Description
In April 1994, long-standing tensions between Hutus and Tutsis, the two main ethnic groups in the African state of Rwanda, exploded when the plane of Juvenal Habyarimana, the Hutu president, was shot down. A Hutu militia – along with thousands of ordinary Hutus – massacred more than 800,000 Tutsis in 100 days – the fastest genocide in modern history. But when the exiled Tutsi-led Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) returned to the country as many as two million Hutus, fearing reprisals, fled across the border to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo).
Sixteen years on, many of those Hutus want to return home as part of a reconciliation and repatriation programme sponsored by the UN and the Rwandan government. But what sort of welcome awaits them? We followed some refugees as they returned to Rwanda and saw the fascinating stories that unfolded.