PIO: Sa'ad da muka tono wani Tutsi a cikin fadamai, ba mu ƙara ganin mutum ba. Ina nufin mutum kamar mu, wanda ke da irin tunani da irin ji. Farautar ta zama ta daji, mafarautan sun zama dabbobin daji, wanda aka farauta ma ya zama dabba - dabbanci ya mamaye zuciya.158

“PIO: We no longer saw a human being when we turned up a Tutsi in the swamps. I mean a person like us, sharing similar thoughts and feelings. The hunt was savage, the hunters were savage, the prey was savage-savagery took over the mind.”158

A karni na 19, ƙasashen Rwanda da Burundi na yau, waɗanda galibinsu Kiristoci ne, sun zama mulkin mallaka na Jamus, kuma sabbin masu mulki sun kafa tsarin al'umma irin na mulkin fewdal a cikin ƙasashen.

In the 19th century present-day Rwanda and Burundi, predominantly Christian countries, became Germany colonies, and the new powers founded a feudal society in the countries.

An dai ƙabilu biyu masu rinjaye ne, Hutu da Tutsi, sarakunan Tutsi kuwa sun samo asali ne daga makiyaya masu kiwon shanu. Bayan Jamus ta sha kashi a Yakin Duniya na Farko, Ƙungiyar Al'ummai ta damƙa wa Belgium yankin mandate na Gabashin Afirka, wato Rwanda da Burundi (Ruanda-Urundi), don haka Faransanci ya zama harshen gwamnati.

Made up of two dominant tribes, the Hutu and the Tutsi, the Tutsi nobility descended from cattle ranchers. After Germany lost the First World War, the League of Nations entrusted the East African mandate of Rwanda and Burundi (Ruanda-Urundi) to Belgium, and thus French became the language of the government.

Daga shekarun 1930, gwamnatin Belgium ta sanya wajibi ga dukkan Afirkawa su dauki katin shaida da ke nuna kabilarsu, harshensu da addininsu. Ƴan Rwanda an raba su zuwa kabilu uku: Hutu kashi 80 zuwa 85, Tutsi kashi 14 zuwa 19, sai Twa kashi 1. Kamar yadda masu mulkin mallaka ke yi, suna bin manufar raba kai da mulki, Belgium sun raba tare da keɓe kungiyoyin bisa layin launin fata. Sun ayyana cewa Tutsi ƙabila ce mafi daraja, masu fata mai haske, dogaye, da hanci siriri – kamar yanayin Turawa. Hutu kuwa, an ɗauke su a matsayin marasa daraja, masu duhun fata da gajerun jiki. Ta haka gwamnatin Belgium ta ba Tutsi ƙarin iko, matsayi, da gata a fannin tattalin arziki da ilimi.

From the 1930s, the Belgian government made it mandatory for all Africans to carry identity cards displaying their ethnicity, language and religion. The Rwandans were divided into three ethnic groups, 80 to 85% Hutu, 14 to 19% Tutsi and 1% Twa. As colonisers do, practising a divide and rule policy, the Belgian separated and marginalised the groups along racial lines determining that the Tutsi were a superior race who had lighter skin, were taller and had thin noses – a more European type look. The Hutu on the other hand were held to be inferior, with darker skin and shorter statures. The Belgium government thus granted more power, status, economic and educational privileges to the Tutsis.

Musulmi a Ruwanda sun wakilci ƙaramin kaso ne kawai na mazaunan ƙasar, kuma tsawon lokaci suna shan wahalar mummunar farfaganda mara kyau, wadda ta haifar da lamura da yawa na nuna wariya. Ana kiran Musulmi da sunayen raini "Umuswahili", wanda ya samo asali daga gaskiyar cewa yawancin Musulmi a tsararraki da suka shude suna magana da harshen Swahili. Haka kuma, malamai sun yi yunkurin mayar da yaran Musulmi Kiristanci, kuma duk wanda ya ƙi yarda yana fuskantar hana shi da takura wajen ci gaba da karatunsa. Yawancin iyayen Musulmi da suke tsoron irin waɗannan yunkurin mayar da yara Kiristanci sun zaɓi kada su aika yaransu makaranta, sai dai su saka su a makarantun allo (madrasa). Wannan ya haifar da illa na dogon lokaci, domin Musulmi sun ci gaba da zama wata ƙungiya ta gefe mai ƙarancin tasiri a rayuwar siyasa.

Muslims in Rwanda only represented a very small proportion of the country’s inhabitants and had long suffered the brunt of a negative propaganda, which had led to many cases of discrimination. Muslims were referred to by the disparaging terms “Umuswahili” derived from the fact that many Muslims in earlier generations had spoken Swahili. There were also attempts by teachers to convert Muslim children to Christianity, and if any resisted they faced preventions and restrictions in furthering their education. Many Muslim parents who feared such conversion attempts opted to not send their children to school and to enrol them instead into madrasas. This had long term effects since Muslims would remain as a marginal group with little influence in political life.

A ranar 6 ga Afrilu, 1994, an harbo wani jirgin sama dauke da gawarwakin marigayan shugabannin Rwanda, Habyarimana, da Burundi, Ntaryamira, aka kuma harbo shi a sararin samaniyar filin jirgin sama na Kanombe da ke Kigali.

On April 6, 1994, a plane carrying home the late Presidents Habyarimana of Rwanda and Ntaryamira of Burundi was shot down above the Kanombe International Airport in Kigali.

An harin jirgin ne Hutu suka zargi 'yan tawayen Tutsi da shi, abin da ya biyo baya kuwa shi ne wani lokaci-lokaci na ƙiyayya da ramuwar gayya da ke ta tsiro. Wannan ya kai ga wani mummunan yaƙin kisa da tashin hankali wanda ya bazu daga babban birni zuwa sauran sassan ƙasar.

The crash was blamed by Hutus on Tutsi rebels and what transpired was a sporadic festering of hate and revenge. This culminated in a savage campaign of murder and violence which spread from the capital to the rest of the country.

Saboda wani tsananin shirin mayar da mutanen Tutsi marasa mutunci, yawancin tashe-tashen hankula sun faru ne tsakanin maƙwabci da maƙwabci, miji da mata, malamin coci da mabiyansa, malami da ɗalibai. Mayaƙan Hutu, interhamwe, sun dogara ga yin kisa da adda ga maza da mata da suka girma tare da su, waɗanda suke zuwa coci ɗaya, makaranta ɗaya, suke magana da harshe ɗaya, har ma suna auratayya da juna.

Due to a very intense program of dehumanisation of the Tutsi population, much of the violence was carried out between neighbour and neighbour, husband and wife, clergy and congregation, teacher and students. Hutu militia, the interhamwe, resorted to hacking to death men and women they had grown up with, who attended the same churches, the same schools, spoke the same language and even intermarried.

An yaɗa yaƙin neman ƙin Tutsawa, an kuma yaɗa shi ta makarantu, kafofin watsa labarai da jawaban siyasa, lamarin da ya ƙarfafa matasa masu makamai su kashe a fili. Masu kisan kan tilasta wasu su yi hakan, suna yin kiran taken “ko dai ka yi, ko kuma ka mutu”, wato a kashe ko a kashe ka, suna jan hankalinsu da alkawuran abinci, kuɗi da gādon filayen Tutsawan da za su kashe.

The campaign of Otherising the Tutsis was fermented and disseminated through schools, media and in political rhetoric, inspiring armed youth to kill openly. The murderers would force others to do the same, evoking slogans of “do or die”, meaning kill or get killed, enticing them with promises of food, money and an inheritance of land belonging to the Tutsis they kill.

Da yawa daga cikinsu ba su kashe mutane da kansu ba, amma sun haɗa kai da masu kisan kai wajen bayyana wuraren da Tutsawa suke ɓoye. Ko da yake wasu daga cikin tashe-tashen hankula abubuwa ne da suka faru lokaci-lokaci, yawancin 'yan siyasa da 'yan kasuwa manya na Tutsawa ma suna da hannu a yada munanan farfaganda game da Hutawa. Ƙasar, ba tare da shugabanci na ƙasa ko na al'umma mai inganci ba, ta lalace ta zama filin kisan kiyashi mai ban tsoro. Takunkumin tafiye-tafiye ya hana mutane yin walwala cikin 'yanci, kuma rashin tsaro ya yi yawa ko'ina.

Many who did not physically kill others, colluded with murderers to reveal Tutsi hiding places. Though some of the violent outbursts were sporadic events, many high-level Tutsi politicians and businessmen were also implicated in the festering of virulent anti-Hutu propaganda. The country, without national or effective community leadership, degenerated into a horrendous killing field, travel restrictions prevented free movement and insecurity was rife.

Abin da ya faru a Rwanda a shekarar 1994 ya kasance zaluncin mutum ga mutum, inda aka dakatar da duk wata ɗabi'a. Mayar da mutane dabbobi yana faruwa ne idan wasu mutane suka fitar da wasu mutane daga tsarin ɗabi'a na ɗan Adam. A idanun masu aikata laifi, irin waɗannan mutane sun rasa matsayin da ke haɗa su da sauran ɗan Adam. An zargi Tutsi da "ainihi mai lalacewa", yanayin rashin komai, a matsayin "abubuwa", "kyankyasai", a matsayin "dabbobi", kuma ƙasar ta faɗa cikin tashin hankali na kisan gilla. Wannan tsari iri ɗaya na mayar da mutane dabbobi ya kasance a fyaden Nanking a 1937. Haka kuma Holocaust ya fara ta irin wannan hanya – ta jerin dogayen farfaganda da aka yada a kafafen watsa labarai da makarantu. Kisan gilla da aka yi wa baƙaƙen fata a Amurka ya samo asali ne daga al'adar kira baƙaƙen fata da "niggers". Haka kuma, an yi amfani da lakabin "gooks" don raba Vietnamese da sauran mutane a kisan kiyashin My Lai, inda sojojin Amurka suka kashe ɗaruruwan fararen hula na Vietnam. Game da wannan, Mark Baker ya ba mu wani hangen nesa mai ban tsoro: "Na ji daɗin harbi da kisa. Na ji kamar ina cikin farin ciki sa'ad da na ga an harbi wani gook. Sa'ad da aka harbi wani GI, koda ban san shi ba… hakan zai dame ni. GI mutum ne na gaske. Amma idan aka kashe gook, kamar ni ne ina tattaka kyankyaso a nan."159 Glenn Gray ya ba da labarin wani lamari daga Yaƙin Duniya na Biyu:

What transpired in Rwanda in 1994 was man’s inhumanity to man wherein all morality was suspended. Dehumanisation occurs when some human beings exclude other human beings from the moral order of humanity. In the eyes of perpetrators such human beings lose the status that holds them together with the human race. The Tutsi were castigated with a “spoiled identity”, a state of nothingness, as “things”, “cockroaches”, as “animals” and the country descended into a savage outbreak of murder. This same process of dehumanisation existed in the rape of Nanking in 1937. The Holocaust began the same way – through an elaborate series of propaganda which featured in media and schools. The lynchings of black people in America was precipitated by a culture of stigmatising blacks as “niggers”. Similarly, the label of “gooks” was used to Otherise the Vietnamese in the My Lai massacre in which hundreds of Vietnamese civilians were killed by American soldiers. About this, Mark Baker offers us a haunting perspective: “I enjoyed the shooting and the killing. I was literally turned on when I saw a gook get shot. When a GI got shot, even if I didn’t know him…that would bother me. A GI was real. But if a gook got killed, it was like me going out here and stepping on a roach.”159 Glenn Gray recounts an incident from World War II:

“Lokacin da aka “fitar” da wani sojan Japan daga inda yake ɓoye nesa da layin yaƙi, “rukunin, wanda ya ƙunshi sabbin sojoji, yana hutawa yana wasa da dariya. Amma suka ɗauki bindigoginsu suka fara amfani da shi a matsayin manufa mai rai yayin da yake gudu cikin firgici a cikin fili yana neman mafaka. Sojojin sun ga motsinsa abin dariya ƙwarai, kuma dariyarsu ta hana su kawo ƙarshen wannan mutum mai tsananin rashin sa’a da wuri. A ƙarshe, duk da haka, sun yi nasarar kashe shi, kuma lamarin ya faranta wa dukan runduna rai, yana ba su abin da za su yi magana da dariya a kai har kwanaki bayan haka. Yayin da yake ba da labarin wannan…tsohon sojan ya jaddada kamancen sojan abokin gaba da dabba. Ba ɗaya daga cikin sojojin Amurka da alama ya taɓa tunanin cewa yana iya kasancewa yana da jin tsoro irin na ɗan adam da kuma burin a bar shi ya rayu.”160

“When a Japanese soldier was “flushed” from his hiding place well behind the lines of combat, “the unit, made up of relatively green troops, was resting and joking. But they seized their rifles and began using him as a live target while he dashed frantically around the clearing in search of safety. The soldiers found his movements uproariously funny and were prevented by their laughter from making early end of the unfortunate man. Finally, however, they succeeded in killing him, and the incident cheered the whole platoon, giving them something to talk and joke about for days afterward. In relating this story...the veteran emphasized the similarity of the enemy soldier to an animal. None of the American soldiers apparently ever considered that he may have had human feelings of fear and the wish to be spared.”160

Limbardo ya rubuta cewa "gooks" na jiya sun zama "hajis" da "towel heads" na yau a Yakin Iraki, yayin da sabuwar runduna ta sojoji ke wulakanta waɗannan 'yan ƙasa da sojoji masu kamanni daban. Ya ambato Sajan Mejla yana cewa: "Kawai dai kana ƙoƙarin mantawa cewa su mutane ne ka ɗauke su a matsayin maƙiya… Kana kiransu 'hajis', ka sani. Kana yin duk abubuwan da ke sauƙaƙa maka kashe su da cin zarafinsu."161

Limbardo writes that “Yesterday’s “gooks” have become today’s “hajis and “towel heads” in the Iraq War as a new corps of soldiers derogates these different-looking citizens and soldiers. He cites Sergeant Mejla: “You just sort of try to block out the act that they’re human beings and see them as enemies…You call them ‘hajis. you know. You do all the things that make it easier to deal with killing them and mistreating them.”161

Shahararrun gwaje-gwajen Stanford da waɗanda Albert Bandura ya gudanar sun nemi nuna ƙarfin lakabi na rashin mutunta ɗan Adam wajen haifar da al'adar bambanta da wasu, wadda za ta kai ga cutar da wasu. Masu bincike sun nuna cewa wulakanta wasu da zane-zane masu ban dariya da lakabi yana cire musu halayen ɗan Adam. Akasin haka, binciken nasu ya nuna kuma cewa lakabi mai kyau yana da tasirin ƙara girmama mutane.

The famous Stanford experiments and those conducted by Albert Bandura sought to demonstrate the power of dehumanising labels to generate a culture of Otherness which would lead to harming of others. The researchers showed that dehumanising others with caricatures and labels divested others of human qualities. Conversely, their research also showed that positive labelling had the effect of enhancing a greater respect towards people.

Hotuna da ake yadawa a farfaganda ta gani a Jamus ta Nazi game da Yahudawa, da kuma yadda kafofin watsa labarai ke nuna Larabawa, waɗanda Shaheen da wasu suka yi nuni da su, suna haifar da tunanin wani "su" mai haɗari, a matsayin "baƙi" da "maƙiya". Yawan maimaita irin waɗannan hotuna tare da labarai marasa kyau na kafofin watsa labarai yana haifar da firgici a cikin al'umma game da mace sanye da burqa ko namijin da ya yi dogon gemu.

The archetypes of terrorist or untrustworthy enemy created by visual propaganda in Nazi Germany of Jews or the media portrayals of Arabs that Shaheen and others point out generates an idea of a dangerous “them”, as “outsiders” and “hostile”. The repeated use of such images together with negative media narratives creates a societal paranoia about the burqa attired woman or the heavily bearded man.

A cikin labarin Jean Hatzfeld mai matukar ban tausayi game da kisan kare dangi a Rwanda, wanda aka gina shi galibi daga shaidun masu aikata laifin, muna karanta bayanai masu ban tsoro na mutane da ke bayyana dalla-dalla abubuwan da suka faru a lokacin kisan kare dangin, inda hanyoyin rarrabewa da mayar da mutane dabbobi suka bayyana a fili.

In Jean Hatzfeld’s very harrowing account of the Rwandan genocide, made up largely of testimonials by perpetrators we come to read grizzly accounts of human beings who describe in graphic detail the events of the genocide in which the processes of Othering and dehumanisation are made plain:

JOSEPH-DESIRE: Wanda ya yi gaggawar fita da adda a hannunsa, ba ya ƙara saurarar kowa ba. Ya manta da komai, musamman matakin hankalinsa. Yin abu ɗaya kowace rana yana nufin ba sai mun yi tunani game da abin da muke yi ba. Mun fita, muka dawo ba tare da tunani ko guda ɗaya ba. Muna farauta domin hakan ita ce umarnin yau, har sai rana ta ƙare. Hannayenmu ne suke mulki kawunanmu; a kowane hali, kawunanmu ba su ƙara da wani ra'ayi ba. FULGENCE: Mun ƙara zama masu zalunci, mun ƙara natsuwa, mun ƙara zubar da jini. Amma ba mu gane cewa muna ƙara zama masu kisa ba. Yadda muke yankawa ƙari, yankawa ta zama abin wasa, in dai zan iya faɗa haka. Da yamma kana iya haɗuwa da abokin aiki. Ga wasu, hakan ya zama abin jin daɗi, sai su yi ihu, "Kai, abokina, sai ka sayo mini Primus ko kuwa zan tsaga maka kwanyar kai, domin yanzu ina sha'awar hakan!" Amma ga mutane da yawa, kawai rana mai tsawo ta ƙare. Mun daina tunanin wajibai ko fa'ida – mun yi tunanin ci gaba da abin da muka fara kawai. A kowane hali, ya riƙe mu sosai, har ba mu iya tunanin tasirinsa a kanmu ba.

“JOSEPH-DESIRE: The one who rushed off machete in hand, he listened to nothing anymore. He forgot everything, first of all his level of intelligence. Doing the same thing every day meant we didn’t have to think about what we were doing. We went out and came back without having a single thought. We hunted because it was the order of the day, until the day was over. Our arms ruled our heads; in any case our heads no longer had their say.” “FULGENCE: We became more and more cruel, more and more calm, more and more bloody. But we did not see that we were becoming more and more killers. The more we cut, the more cutting became child’s play if I may say so. In the evening you might meet a colleague. For a few, it turned into a treat, would call out, “You, my friend, buy me a Primus or I’ll cut open your skull, because I have a taste for that now!” But for many, it was simply that a long day had just come to an end. We stopped thinking about obligations or advantages – we thought only about continuing what we had started. In any case, it held us so tight, we could not think about its effect on us”.

ADALBERT: A farkon kisan kiyashin, mun yi aiki da sauri kuma mun yi shi cikin sauki saboda muna da himma. A tsakiyar kisan kiyashin, mun kashe mutane ba tare da damuwa ba. Lokaci da nasara sun ƙarfafa mu mu yi sakaci. Da farko, muna iya jin cewa mun fi kishin ƙasa ko mun fi cancanta idan muka iya kama wasu 'yan gudun hijira. Daga baya, irin waɗannan ji sun bar mu. Mun daina sauraron kalamai masu daɗi a rediyo da daga hukumomi. Mun kashe mutane don a ci gaba da aikin. Wasu sun gaji da waɗannan ayyukan jini.

Abin da ya faru a cikin makonni, watanni da shekaru bayan kisan kiyashin, musamman a farkon lokacin, shi ne babban sha'awar da Kiristocin Rwanda suka nuna game da Musulunci. Yayin da labaran jajircewa da amincin Musulmai suka fito fili, wadanda suka ki shiga cikin kisan, maimakon haka suka yi kokarin ceton rayukan wadanda Tutsi ke fama da su, mutane da yawa sun so su koyi game da addinin da ya zaburar da irin wannan hali. Wani labari a jaridar Washington Post na ranar 23 ga Satumba, 2002, mai taken 'Islam Attracting Many Survivors of Rwanda Genocide' na Emily Wax, ya bayyana cewa:

What transpired in the weeks, months and years following the genocide, and most particularly in the initial period was a deep interest in Islam among the Christian people of Rwanda. As the stories unfolded of the integrity and bravery of the Muslims who refused to take part in the killings and instead resorted to saving the lives of Tutsi victims, many wanted to learn about the faith that inspired such conduct. A Washington Post article from September 23, 2002, entitled ‘Islam Attracting Many Survivors of Rwanda Genocide’ by Emily Wax describes:

Tun bayan kisan kiyashi, Ruwandawa sun musulunta da yawa sosai. Musulmai yanzu sun kai kashi 14 cikin 100 na mutane miliyan 8.2 da ke wannan kasa, mafi yawan Katolika a Afirka, adadin da ya ninka na kafin a fara kisan.169

“Since the genocide, Rwandans have converted to Islam in huge numbers. Muslims now make up 14 percent of the 8.2 million people here in Africa’s most Catholic nation, twice as many as before the killings began.”169

Labarin ya bayyana irin gogewar Kiristocin Rwanda da al'ummar Musulmi marasa rinjaye, da yadda martanin kirki bayan kisan kare dangi ya buɗe sababbin wurare na fahimta tsakanin mutanen wannan ƙasa.

The article describes the experience of Rwandan Christians with the minority Muslims and the way the positive responses following the genocide opened up new spaces of understanding between the people of that country:

Sagahutu ya ce mahaifinsa ya taɓa yin aiki a asibiti inda yake abokantaka da wani iyalin Musulmi. Sun karɓi Sagahutu a gidansu, duk da cewa su Hutu ne. "Na kalli yadda suke yin sallah sau biyar a kowace rana. Na ci abinci tare da su, kuma na ga yadda suke rayuwa," in ji shi. "Idan suna sallah, Hutu da Tutsi suna cikin masallaci ɗaya. Babu bambanci. Ina buƙatar ganin hakan."170

“Sagahutu said his father had worked at a hospital where he was friendly with a Muslim family. They took Sagahutu in, even though they were Hutus. “I watched them pray five times a day. I ate with them and I saw how they lived,” he said. “When they pray, Hutu and Tutsi are in the same mosque. There is no difference. I needed to see that.”170