A Conversation for Out of the Darkness (UG)
A belgian fabrication
dancingbuddha Started conversation Mar 9, 2005
John Reader, in his "Africa: A Biography of the Continent" reveals something interesting: that the Hutu-Tutsi divide was non-existent, and was actually created by the Belgians occupiers. Part of their motivation was mistakenly Orientalist - to "restore" the original state of "tribal" customs before they occupied the land. Part may have been political. In any case, the Hutus and the Tutsis had intermarried enough so as to be effectively indistinguishable.
The belgians decided that anyone who had more than 10 cows was Hutu, and everyone with less, Tutsi. This is how they were registered in the local census, and with the government, which, over the years, created & reinforced these tribal identities which lead to these conflicts.
Sad, isn't it, that sectarian identities can be created out of nothing. How fragile is truth!
db
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A belgian fabrication
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