VA - Help Rwanda! African Artists For Africa (1995)

"Help Rwanda! African Artists For Africa" is a charity album supporting "Ärzte ohne Grenzen" ("Doctors Without Borders") and UNHCR.

In 1990, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a rebel group composed of nearly 500,000 Tutsi refugees, invaded northern Rwanda from their base in Uganda, initiating the Rwandan Civil War. The group condemned the Hutu-dominated government for failing to democratize and confront the problems facing these refugees. Neither side was able to gain a decisive advantage in the war, but by 1992 it had weakened Habyarimana's authority; mass demonstrations forced him into a coalition with the domestic opposition and eventually to sign the 1993 Arusha Accords with the RPF. The cease-fire ended on 6 April 1994 when Habyarimana's plane was shot down near Kigali Airport, killing him. The shooting down of the plane served as the catalyst for the Rwandan genocide, which began within a few hours. Over the course of approximately 100 days, around 800,000[ Tutsi and politically moderate Hutu were killed in well-planned attacks on the orders of the interim government. Many Twa were also killed, despite not being directly targeted.

The Tutsi RPF restarted their offensive, and took control of the country methodically, gaining control of the whole country by mid-July.[ The international response to the genocide was limited, with major powers reluctant to strengthen the already overstretched UN peacekeeping force. When the RPF took over, approximately two million Hutu fled to neighbouring countries, in particular Zaïre, fearing reprisals;[ additionally, the RPF-led army was a key belligerent in the First and Second Congo Wars. Within Rwanda, a period of reconciliation and justice began, with the establishment of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and the reintroduction of Gacaca, a traditional village court system. Since 2000 Rwanda's economy, tourist numbers, and Human Development Index have grown rapidly; between 2006 and 2011 the poverty rate reduced from 57% to 45%, while life expectancy rose from 46.6 years in 2000 to 59.7 years in 2015.


Tracklist:
1 –Bundhu Boys * Radio Africa 4:05
2 –Four Brothers * Uchandifunga 4:33
3 –Real Sounds * Wende Zako 8:23
4 –Biggie Tembo * Out Of Africa 5:40
5 –Machanic Manyeruke * Kana Vatsvene Vopinda 3:44
6 –Bundhu Boys * Pombi 5:08
7 –Four Brothers * Rudo Chete 4:57
8 –S. E. Rogie * My Lovely Elizabeth 2:59
9 –Machanic Manyeruke * Cain Na Abel 3:32
10 –Biggie Tembo * Punza 5:33
11 –S. E. Rogie * I Wish I Was A Cowboy 3:14
12 –Real Sounds * Dynamos vs. Tornados 13:21


VA - Help Rwanda! African Artists For Africa (1995)
(320 kbps, front cover included)