Hotel Rwanda
Have you ever noticed that something can change your life in a minute?
Well I wasn't expecting my life to change when I walked into the movie theatre tonight.
The show? Hotel Rwanda.
If you were unaware, mass genocide occured in 1994 in the African country of Rwanda. Even before that, Belgian immigrants had come and divided the people into tustis
(toot-sies, forgive if I spell it incorrectly) and hutus. The Belgians favored the tustis. When the Belgians finally left, they left the power to the Hutus, either that, or the Hutus took power. Rebellion began.
In 1994, the United Nations was making a peace treaty with the President of Rwanda, a Hutu. It was going to be signed, despite the growing Hutu force and hatred. Low and behold, right when the treaty was to be signed, the President's helicopter was shot down. Hutus said it was the Tusti rebels. Why, if the Tustis wanted peace, would they prevent that peace from happening? A question the main character, Paul, asks in the movie.
These people, who were essentially the same as Hutus, were killed by the masses. The Belgians had only separated people based on size and certain features. THE BELGIANS created two races and turned them against each other.
The worst part? They targeted the children. The Hutu rebels killed children. With machetes and guns, they wanted to prevent the existence of another generation of Tustis. The U.N. said they would help. The U.S. said they would help. Everyone said oh yeah we'll help. But when it got serious, when things looked rough, they pulled out. In the end, the white people got scared and went home to their comfortable living room chairs and their Pinot Noir and their Pavarotti CD's. Even the Rwandan government didn't help too much. The tustis and hutus that helped tustis were left alone. They relied only on the few 300 UN soldiers left to defend the entire country, and they weren't even allowed to shoot.
This movie is based on a true story. You should see it. Whether fake or not, one can't really bear to see thousands upon thousands of dead bodies on a road, but sometimes to get the point you have to.
I am disgusted with humanity. I entered my house, into my priviledged life, to stand in my kitchen. My dogs came to me like usual and I just stood there, silent. Although I've tried, words cannot really describe how I have been changed and how I feel. Only tears will ever know. In July of '94 the war "ended". The Tusti rebel forces drove the Hutus across the border into the Congo, but near to 1,000,000 dead bodies were left behind.
Before you comment on this entry, think very carefully. Most of you, if you try, would say something oh my gosh that's awful I so agree. Well do you? Do you really have the nerve to think that you agree to the point of action? I'm guilty of hipocracy myself. We sit here thinking how awful, but do we ever do anything about it? A press character in the movie said that even though it's horrible, his footage will only make the news for a few minutes, and people like us will say, how terrible, and then continue to eat our dinners. So before you say you agree, before you say that you know what I'm saying, think. Think, do you really actually care? Would you jump out of your seat right now and go donate to some charity? Would that be enough even? I'm not sure myself what I would do, but I do know this: I am extremely disappointed in humankind. Somehow, I will use my life to save those of others. Take this as my solemn vow. Maybe it won't happen in the next 5 or 10 years, but someday, I will give my life for another or do all that I can to spare one. You can count on it.
Well I wasn't expecting my life to change when I walked into the movie theatre tonight.
The show? Hotel Rwanda.
If you were unaware, mass genocide occured in 1994 in the African country of Rwanda. Even before that, Belgian immigrants had come and divided the people into tustis
(toot-sies, forgive if I spell it incorrectly) and hutus. The Belgians favored the tustis. When the Belgians finally left, they left the power to the Hutus, either that, or the Hutus took power. Rebellion began.
In 1994, the United Nations was making a peace treaty with the President of Rwanda, a Hutu. It was going to be signed, despite the growing Hutu force and hatred. Low and behold, right when the treaty was to be signed, the President's helicopter was shot down. Hutus said it was the Tusti rebels. Why, if the Tustis wanted peace, would they prevent that peace from happening? A question the main character, Paul, asks in the movie.
These people, who were essentially the same as Hutus, were killed by the masses. The Belgians had only separated people based on size and certain features. THE BELGIANS created two races and turned them against each other.
The worst part? They targeted the children. The Hutu rebels killed children. With machetes and guns, they wanted to prevent the existence of another generation of Tustis. The U.N. said they would help. The U.S. said they would help. Everyone said oh yeah we'll help. But when it got serious, when things looked rough, they pulled out. In the end, the white people got scared and went home to their comfortable living room chairs and their Pinot Noir and their Pavarotti CD's. Even the Rwandan government didn't help too much. The tustis and hutus that helped tustis were left alone. They relied only on the few 300 UN soldiers left to defend the entire country, and they weren't even allowed to shoot.
This movie is based on a true story. You should see it. Whether fake or not, one can't really bear to see thousands upon thousands of dead bodies on a road, but sometimes to get the point you have to.
I am disgusted with humanity. I entered my house, into my priviledged life, to stand in my kitchen. My dogs came to me like usual and I just stood there, silent. Although I've tried, words cannot really describe how I have been changed and how I feel. Only tears will ever know. In July of '94 the war "ended". The Tusti rebel forces drove the Hutus across the border into the Congo, but near to 1,000,000 dead bodies were left behind.
Before you comment on this entry, think very carefully. Most of you, if you try, would say something oh my gosh that's awful I so agree. Well do you? Do you really have the nerve to think that you agree to the point of action? I'm guilty of hipocracy myself. We sit here thinking how awful, but do we ever do anything about it? A press character in the movie said that even though it's horrible, his footage will only make the news for a few minutes, and people like us will say, how terrible, and then continue to eat our dinners. So before you say you agree, before you say that you know what I'm saying, think. Think, do you really actually care? Would you jump out of your seat right now and go donate to some charity? Would that be enough even? I'm not sure myself what I would do, but I do know this: I am extremely disappointed in humankind. Somehow, I will use my life to save those of others. Take this as my solemn vow. Maybe it won't happen in the next 5 or 10 years, but someday, I will give my life for another or do all that I can to spare one. You can count on it.