Review of the Film Hotel Rwanda

The years following the independence of Rwanda in 1962 from Belgium saw developing periodic violent attacks and ethnic tensions between Rwanda's Tutsi minority and Hutu majority (Gourevitch, 1998). Hundreds of Tutsis flew into exile in the countries bordering them and in the 1990s invasion by a Tutsi insurgent exile group to Hutu majority sparked a political war that ended in August 1993 (Gourevitch, 1998). On April 7, 1994, the president of Rwanda, a Hutu, was murdered when his airplane was shot down in Kigali airport (Gourevitch, 1998). The politicians, majorly the Hutus blamed Tutsis for the death of the president's and within hours, laxly organized militia groups of Hutus known as the Interhamwe started mobilizing their people across Rwanda. During a pre-planned campaign, the Hutu gangs murdered around 800,000 Tutsis and some Hutus in just 100 days (Gourevitch, 1998). The world and the international community in full understanding of the condition, it did nearly nothing to stop the slaughter. Racism might have played a function in the failure of the international community to act and stop the genocide. The film has not mention any given possible providing factors like the disastrous United States humanitarian interference in Somalia during the 1993, which finished after a United States helicopter was shot and the U.S. soldiers bodies were dragged via the roads of Mogadishu (Gourevitch, 1998).

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A story arose, about heroism during this time The Hotel Rwanda. The story is about a hotel which was commemorated in a most-celebrated 2004 movies of Hollywood. But then again, the story is about a heroic hotelier, Oskar Schindler, who safeguarded his guests, but this was not quite what it seems (Gourevitch, 1998). Therefore, the paper explains the Hotel Rwanda true story of one individual's courage in the heart of this genocide.

Kayihura Edward was a survivor of the massacre and one of the 1,278 individuals who filched refuge inside the hotel (Gourevitch, 1998). In the hotel, these people thought of themselves as hotel employees, victims and refugees. At times these people considered themselves as prisoners who were so glad to be alive and similarly stuck inside this hotel with no place to go. As captives in this hotel which appeared to be luxurious dungeon, they had a very depraved prison watchman who, like most classically corrupt guards, treated them poorly and exploited them. Luckily enough, these people never thought of themselves as hostages. A hostage is an individual in some kind of detention who has an apparent value in barter (Gourevitch, 1998). As days passed, the RPF began assembling war prisoners. During this time the people at the hotel, deep within Hutu territory and most of them simpatico to the RPF/Hutus power cause, offered a bargaining mark for the FAR to utilize in getting most of their persons RPF extremists. Actually, particular people within the interim government and the militias had earlier considered taking these people as hostage, as a security in the negotiations in the future.

The United Nations peacekeepers thought that if this procedure was allowed to take place before any given formal peace agreement or in case a cease-fire had by this time been reached; the exchange of prisoners would be generally imbalanced. The United Nations Colonel only considered that his troops were only peacekeepers and not peacemakers and the UN troops were allowed to use their firepower just in self-defense (Gourevitch, 1998). The extremists having hostages, especially those in the higher profile would have the advantage in negotiation. This moved into the peacekeepers thought that when they decide their best move, they would have to get the refugees to the hotel first, in order to protect them until the consultations were already along. This is one thing the people in the hotel were not aware of when they spent their days of the genocide inside the hotel compound. They might have been safer, but they were not, in actual fact, safe. During the time the massacre was undergoing, these individuals lived in dark rooms because of the political conspiracy around the whole country (Gourevitch, 1998).

You will realize that the owner of the hotel placed far more value on safeguarding his family than safeguarding his neighbors. But then again, as the film continues, his sense of responsibility towards his countrymen and neighbors deepens. Certainly, instead of abandoning the refugees, he was hiding, he decides to send his family to security while he remains behind. This action caused most of the refugees to wonder why Rusesabagina, who was suspected of issuing refugees names to RTLM radio, had allowed his wife to be carried using one of the transports (Gourevitch, 1998). Maybe he felt that since he was considered one of the most important men and an acquaintance to the genocidaires, his wife would not be harmed while others individual beaten or murdered.

The most important turning point during the war happened on May 23 when the RPF were able to take control of the Military Camp in Kanombe, and more than eight hundred soldiers of Rwanda and their families gave up in favor of General Dallaire (Gourevitch, 1998). The general handed them to the Red Cross, which later handed them to the RPF and supervised their captivity. The incarceration of the surrendered soldiers plus their families, and some of the Hutu refugees in the King Faisal Hospital and the Hotel Meridien, put force on the government militia to safeguard the refugees who hide at the des Mille Collines Hotel (Gourevitch, 1998). The RPF managed the National Stadium of Amahoro in Kigali and utilized it as a captivity camp (Gourevitch, 1998). Most of the killers who trooped under the power Hutu banner were now enclosed there with their friends. Those in the hotel were a property for the genocidaires. The genocidaires were only in need of a cease-fire when they become conscious they were on the verge of losing the war. The provisional government coaxed the Interahamwe, pleading with them that they could not execute the individuals in the hotel since the people were going to be exchanged for their families and members and in the RPF region.

In May 23, Major General of Ghana called Yaache, military observer and a sector commander of UNAMIR plus his team, attended a meeting at the Hotel des Diplomates so as to officially discuss hostages transfer (Gourevitch, 1998). Chitchats spread all-over the hotel community on rumors of looming a road to safety and freedom. But still, there were individuals among the refugees still nurturing their injuries from the thrashings they conquered at Sopecya Station. The people continued asking themselves if the Interahamwe, who were seen only concerned with bloodlust and completely out of control would actually get along with a whole plan of allowing the refugees to vacate the hotel. RTLM radio continued to pumping people with full roaring murderous thoughts and hatred every day (Gourevitch, 1998). The mood had not improved since 6th of April. These individuals were clearly led, with thoughts full of irrational paranoia and fears, and deep personal anxieties that caused them jealous and suspicious of anyone of intellect or reason. They became the hate-filled diehards of the country, who were fully absorbed in government- approved violence.

Conclusion

The film indicates that there was a very close connection between the Hutu government and French and, even when the killings were taking place. During the eighth anniversary of the Rwandan Genocide, the president blamed the French of deliberately arming and training the Hutus, seeing that they would kill Tutsis (Gourevitch, 1998). Until today, the French government still deny this, however it is irrefutable that France was the number one weapon supplier of weapons to the Rwandan government's. World leaders officially adopted the duty to protect the responsibility to arbitrate in when national regimes fail to carry out their duty to safeguard their citizens from vicious crimes in 2005 (Gourevitch, 1998). In 2006 the United Nation Security Council approved Resolution 1674 that obligates the Council to safeguard civilians in the course of armed conflicts (Gourevitch, 1998). Thus, hope was all that enables the refugees in the Hotel through each night and day. The movie has stated one of the major ugly and horrifying events in current history of genocide campaign while the world watched on and did absolutely nothing. It was all on how a man could protect a thousand lives in spite of how hard the conditions he had to face.

References

BIBLIOGRAPHY Gourevitch, P. (1998, March 8). Ethics on Film: Discussion of "Hotel Rwanda. Retrieved from carnegiecouncil.org: http://www.carnegiecouncil.org/education/002/film/reviews/0004.html