A Scapegoating Event

1. The Rwandan Genocide: A Scapegoating Event
ORL 5362: Group Dynamics – An Systems Perspective
Group As A Whole (GAAW) Paper
Joaquin Reyes, Jeffrey Fisher, Marian Spurrier
March 31, 2016

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The Rwandan genocide was a scapegoating event escalated by economic factors and
caused by intergroup conflict between the Hutu and Tutsi racial groups. There were many forces
at play which contributed to this atrocity: the impact of the relationship between the groups,
projections between the groups, the original colonies denial, world economic dependency and
inflation of Rwanda’s economy. There were also forces at the local level in each group leading to
the conflict which contributed to the ensuing genocide: types of anxiety, group shadow and the
need and desire to project ‘un-preferred’ qualities onto the Tutsis.
This intergroup conflict occurred in Rwanda in 1994. The Genocide itself is considered a
100 day massacre of over one million Tutsis (Prunier, 1995, p.2). The massacre was planned by
members of the Hutu political elite, members of the government-led army and army backed
militias. Just prior to the start of the conflict, Rwandans were in the midst of a civil war for about
4 years (Prunier, 1995, p.2). As such, there were multiple signs of the tension between the two
groups escalating. Finally, the Hutu majority scapegoated the Tutsis, planning to murder anyone
Tutsi and moderate Hutus. On April 6, 1994, Rwanda’s totalitarian dictator Juvénal
Habyarimana was shot down in a plane in Kigali (Mullen, 1997, p.2). It is unknown who carried
out the attack, but speculation claims that the attack was carried about by extreme Hutu rebels as
a coup d’état (Prunier, 1998, p.3).
According to Wells’ levels of analysis, we will analyze the events of this genocide, from
roughly 100 days beginning April 7 through mid-July. There were many dynamics that led to this
atrocity. In particular, we will highlight elements of group-as-a-whole and intergroup conflict,
including intrapersonal, interpersonal and intragroup dynamics. The dynamic elements we will
further discuss include splitting of the Hutu and Tutsi groups that occurred before 1994. The role
that the Hutus’ zeitgeist played in this split. The Hutu power and the Hutu and Tutsi valence to

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power also led to the scapegoating of the Tutsi group. Finally, denial is an important aspect we
will discuss in detail. Both the UK, Belgium, France (as we will identify as “the world”) were in
denial leading up to and during the 100 day genocide.
In the film Hotel Rwanda, the protagonist and hotel manager was also the spokesperson
for the Tutsis and the scapegoats in the conflict (George, 1994). Perhaps the most obvious
spokespeople would be the leaders who already have authority within the community, such as
the UN or community elected officials. Instead, these people, such as UN Peacekeepers, were
powerless. Community leaders were also moderate Hutu Tutsi sympathizers. Since moderate
Hutus were also being persecuted, their referential power was diminished. “Referent power can
help you win arguments and persuade people to do things, but using it too frequently and overtly
can backfire.” (Kendrick, 2006). Effectively, the only spokespersons for the Tutsis were
moderate Hutus. However, that referential power was used too frequently, which diminished its
effect.
What happened in Rwanda was not a ‘normal’ civil war conflict. It was a civil war where
those caught in the crossfire were either Tutsi or moderate Hutu. The hotel manager in Hotel
Rwanda was a Hutu moderate and as such took on a covert role of collusion with the Tutsis
(George, 1994). “Symbolic meanings, informal tasks, covertly authorized work, and so on are
also attached to roles and in turn affect the texture of collaboration, competence, and meaningful
contribution” (Krantz, 1997). Covertly, the Hutu moderates colluded with the Tutsis by paying
the Hutus to leave them alone. A Tutsi who was not a Tutsi rebel had a very slim chance of
survival.
The economics of Rwanda leading up to and during the conflict augments the atrocities
of the intergroup conflict. Throughout history other genocides have also been precipitated by

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economics. Nazi Germany during World War II had rampant inflation from sanctions imposed
in part by World War I, which contributed to stress, ultimately inducing genocide prior and
during the World War. A brief review of the consequences of this are outlined in Ahamed’s
examination of this. “By tracing through the consequences of rising prices on different classes in
a stylized picture of the economy…(shows) that inflation was much more than simply prices
going up, but also a subtle mechanism for transferring wealth between social groups - from
savers, creditors, and wage earners to the government, debtors, and businessmen. He thus
highlighted the fact that...inflation in countries such as France and Germany was not just the
result of an error in monetary policy. Rather, it was a symptom of the fundamental disagreement
that had wracked European society since the war about how to share the accumulated financial
burden of that terrible conflict” (2009). Rwanda is a prime example of the transference of wealth
through inflation and then genocide. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to Purchasing Power Parity
(PPP) helped to cause the economic strife that lead to genocide similar to the European situation
prior and during World War II. The GDP fall puts pressure on the domestic leadership and also
puts pressures on the UN leadership. This resulted in an increase in UN peacekeepers sent to
Rwanda to keep the problems localized, so that they could not spread across the border. This was
the only action taken by world powers. Inflation then spiked during the period of 1990 to 1994
(see World Bank Exhibit), further pressuring local governing officials and increasing tensions.
As seen in the World Bank Exhibit, the Gross Domestic Product’s (GDP) drastic drop
indicates that Rwanda had no GDP. Since Rwanda wasn’t producing anything, this caused severe
inflation of the economy. The oversupply of currency and lack of domestic product put pressure
on Rwandans. Essentially, Rwandans were limited to provide tourists with an inexpensive place

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to vacation due to their depreciated currency. Hotel Rwanda shows that the French were
involved in the ownership of the hotel and therefore, they colluded in this regard (George, 1994).
Since there were many European tourists at the hotel, many of whom were French, it was
in the French tourist’s interest for the Rwandan Franc to be depreciated; adding another layer of
collusion (George, 1994). This is a general problem with an import only economy such as
Rwanda, which in turn creates a collusion among exporters. This is a covert process particularly
because Rwandan Francs are virtually worthless. In addition, no one on the world stage appears
to be concerned about the severe inflation and Rwanda’s leniency on tourists and other
economies.
The intergroup dynamics between the French and the Hutu sympathizers were
professional, yet impersonal. As observed in Hotel Rwanda, the French home office of the hotel
owners responded to the Hutu hotel manager but did not intervene directly (George, 1994). This
reflects the world’s behavior as well. Countries responded to direct requests but did not intervene
otherwise. French politicians would not get involved the intergroup relations locally in
Rwanda. This exacerbated the dynamics between the Hutus and Moderate Hutus, as there were
no new solutions for the minority Tutsis other than to seek refuge (Prunier, 1994, p. 8).
The press also played a part in collusion and further scapegoating against the Tutsis. In
Hotel Rwanda, the footage of the massacres against the Tutsis taken by the journalist was
something that was aired. The collusion is seen from the relationship, or reciprocity created
between the press and genocide. The massacre of the Tutsis was covered on the news. Capturing
the footage and sharing it helped the newsmen do their jobs and get paid (George, 1994).
Knowledge of the conflict supported further scapegoating of the Hutus, but also of Rwanda as a

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whole. The world knew what was going on, yet was in denial of the terrible atrocities that
occurred.
In essence, the world in denial was also providing an end to Rwanda’s problems, a
shadow on Africa in a downward spiral for years prior to the conflict. Because the world was
only watching (not acting), even during the civil war, the conflict would play out until the Hutu
perpetrators could be leveled with. Economic tension mounted just before the conflict and the
shadow on Africa grew darker as the world continued to watch. The western world not taking
action showed denial and cast a shadow on Africa as a whole, specifically colonized nations
which were struggling after their independence, like Rwanda. A solution in Rwanda was only
provided when the conflict reached a pause in July. Furthermore, solutions were only presented
after the fact, when the world recognized that they were in denial that they had only watched and
not acted throughout the entirety of the conflict.
From this analytical perspective, it could be seen that money and racial differences were
the true source of the issue, both in Rwanda and Africa in surrounding countries. Since
Rwanda’s monetary system became worthless, differences in the two groups increased and
resulted in a fight for commodities. This was a mere Band-Aid on the bigger problem. The
bigger problem was continental, as African nations became independent from their colonizers
and then struggled similar to Rwanda. This is seen by ethnic cleansing in Sudan and Darfur
(Ahamed, 2009). Fortunately, because of the UN Peacekeepers presence in the region, the
conflicts did not (and have not) grown into a continental war but were kept more localized and
domestic to Rwanda itself during 1990-1994 time period.
The intergroup relations were not amplified and exacerbated in large part because of the
UN Peacekeepers. If the UN didn’t have a presence in Rwanda, the genocide might have spread

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into a regional, continental or intercontinental conflict. By having the UN present, the domestic
genocide was localized to an intragroup conflict. By intergroup we mean amongst Rwandans
and not intergroup between Rwanda and Congo or Angola, for example. The UN did exactly
what it was formed to do, prevent the spreading of larger conflict when a smaller localized one
could be contained. However, this containment policy also made Darfur and Sudan possible
casualties as genocide suffered there too. It was this same policy that helped to keep this an
intergroup conflict localized rather than internationalized. “After interviewing five boys aged 10
to 18 who had escaped from their capture and torture by Janjaweed or Sudanese government
forces, I spoke with a Sudanese refugee-camp leader who had just received information that
several Darfurian villages were being attacked by government and Janjaweed troops.” (Askin,
2004) This containment policy kept larger genocides at bay in the region (in addition to state-on-
state invasions. This could also be seen as an intragroup or state-within-state).
Aside from these larger economic issues, there are some basic elements of differences of
Hutus and Tutsis and how these played out in the conflict. There are many observable traits that
the Hutu and the Tutsi share in common. For example, the Hutu and the Tutsi speak the same
language and they practice the same religion. In addition, the physical characteristics between
both groups are very similar. Both groups tend to have a tall stature, high forehead, straight nose
and black gums (Jefremovas, 1995 p. 28). The implications of such similarities are important
because it leads us to wonder how the Hutus were able to differentiate between themselves and
the Tutsis during the massacre, aside from knowing by association who was who. This shows the
historical significance of the racial differences that were placed on both groups, including the un-
preferred traits for Tutis. This resulted in confusion. Even though Hutus primarily wanted to
target Tutsis during such massacre, many individuals belonging to the Hutu ethnicity were killed

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in such attack. During the massacre, between 500,000 to 1,000,000 Tutsi were killed at the hands
of the Hutu people (Jefremovas, 1995 p. 28).
It is important to note the reasons why the Hutu responded with such brute force against
the Tutsi people. The Rwanda Patriotic Front is a big reason as to why the Hutu nearly
eliminated all of the Tutsi people in Rwanda. The Rwanda Patriotic Front was a Tutsi organized
militia that wanted to seek revenge from the Hutus (Lemarchand, 1998 p.4). The Tutsis were
forced to abandon Rwanda when the Hutus regained power and dominated the country. During
this time, the Tutsis organized a military to seek revenge on the Hutu people. The Tutsis gained
control in a neighboring country, Burundi, and killed many Hutu people that were there. The
Tutsi also killed President Melchior Ndadaye in Burundi as well.
These events are important to the Genocide that occurred in Rwanda because they
perpetuated the violence that was exhibited by the Hutus on the Tutsi. Projective identification
plays a pivotal role in erasing the collective memory that the Tutsi have about their own
genocide of the Hutu people. The Tutsi people have forgotten their role in the genocide of the
Hutu people and only remember the 1993 massacre against them. This is very interesting
because by ignoring or downplaying their initial killings of Hutu people in 1972, it is as though
they have rewritten history to cover only one genocide as opposed to two (Lemarchand, 1998
p.7). In other words, the Tutsis don’t acknowledge that they were the first individuals to use
genocide to retrieve their country. On the other hand, the projective identification from the
Hutus’ standpoint is that they seem to place all of the blame on the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF)
and they aren’t willing to accept how strategic the genocide of the Tutsis actually was. In other
words, by placing all of the blame on the RPF, the Hutus seem to downplay their role in the
genocide of the Tutsis during 1993.

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The implications of what both groups choose to remember are very important, as they
place the blame on each other. In addition, members of the Hutu and the Tutsi gave each other
roles for the brutality that happened in Rwanda. The Tutsis gave the role of murderers to the
Hutu people in order to avoid any collective guilt about their own actions in the genocide. Thus,
by authorizing the Hutu people as the ones that started the ordeal, the Tutsis wash their hands of
any responsibility that they have in regards to the Genocide.
In addition, the Hutus take the role of the avengers to justify their actions for the mass
murder that they committed against the Tutsi people. The Hutus self-authorized their horrendous
actions because of the RPF’s attempt at regaining power over Rwanda. These actions occur at the
unconscious level, as the Tutsis nor the Hutus want to be solely responsible for the massacres
that pervade their histories. The Tutsis and the Hutus unconsciously place the blame on the other
in order to protect themselves of the traumatic events that transpired.
Another social phenomena that occurred among the Hutus and the Tutsis is splitting. The
Hutus view the Tutsis as all evil, which is illustrated in the lack of mercy that they exhibited
while they carried out the genocide of the latter. Since the RPF consists of Tutsi individuals, then
that means that they all should suffer and die. Although not all Tutsis participated in the RPF and
their campaign against the Hutus, the latter viewed the former as a group as a whole. All Tutsis
were somehow responsible for the death of President Melchior Ndadaye as well as the deaths of
the Hutu people. Therefore, the belief at the time (on behalf of the Hutu majority) was that
“Tutsis as a whole should pay for such events”. Furthermore, the Tutsis also see the Hutus as all
evil as well. The Tutsis felt that the Hutus needed to be punished for driving them out of Rwanda
and gaining power over the country. The Tutsis also wanted to seek revenge for the murders that
the Hutus have instigated against them. Unfortunately, both parties’ splitting of each other

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perpetuate feelings of fury and rage that resulted in a lot of lives being taken at the hands of each
other.
The Rwandan Genocide atrocity began far before the genocide. Colonialism divided
Tutsi and Hutu groups, then further splitting Rwandans and assigning “good” and “bad” traits
associated with each. As the Rwandan economy suffered, social conflict increased, escalating
during the civil war in 1990-1994. The world was watching as the UN finally proposed a peace-
keeping solution to this conflict. However, as their president’s plane was shot down on April 6, a
balloon of chaos erupted as well. The coup d’état was just the tipping point of years of conflict
building within the country. During the actual genocide, from April through July, 1994, events
played out that already had been brewing. The Tutsi people, unfortunately, got the brunt of all
these things culminating in collusion against them. The Tutsis were the scapegoat of this terrible
event.
As we identified elements that contributed to the dynamics of this event, two questions
remain. Will Rwanda be able to heal from these terrible events? Secondly, will history repeat
itself, either in Africa or elsewhere? Rwanda is now a fairly stable country, with a much stronger
economy than in the early 1990s when the genocide occurred. However, the repair process has
been an immense challenge. Rwandans are either still refugees in surrounding African nations or
elsewhere in the world. Most Rwandans who left during the conflict have stayed refugees,
though the few that have returned are faced with neighbors who were perpetrators. Moreover,
there are orphans from the conflict and many women who were raped whom are now living with
children born from their abuse (Murigande, 2008, p.3). If we have learned one thing in our
research, it is that these are strong people, who must now, somehow, create new futures. Indeed,

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they must truly be the change they wish to see in the world. The world must fully and actively
support positive change for all Rwandan people as well.

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References
Ahamed, L. (2009). Lords of Finance, Penguin Books
Askin, K. (2004). Sudan’s Government Does Not Hide Its Atrocities, Open Society Foundations
George, Terry., & A. Kitman Ho. (1994). Hotel Rwanda. USA: United Artists, Lions Gate
Entertainment & MGM Home Entertainment
Jefremovas, V., (1995). Acts of Human Kindness: Tutsi, Hutu and the Genocide, Vol. 23, No. 2,
28 - 31
Kendrick, T. (2006). Results Without Authority, AMCOM American Management Association
Krantz, J., Maltz, M. (1997). A Framework for Consulting to Organizational Role, Consulting
Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, Vol. 49, No. 2,137-151
Lemarchand, R., (1998). Genocide in the Great Lakes: Which Genocide? Whose Genocide?
African Studies Review Vol. 41, No. 1 , 3 - 16
Mullen, Joseph (1997). Book Review. Journal of International Development, Vol 9, No. 3, 430-
431.
Murigande, Charles (2008). Lessons Learned from the 1994 Rwanda Genocide. Mediterranean
Quarterly. 19:2.
Prunier, Gerard (1995). The Rwanda Crisis: History of a Genocide. London, C Hurst &
Company. Ltd.
World Bank Exhibit 1

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