A change of flag has recently occurred in the country of Rwanda, symbolizing a new era of peace and prosperity. The last flag was red, black and yellow, seeming to stand for all the bloodshed and terror that has plagued the country for the last hundred years. The new flag, introduced in 2002, dawns a bright sun with 12 rays, a blue sky and yellow and green ground. Rwanda has been a country of pure terror and warfare for a century, and still, though a new government has been installed, the country is still rampid with extremist threats and violence.
Rwanda is just a tiny country in eastern central Africa, just south of the much larger Uganda. The country consists of only 26,000 square kilometers. The terrain is mostly large grasslands except for a large mountainous area in the east, and a large lakein the west.
In the past Rwanda has run with a feudal system of government. Germany had control of the country at the turn of the 20th Century until halfway through the 1st World War in 1916, and then the Belgians took control of the country until 1962. The country has always consisted of two types of people, known as Hutus and Tutsis. Hutus are generally shorter and ligher skinned, while Tutsis are tall and very dark skinned. Originally, the Tutsis were the feudal class that made up the government and all the power of the country, while the Hutus were the lower serf class. The Belgians took a greater liking of the Hutus while they had control of the country, and even though the Hutus then were the great minority, the Belgians helped them to overthrow the majority Tutsi government in 1959, when most Tutsis were killed or driven into exile. After this the Belgians simply left them to handle the situation on their own. A civil war broke out in 1990, but military from France backed the Hutus. In 1994, a lot of turmoil was occuring as the Tutsis, led by Paul Kagame, a brilliant miliary leader sometimes reffered to as the Napoleon of Africa, started to move back into their country militantly. The ensuing situation led to an interim government made up of Hutu extremists to carry through on a plan to completely genocide all Tutsis still living in the country. Though the much more disciplined Tutsis managed to win the war against the Hutus and drive them back to the borders of the country, still 25% of the population was killed by the slaughter, nearly 1 million citizens. The transitional government is still battling with the pressures of extremist hatred and racial prejudice widespread throughout the country today
Because of the genocide, the once majority Tutsis now make up about 18% of the population, while the Hutus now make up 81%. The populatioin as of 2000 was just under 8 million, and it is climbing every year very quickly. The number of people who claim tobe Christian is at 80%, though the church attendance is significantly less, and more than half of those claim allegiance to the Roman Catholic Church. Not much can be said about the Christians in Rwanda anymore, as in a country with over 80% claiming to be Christian, many of them allowed the atrocities of the genocide to happen, and even connived with those committing the crimes against humanity.
Rwanda is in need of a great deal of prayer. The first and foremost prayer, the biggest barrier that must be broken if God is going to be able to really move and do anything in this country, must be for the incredible hate and prejudice that the two different ethnic groups hold for each other. These people need to see love and come to know what it is so that they'll be able to understand it, accept it, and even show it in their own lives. In a country where hate has run and continues to run the nation, love must overcome. Pray for outpourings of love to spread throughout the nation, washing away the hate of generations. Also, pray for the kids, youth and young people of the country that were so strongly effected by the events of the 90s, and that they will be a new generation that will stand against the hate and suffering despite the loss of many of their families. Pray for help in the area of aids, as it has killed off great proportions of the populations as well. Orphans left over from the genocide, war and aids may number as many as 300,000, many of them living in the streets of the capital city of Kigali. Pray for them and that the workers and necessary measures to help this situation would be provided for those who so desperately need it. Lastly, pray for the safe, secure and empowered ministry of those who are there, and those who will be. |
