THE DANGERS OF TRIBALISM

I think you recall me telling you that my mum was half  Rwandese in one of my articles. Would that be Hutu?. What I know is that one of her parents was Ugandan of Rwandese origin.

Anyway, I'm disturbed by this statement: "the Rwandan government is dominated by ethnic Tutsis." If government workers and department heads are hired on a merit system--meaning, applicants for government system take tests to determine their intellectual qualifications for government service, then that would, at least in part, reduce the dominance of Tutsi domination.  This should be combined with "affirmative action" to give some preferences to Hutus in the actual hiring--provided that they meet basic qualifications for employment.

The problem here is: should ethnicity be reported to make sure that Hutus get that preference? Or should there be no mention of ethnicity and hire strictly on academic qualifications?

I prefer the latter. In the U.S. they had problems with white people, in order to get certain benefits reserved for American Indians, to claim that they were half Indian--which qualified them for the benefits.  Well, how does one prove or disprove whether one is half Indian?  Likewise, a Tutsi could claim that he's Hutu.  How that could be proved or disproved? 

I think we agree that the concept of tribe and ethnicity should be done away with and more emphasis be placed on intellectual qualities.