Coexist-Documentary Film Outreach Project

Resource Section – Key Terms and Rwanda Glossary

We’ve compiled a list of terms used in Coexist and the Teacher’s Guide so that you can quickly find a brief description. Click on the term you want information for and the browser will jump to that location in the Glossary.

Key Terms

Bystander
Coexistence
Compassion
Dehumanization
Forgiveness
Genocide
Humiliation
Othering
Perpetrator
Prejudice
Rehumanization
Scapegoating
Stereotypes
Tolerance
Upstander
Victim

Rwanda Glossary

AGLI
AVEGA
Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR)
Gacaca Courts
1994 Rwandan Genocide
Juvénal Habyarimana
Hutu & Tutsi
Healing and Rebuilding Our Communities (HROC)
Ibuka
Inkotanyi
Interahamwe
President Paul Kagame
Kigali, Rwanda
Kirehe, Rwanda
Maraba Coffee Plantation, Rwanda
REACH
Rwandan Patriotic Front
Rwanda
Rwanda Youth Healing Center
Twa

Key Terms

Bystander: one who is present when harm is done to others but remains passive; they can become perpetrators or victims.

…

Coexistence: to exist at the same time or in the same place; implies mutual tolerance despite differences

…

Compassion: emotional capacity for sympathy; to feel concern for someone else’s pain, plight or suffering

…

Dehumanization: reducing the “other” or “enemy” to less than human status; an essential measure in violence and warfare that depicts the “other side” as inferior, unworthy, undeserving of empathy or protection

…

Forgiveness: the action or process of ceasing to harbor resentment or wrath; to pardon an offense; often seen as spiritual act; usually refers to the person rather than the deed; can be granted by the victim and requested by the perpetrator, once wrongdoing is acknowledged; seen as key to rehumanizing the perpetrator; cannot be forced—is a choice; opens up possibility for human connection and empathy; seen as a powerful force that can transform individuals, relationships, and communities; seeks to bring peace to forgiver, reduce anger, hurt and depression; has been known to make it easier for survivors to feel connected to deceased loved ones; sometimes truth is given by perpetrators in exchange for the granting of forgiveness by victims; some believe that forgiveness is most meaningful when victimizers go beyond confession, and make tangible and meaningful amends that have been discussed and agreed upon with victims

…

Genocide: is the planned destruction and extermination of a religious, ethnic, racial, or national group “whether by directly killing them or creating conditions that lead to their deaths or inability to reproduce.”

…

Humiliation:a form of oppression that aims to make a person feel denigrated and reduced to a lower position in one’s eyes or other’s eyes

…

Othering: generally refers to the process whereby a select group of people is identified for persecution and mistreatment; once the “other” is targeted and labeled as the enemy, the select group begins to experience isolation, scapegoating, and victimization due to an amplification of “us-them” thinking and behavior

…

Perpetrator: one who commits an offense or crime

…

Prejudice:making a judgment about others based on real or fabricated differences that leads to the privileging of one group over another

…

Reconciliation: refers to a process whereby healthy relations are restored between individuals or groups where conflict, distrust, hatred, enmity used to prevail; can only happen if harmful deeds are acknowledged; includes elements of truth, justice, mercy, and peace; without it, many truces and peace accords can unravel and become orphaned; implies learning to live with differences; some see it as overarching purpose of conflict transformation; is a process that exists at different levels and stages of development, one that cannot be imposed but rather needs to be carefully cultivated

…

Rehumanization: bringing someone back into caring relationships, whether they were the victim or the perpetrator; restoring empathy, dignity, self-respect for victims and perpetrators

…

Scapegoating: the targeting of one person or group with hostility, blame, harm, rejection, and/or criticism

…

Stereotypes: a set of traits that come to characterize an identity group, often based on inadequate knowledge or understanding of that group (derogatory stereotypes are a set of negative traits that ridicule and demonize an identity group)

…

Tolerance: the act or capacity of enduring or putting up with opinions, practices, behaviors, attitudes different from one’s own

…

Upstander: one who is present when harm is done to others and steps in to help protect the victim.

…

Victim: one who has been injured, harmed, mistreated, oppressed, or killed

…

Rwanda Glossary

Rwanda: The Republic of Rwanda is the most densely populated country in Africa. Located in eastern Africa just south of the equator, it is a landlocked country where much of the arable land is located at high–altitude. The country’s main natural resources are coffee and tea. The overwhelming majority of the population engages in agriculture, either through terraced farming or cattle herding. While the official language is now English, the population speaks mostly Kinyarwanda and French. German and then Belgian colonial overlords exploited the Rwandan people and their natural resources, and they racialized the social difference between the country’s two main groups, Hutus and Tutsis. The Republic of Rwanda was founded in 1962 with the departure of the Belgians during the great anti-colonial movement that swept Africa.


View Map

…

1994 Genocide: In 1959, three years before independence from Belgium, the majority ethnic group, the Hutus, overthrew the ruling Tutsi king. Over the next several years, thousands of Tutsis were killed, and some 150,000 driven into exile in neighboring countries. The children of these exiles later formed a rebel group, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), and began a civil war in 1990 to end years of systematic ethnic cleansing of Tutsis by Hutus. In April 1994 the Rwandan military, along with militias organized by the military, and local government leaders perpetrated the genocide of roughly 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus. The predominantly Tutsi rebels defeated the Hutu regime and ended the genocide in July 1994, but approximately 2 million Hutu refugees – many fearing Tutsi retribution – fled to neighboring Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zaire.

…

Hutu and Tutsi: The two social groups at the heart of the 1994 genocide. The social differences between Hutu and Tutsi are mostly occupational. European colonists propagated a myth that the two groups come from different geographical origins, and were racially distinct. When German and Belgian scientists first encountered Rwandans in the early 20th century they noted perceived physical differences between herding groups and hunting groups. Using racialist theories, they pronounced the taller Tutsis as superior to the agricultural Hutus. The Belgians codified the differences into law and forced Hutus and Tutsis to carry ethnic identity cards and only allowed Tutsis to attain higher education and hold positions of power.

Today, the difference between groups in Rwanda is largely occupational. They are not tribes. Speaking of the separation of the groups is considered a crime by the current government under Rwandan unity laws. But many Rwandans say deep-seeded racism still exists along the same lines that once divided the people.

…

AGLI (African Great Lakes Initiative): An organization of the Friends Peace Team that promotes peace activities in the Great Lakes region of Africa and responds to requests from communities throughout Rwanda, Burundi, Congo, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. They focus on conflict management, peace building, trauma healing and reconciliation.

…

HROC (Healing and Rebuilding Our Communities): a program produced by AGLI which takes ten people from one side of a conflict, and ten from the other, into a three-day workshop to restore relationships. In Rwanda they focus on bringing together Tutsis and Hutus.

…

Interahamwe: Perpetrators of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide along with the Armed Forces of Rwanda. Formed by a group of young Hutu men. Many fled to Zaire after the Genocide, and have merged with other groups to form the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a group with members still fighting today along the eastern Congo. (Reference)

…

Inkotanyi: During the genocide, a derogatory name for Tutsis. The Inkotanyi was the militia of a 19th century Tutsi feudal king who bludgeoned the majority Hutus into submission. The term Inkotanyi was widely used during the war by Hutu propagandists to link the Tutsi-led RPF in the minds of Hutus with memories of past Tutsi oppression. For Tutsis the term Inkotanyi conjures images of brave warriors sent to save Rwandans from genocide. Reference

…

REACH: an organization seeking to support citizens of the Great Lakes region of Africa in their journey towards healing, reconciliation and sustainable development. Their goals: bringing together people involved in conflict, providing them with opportunities for learning, truth-telling, healing and forgiveness. (REACH’s Website)

…

AVEGA-AGAHOZO: a non-profit organization created on January 15th 1995, by 50 widows who themselves are genocide survivors. They seek to support the children, women, elderly and handicapped who experience hardship as a result of the Genocide. (AVEGA-AGAHOZO’s Website)

…

Gacaca Courts – Community justice tradition reestablished in the wake of the 1994 Genocide. Developed to promote healing and moving on. Originally, the Gacaca settled village or familial disputes. The courts were informal means of solving disputes around issues like theft, marital disputes, land rights, and property damage. Now the Gacaca Courts try lower-level genocide perpetrators and help historians reconstruct what happened during the 100 days of war in 1994. Those on trial are asked to confess. Witnesses are encouraged to come forward and the plaintiffs are encouraged to seek forgiveness from the families of their victims. Each Gacaca court has nine judges and has the power to sentence criminals up to life imprisonment, but not the death penalty, which has been outlawed in Rwanda. (Reference)

…

Ibuka: umbrella organization for the survivor organizations in Rwanda, representing them at national and international levels. In the Kinyarwanda language ibuka means ‘remember’. Ibuka was created in 1995 in order to address issues of justice, memory, and social and economic problems faced by survivors. (Reference)

…

Rwanda Youth Healing Center: Organization seeking to provide Rwandan youth with support to heal form psychological wounds of the Genocide. They are open to all young people no matter what side they were on during the conflict. (Official Website)

…

Kirehe: district of Eastern Province, Rwanda. Capital is Rusumo (Kirehe Town). A densely populated area where most people grow food for subsistence and trade.(Official Website)

…

Maraba Coffee Planation: Southern Province. An association of coffee growers formed in 1999 to increase the productivity, quality, and market price of Rwandan coffee. Profits are divided and reinvested in the plantation. Researchers from other parts of Africa, the U.K., and the U.S. have supported Maraba and found overseas distributors; even helping market a coffee beer from the region that won a gold medal at the 2006 World Beer Cup. (Reference)

…

Kigali:Capital and largest city in Rwanda.

View Larger Map

…

Juvénal Habyarimana:
Hutu dictator that ruled Rwanda for 20 years. Assassinated in 1994, igniting long simmering racial tensions between Hutus and Tutsis, leading to the 1994 Genocide. At the time, Hutus said Habyarimana’s plane was shot down on orders by the leader of the RPF, Paul Kagame. Others, including the RPF, say Hutus shot down the plane themselves in order to start a war.

…

Paul Kagame:
Current President of the Republic of Rwanda. President Kagame was elected to a second 7-year term in 2010. Leader of the Rwandan Patriotic Front during Rwanda’s civil war and after the genocide. (BBC)

…

Rwandan Patriotic Front: (RPF) Current ruling political party of Rwanda. Formed by refugee Tutsis in Uganda in 1987. Fought against the Interahamwe and other Hutu Power militias to recapture Rwanda and end the Genocide. (Reference)

…

Twa: The other ethnic group in Rwanda besides Hutu and Tutsi, Twa make up less than 1% of the population. Though they were not the main target of the genocide, many Twa were killed. Today they continue to be marginalized and discriminated against throughout Rwanda.

…

Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR): a group still fighting today along the eastern Congo

…

Find more resources here