Hotel Rwanda

My sophomore year, in world history, we watched a movie named Hotel Rwanda. I’ve now just watched it again in World Humanities. In the 1990’s there was a massive Genocide in the country of Rwanda. Rebels killed around a million people. Their reasoning is still baffling to me because I don’t understand harming another human at all, let alone because of how they look or their race. I don’t understand violence like the murders that happened at all.

Hutus and Tutsis are two categories of races. The categories were established for a reason I can’t remember. It has something to do with minorities and who would do what to contribute to society and work. Whoever organized the boundaries that distinguished the fine line of Hutus and Tutsis gave some odd requirements. Factors like height made a difference. In order to be Tutsi, you had to be over a certain height. Also things like skin color (lighter or darker), nose width, head shape, etc. were considered. Tutsis were favored and after the distinguishments were made, tended to be more beautiful.

In the movie Hotel Rwanda, it follows a man and his family along with the upkeep and sanctuary that his hotel brought to many refugees. This was based off of a true story during the genocide. This man lives through many days in fear along with others of being attacked by the Hutu rebels. This man is Hutu and is offered to join in by one of the Hutu rebel leaders. But he is a good man and his wife is Tutsi making his loved ones targets. He keeps his hotel and survives only with supplies like fancy cigars and good whiskey to bribe the connections he has to help guard his hotel or call off attacks by rebels. Money is of no use to his connections at a certain point. In the end, his hotel is up kept to the best of his and his staffs ability with over the maximum capacity. The hotel came under attack near the end but most make it out on UN trucks.

This man was a hero for housing refugees at a great risk and with little help for such a length of time. He made smart decisions and did all he could to keep others safe.