The Effects of War and Peace in Rwanda

The Effects of War and Peace in Rwanda

Rwanda is located in the African continent occupying a total of 26,338 square kilometers making it the 149th largest country in the world. The country stands at a high altitude area with the highest point being Rusizi River at an altitude of 950 meters above sea level. It’s situated in central Africa. Its neighbors include countries like Uganda, Tanzania, The Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi. It’s a landlocked country and its capital city is Kigali and it’s centrally located in Rwanda.

Just like most countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Rwanda has been a beneficiary of foreign aid. The country witnessed a civil war in 1994 that led to the death of thousands of people. The war was as a result of political tensions between the only two tribes in the i.e. the Hutu and the Tusti communities. The political regime did little to help leading to mass eviction of individuals and the outcome of this was Rwandese being refugees in the neighboring communities. Therefore Rwanda also faced the harsh reality of the government doing little to help the poor citizens. The aid received was used in the implementation of economic reforms (Dixon, R. 2014).

Foreign aid has frequently been connected with trade conditions which are either expressively or certainly uncovered between the benefactor and the beneficiary country. Givers see help as a method for affecting positive change as far as monetary advancement and upgrading political soundness. In financial terms, especially lessons propose that an auxiliary change program that involves diminishing of the general population organization, privatization of open organizations and diminishing military use will benefit the whole economy and henceforth ease the poor living states of the general population in Rwanda.

The extent of a country’s peace is determined by social and political factors. The increase in the use of military expedition is considered as the only way of making peace in the affected country. Rwanda was able to use both military rule and diplomatic means to ensure there was peace and unity among its citizens. The use of armed forces led to an increase in the growth of the rate of security. Property rights as well as rights of citizens were advocated for. The rule of law was made paramount by regime and institutional change. The peace enjoyed in Rwanda has led to increased exploration and use of raw materials to better the economy of the country. Citizens feel secure with the change of regime and the policy of forgiveness and it also stands as an indicator of a country’s military prowess. (Hook, S et al 2012).

Social and political instability in Rwanda had both physical and human capital accumulation in various ways such as;

There was reduced investment in Rwanda by the private sector as investors either fled the war leaving behind property that was looted during the war. The investors also feared for the loss of their investment hence it took them a long period to come back after peace was found.

There was reduction in the government investment. This led to inefficiencies in all governmental institutions due to displacement of personnel and the lack of proper coordination between various departments. (Goose, S et al 2007)

There was negligence in government and private initiated infrastructure in all corners of the country as a result of instability in the social arena.

Overemphasize on the military expenditure led to the reduced resource allocation to the social sector e.g. telecommunication, healthcare and education sectors.

There were reduced foreign investments due to political instability. This actually led to a total stop of foreign investment in Rwanda.

There were physical, emotional effects on the available workforce in Rwanda as individuals felt badly due to the loss of their loved ones, loss of property leading to the increase in poverty levels in the country. (Hakizimana et al 2009).

Social political stability therefore affects developing nations both indirectly and directly. The rate of economic growth is determined by the availability of a conducive atmosphere perpetuated by the presence of peace. Politicians in developing countries pay more attention on the economic policies as they are the drivers of a nation through the determination of the direction of the nation. Lack of peace among individuals in the society is mostly perpetuated by the political class who want to serve in different positions in the government. Citizens are therefore influenced by the propaganda of such individuals who take advantage of their ignorance and lack of information. (Hwang et al 2013).

References

Hook, S. & Jones, C. (2012). Routledge handbook of American foreign policy. New York: Routledge.

Hwang. & Cerna, L. (2013). Global challenges peace and war. Place of publication not identified: publisher not identified.

Perrin, P. (2009). The impact of humanitarian aid on conflict development. International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Retrieved from http://www.icrc.org

Goose, S., Smyth, F. (2007, September 3). Arming genocide in Rwanda. Frank Smith Independent Journalist since 1987. Retrieved from http://www.franksmyth.com/foreign-affairs/arming-genocide-in- rwanda /

Hakizimana, E., Endless, B. (2009, April 15). Rwanda Today: when foreign aid hurts more than helps. Retrieved from http://www.hrrfoundation.org

Dixon, R. (2014, April 7). Rwanda makes great progress 20 years after genocide. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from http://www.articles.latimes.com