Hotel Rwanda Film
Why Are People So Cruel?
Introduction
Rwanda’s people focused on ethnic differences between Hutus and Tutsis deliberately caused by Germany and Belgian colonizers in the mid-1880s. During that time, racism was highly practiced in Europe. After world war I, Rwanda become a Belgian protectorate. The Belgian authorities used the Tutsis to run the country. The authorities introduced a system of identity, which showed every person’s ethnicity affecting Rwandans identity and their social flexibility. The Tutsi elite started demanding the end of Belgian rule after world war II. The move made Belgian authorities support the Hutu community, who, in 1959, created a long-lasting expulsion of the Tutsi community from Rwanda. Therefore, genocide in Rwanda was rooted in ethnicity, which originated from Europeans and powerful African elites, as evidenced by the hotel Rwanda film.
Paul places more weight on protecting his family than protecting the neighbors at the start of the film. After sending his family to safety, his sense of commitment to the neighbors and fellow countrymen increases. Paul took hundreds of Hutu and Tutsi refugees because he had too much humanity only to make them be slaughtered (Momberg, 2016). Morbid, who is the leader of rebels, ordered the kill of the Tutsi people. Therefore, Paul’s actions show that people give more priority to their welfare than others’ welfare.
The film shows a close relationship between the French and Hutu governments during the genocide. The Rwandan president also accused the French of training and arming the Hutus to support the Tutsi massacre. Although the French authorities deny the accusations, it was clear that France was supplying weapons to the Rwandan government. Therefore, France is also among the leading cause of genocides in Rwanda.
Racism also took part in the international community’s failure to intervene and stop the Rwanda genocide. World leaders recently have adopted the responsibility to protect act with the duty to intervene when countries’ leadership fail to protect their citizens from crimes. The responsibility to protect the act was not implemented in Rwanda since the other countries just watched as people were slaughtered. It is evidenced in the film when UN Colonel tells reporters that his soldiers are peacekeepers, not peacemakers, and the world does not care about Rwanda. He further explains that they were only permitted to use their weapons in self-defense. The United Nations evacuated foreigners and left Rwandans behind. Therefore, it shows that governments are focused on their citizens’ welfare than the welfare of foreign people.
conclusion
The United Nations tribunal should expose the genocide’s truth to make a difference in human rights in Rwanda. The genocide was as a result of planned abuse of ethnic differences leaders trying to hold into power. The film shows that the United Nations troops did not intervene with the genocide as they were evacuating foreigners leaving behind the local people. The colonel also said that the UN troops were only allowed to fight for self-defense and not keep the peace. Additionally, the French government supplied weapons to Hutus to facilitate massacres to Tutsi. The film explains the cruelty in the human heart to live with spiritual integrity in the absence of hope of physical survival. Rwandans were slaughtered during the war, and human bodies were lying all over the streets showing total ignorance from the outside world. The film urges people not to forget and repeat the same mistakes.
References
Momberg, M. (2016). Hotel Rwanda: Individual heroism or interconnectedness in the portrayal of Paul Rusesabagina? Scriptura, 115, 1-12.