Lessons from Rwanda: Warning Signs & Resilience for Today

Jillian Aurora
Sep 17
5 min read

HearthFinder is about building and protecting hearths—whether that means starting a new life abroad or finding ways to stay safe where you are. Part of tending the hearth is remembering history, because history has much to teach us about resilience in times of upheaval.

One of the hardest but most important stories to revisit is Rwanda.

A Brief History

Rwanda is a small country in East Africa with a long history of farming, family, and tight-knit communities. But colonial powers—first Germany, then Belgium—drew hard lines between people who had lived together for generations. They categorized Rwandans into two main groups: Hutu and Tutsi. These categories were politicized, reinforced on ID cards, and manipulated by those in power.

By the 20th century, identity was no longer just cultural—it was a weapon. The Hutu majority gained political dominance, but resentment, fear, and propaganda simmered beneath the surface. By the early 1990s, politicians and media outlets were openly dehumanizing Tutsi people, calling them “cockroaches” and spreading the idea that they were a threat to the nation.

In April 1994, the president’s plane was shot down, and the fragile balance collapsed. Over the next 100 days, Hutu militias and civilians carried out one of the fastest genocides in history, killing an estimated 800,000 Tutsi people and moderate Hutus. Entire families were wiped out. Neighbors turned on neighbors. The world watched but did not act in time.

And yet, there was resilience, even in the darkest times. People survived because they built quiet networks of trust, because someone chose to hide a neighbor, because communities shared food and information when the state collapsed. Documentation mattered. Memory mattered. Those who wrote down, who recorded, who bore witness gave future generations a way to understand and heal. Some communities quietly resisted the tide of violence. After the genocide, Rwanda undertook one of the most complex reconciliation processes the world has seen, trying to rebuild a society shattered by hatred.

The Role of Technology: Our Key Difference from Rwanda

There is one way we are very different from Rwanda in 1994: technology. Then, the most powerful weapon of propaganda was the radio. Today, the tools are far more advanced. Social media, mass surveillance, and data collection can spread hate and fear faster than ever—and they can make individuals easier to find, target, and harass. This is the dark side.

But technology is also a lifeline. Encrypted messaging can protect communities who need to communicate quietly. Secure cloud storage can safeguard documents if you need to move quickly. VPNs can protect your location. Networks can connect people across states and across borders in real time, building solidarity and support where isolation once reigned.

The lesson is this: technology is neither savior nor enemy—it is a tool. Use it wisely. Guard your information, be cautious about what you share, and lean on the parts of it that can strengthen your safety and your community. In Rwanda, the radio carried the call to violence. Today, what carries through the wires can either inflame destruction or preserve life. The choice of how we engage with it matters.

Why This Matters

Why return to Rwanda now? Because we observe our leaders once again using dehumanizing language, we see charged and exaggerated propaganda spreading, we know our institutions have stopped feeling fair - and most frightening - our neighbors have begun to see each other as enemies. These are the sparks that can grow into fire if left untended. We are not Rwanda in 1994. But the echoes are there, and it would be unwise to ignore them.

Barbara Walter, Rachel Kleinfeld, and Timothy Snyder remind us that genocides and civil wars don’t appear out of nowhere. They build slowly, in language, in laws, in the erosion of trust in institutions. Rwanda teaches us that propaganda can move people from fear to violence with terrifying speed. It also shows us that resilience—through community, courage, and preparation—is always possible, even when the odds seem pitiful.

What To Do When the Warning Signs Appear

The most haunting lesson of Rwanda is that people saw the signs but felt powerless to act. Many who were targeted believed they had no choice but to wait for what came next. But you are not powerless. There are steps you can take to guard your hearth and protect your community if you begin to see the same warning signs around you:

Strengthen your circle of trust. Build relationships now with neighbors, friends, or networks who will look out for one another. In Rwanda, survival often depended on who would hide you, who would share food, who would warn you in time.
Secure your essentials. Keep your documents, cash, and medication in a place you can grab quickly. Have copies in multiple safe places. In moments of unrest, these small preparations can mean the difference between being trapped and having options.
Diversify your information. Don’t rely on one news source, and be cautious of propaganda. In Rwanda, the radio was the weapon. Today, it might be social media. Seek out multiple perspectives so you aren’t blindsided by manufactured fear.
Protect your digital footprint. If identity becomes a target, what you’ve posted online can be used against you. Scrub unnecessary details, lock down privacy settings, and consider separate identities for public vs. private communication.
Think through escape routes. Not just physically (though that matters), but socially. Who could you call on if your home became unsafe? What local organizations, faith communities, or mutual aid networks might provide shelter?
Stay alert to language. Dehumanizing rhetoric is never harmless. When you hear leaders or neighbors compare people to “vermin” or “threats,” take it seriously. That is when planning matters most.

These steps are not about living in fear. They are about refusing to wait to become a victim. They are about tending your hearth so that, whatever comes, your fire does not go out.