Introduction

Abstract

Philippe is a victim.1 He is adamant on this point. He has always been a victim, as has his family, going back many generations. From his perspective, this victim identity is an important part of what it means to be a member of Rwanda’s ethnic Hutu majority population, whether in the present or distant past. He described his grandparents—and indeed, every generation that preceded them since the arrival of the Tutsi minority population in Rwanda—as slaves, forced by Tutsi elites to carry hot pots on their heads and work endlessly in the fields for just enough food to sustain them, while the Tutsi grazed their cattle on the most fertile land. Philippe’s parents experienced a slight improvement in their quality of life with the arrival of the German and Belgian colonists. The Hutu majority—as part of their education by Christian missionaries under Belgian colonialism—were taught for the first time about democracy and human rights, which in turn inspired them to fight for political reforms aimed at overthrowing their colonizers and the Tutsi-dominated monarchy ruling Rwanda. The resulting 1959 Hutu Revolution and the 1962 elections ushered in Rwandan independence under Hutu President Grégoire Kayibanda, representing an important political opportunity for the Hutu majority. Unlike previous generations from his family, Philippe was able to complete primary and secondary school, train as a teacher, and, by his mid-20s, marry, have children, and purchase a small piece of land to farm.