Don’t write – just think In your own words, define the word “propaganda.” What do you think it means and can you think of any examples?

Propaganda Propaganda is one-sided information that tries to get you to believe a certain viewpoint, often without giving you the complete picture. It will often try to make the opposite viewpoint look bad.

The Rwandan Genocide

In the beginning…. The African country of Rwanda was first colonized by the Europeans in the late 1800s. The two main ethnic groups that lived there were the Hutus and the Tutsis.

Similar or Different? Until the Europeans came, Hutus and Tutsis lived together in peace for the most part. When the Belgians took over Rwanda after WWI, they gave preferential treatment to the Tutsis, even though Rwanda was 90% Hutu and only 10% Tutsi. Belgians believed Tutsis were superior because they were lighter skinned. The Tutsis began to act superior , which angered the Hutu.

Rwandan Revolution The Hutus began to rebel against the Tutsis and the Belgians, which led to the Rwandan Revolution of 1959. As a result, Before the Belgians left Rwanda, they switched the status of the two groups, giving the Hutus preferential treatment.

The genocide begins…. On April 6, 1994 the president of Rwanda, a Hutu, had his plane shot down. Hutu extremists blamed the Tutsis and began to kill every single Tutsi they could find, along with Hutus that were married or sympathetic to Tutsis.

Effects of the genocide An estimated 800,000 to 1 million people were killed in the genocide. They were slaughtered in places such as schools, churches, and homes…places that had always been considered safe. The Hutu extremists did not even allow the bodies to be buried.

Hutu propaganda Propaganda played a big role in speeding up the amount of people who were killed. A Hutu newspaper preached that any Hutu who did business or married a Tutsi were traitors. A Hutu radio station was broadcast throughout the country, calling Tutsis “cockroaches” and encouraging other Hutus to kill the Tutsis. The murdered people’s names were announced over the radio. By portraying the Tutsis as non-human, it made other Hutus feel better about killing them.

Activity it must be school appropriate!! Skit – Write and perform a skit about the Rwandan genocide. It can be about helping the Tutsis, giving an example of what propaganda is, or do it about the origins of the conflict. Skit should be about 2 minutes long. Propaganda Poster – Make a poster that encourages people to donate relief to the Tutsis or another way they can help with the Rwandan genocide. Story – Write a story about the Rwandan genocide. It can be about somebody that was directly involved in the conflict or it can be about somebody that wasn’t involved but had their life affected by it. Story should be about one page in length.