwanda's publichealth system to implement a vaccination program. While someenvironmentalists focus on the problems of endangered species such asmountain gorillas, others have called for greater attention to the problemsconfronted by human beings who are suffering from what Bonneux (1994)called a case of demographic entrapment. From Vietnam to Rwanda: War's chain reaction.UNESCO Courier, May, 9-11+. References Bonneux, L. 17)stated that "the murder of as many as 5 , Tutsis and the flight of upto two million Hutus during the genocide has severely disrupted Rwanda'sagricultural system, decimating the precious assets of poor families -tools, cattle, coffee plants, etc." In the wake of the 1994 genocide, hostilities between Uganda andRwanda have created additional problems. Available atwww.un.org/ga/habitat/statements/docs/rwandaE.html. The resulting land pressure reduced the size of farm holdings andinternal migration from the south and central regions to the east tookplace. Congo.Ambio, 29(2), 122-124. Gulick (1996) claims that this dumping hassignificantly increased the risk of spreading various diseases throughoutthe country. Environment - Congo: Gorillas and elephantsthreatened by law. Caught in the crossfire. Moresignificantly, as Rwandan peasants (both Hutus and Tutsis) have attemptedto increase available farm land through deforestation, the habitat range ofthe mountain gorillas has been reduced. When the bloodshed ended, some 5 , people had been slaughtered,the country's industrial and social service infrastructure had beendestroyed, much of the population had been dislocated, agriculturalproduction had virtually ceased, and the real gross domestic product (GDP)of Rwanda was reduced by half (Children of Rwanda's genocide, 1999). (2 ). The Tutsi were given a monopoly of access toadministrative positions. Pearce (2 ) believes that one of the most telling environmentalimpacts in Rwanda is associated with the creation of mass graves in whichvictims of racial and ethnic cleansing were simply dumped after beingslaughtered. Soil erosion hadalready damaged much of the entire region's landscape and theindiscriminate use of fire to clear land and stimulate new growth forgrazing also took place (Paskett, 1998). Today, a substantialpopulation of unvaccinated and orphaned Rwandan children stands in need offood, shelter, and medical care.
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