Discrimination And Prejudice In Rwanda

People lump race and ethnicity together thinking they are the same, but there is a difference. Race is a persons characteristics such as skin color, eye and hair color and ethnicity are about the persons culture, traditions, and geography. Societies consist of many races and ethnicities, and this has caused discrimination and prejudice in society for many years. Discrimination and prejudice has stemmed from many years of hatred towards one another in society. Societies have for years chosen groups of people because of their race and ethnicity to discriminate against. Discrimination and prejudice has negative effects on people who have witnessed or experienced it. The people of Rwanda have witnessed and experienced discrimination and prejudice
Bahutu is considered the largest ethnic group in Rwanda accounting for 84 of the population, then Batutsi makes up 15 of the population, and finally with the Batwa only making up 1 of the population. The official language for all three groups are the same and they are Kinyarwanda, French, and English also the main religion practiced in Rwanda is Christianity (mostly Roman Catholic) by most of the people, but some practice Muslim and Animist religions. The Batwa people are known as Pygmies in Rwanda. Batwa culture is a mobile and flexible, and they live in the forest relying on the forest for survival, they are known as hunter-gathers (Unpo, 2008). The Batwa people are discriminated because of their ethnicity because the other groups in Rwanda look down on the Batwa saying that they backward and dirty. And this led to the Batwa people not having any access and representation in government, the Batwa people were also excluded from education, health care, media, and along with being discriminated in the job market in Rwanda (Unpo,
The Batwa people were affected by the war in Rwanda when in 1994 from the mass genocide and a large number of the people were killed by the ethnic group Buhutus and the ones that did survive fled to refugee camps in the neighboring countries, where they still suffered from discrimination from acts of violence and intimidation. References People. (2011). American Psychological Association, (), 126-128. EBSCO Host Database. Isabirye, S.B., Mahmoudi, K.M. (2000, April). Rwanda, Burundi, and Their Ethnic Conflicts. National Association for Ethnic Studies, 23(1,2,3), 62. Retrieved from HYPERLINK http//search.proquest.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/docview/215489234accountid35 http//search.proquest.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/docview/215489234accountid35 812 CIA-The World Factbook. (2010). Retrieved from HYPERLINK https//www.cia.gov/library/publications/the- https//www.cia.gov/library/publications/the- world-factbook/geos/rw.html UNPO. (2008). Retrieved from http//www.unpo.org/members/7861 Prejudice and Discrimination PAGE 2 Prejudice and Discrimination PAGE 1 Y, dXiJ(x(I_TS