What Is Hotel Rwanda Genocide

The Nazi genocide and the reign of terror Hitler inflicted on the Jews during WWII is not unique. Rwanda suffered an equally brutal reign of terror in 1994. However, not many people are aware of the genocide. It was not until the film “Hotel Rwanda” by Terry George, was released as a direct result of the genocide that the world took cognisance of this atrocity. To what extent does the film, “Hotel Rwanda” by Terry George accurately portray the events of the Rwandan genocide? By analysing the incidents portrayed in the film against actual incidents and making reference to actual people against characters in the movie, it can be argued that the film portrays the genocide truthfully, although character names and certain individual perspectives
were not taken into account.
During the Rwandan genocide people turned against each other using machetes (Source A) as the weapon of choice, as it was a basic tool in each household, along with spears and knives, which were wielded by Hutu’s, as they tried to wipe out the minority Tutsi’s.
This genocide, which was started by extreme Hutu nationalists, in the capital city of Kigali, spread throughout the country with staggering speed and brutality, as ordinary citizens were incited by local Hutu officials which in turn were incited by Hutu government officials, to take up arms against fellow citizens who were considered to be either of Tutsi decent or to be moderate Hutu’s. In many incidents, neighbours turned on neighbours. The genocide had not been as technologically advanced as that of the Jewish genocide, as there were no gas chambers or organised round-ups, instead Tutsi’s were brutally slaughtered in their tracks, by those they once trusted (Source D). This is accurately portrayed in the film as one is able to see the Hutu people carrying the same weaponry when threatening and brutally killing the Tutsi people where they stood (Source
B).
However the film “Hotel Rwanda” does not show the true extent of the events which occurred during the genocide.
The film depicts a harsh environment with citizens struggling to stay alive and safe (Source H) along with mass deaths (Source O). In contrast during the actual Rwandan genocide people were brutally murdered and left for dead where they were found (Source J), with many young people being forced to watch their own family, close relatives and friends being brutally murdered by those who were seen as allies and friends (Source D). Added to this, many more people were injured and left for dead (Source N). Thus the Rwandan genocide had far reaching repercussions. One is able to see that the film itself is that of a typical Hollywood film, as it depicts hope and positivity throughout, as can be seen with the portrayal of the Rusesabagina family, who is able to stay positive and survive throughout the movie (Source H). However, during the Rwandan genocide many Tutsi and moderate Hutu families could not stay positive and lost all hope as they did not know if they would survive the day, let alone the entire
atrocity.
In the film “Hotel Rwanda”, Paul Rusesabagina, the owner of Hotel des Mille Collines, is portrayed as a hero (Source M) who saved thousands of refugees of both Tutsi as well as Hutu decent. Rusesabagina is portrayed as a man who hid many refugees in the hotel he oversaw by allowing them to stay for free as well as by providing them with free food, water and sanitation. In Rusesabagina’s autobiography which he later published titled ‘An Ordinary Man’, he portrays himself as the hero as he was the person solely responsible for the safety and care of his hotel guests – refugees – and reiterates that he was the one who risked everything in order to keep his guests safe (Source L). In contrast, many survivors of the Rwandan genocide that experienced the true events that occurred at Hotel des Mille Collines describe Rusesabagina as being a cruel man that expected those seeking safety to pay for shelter, food and sanitation (Source L) with money that many of them did not have and could not source. Rusesabagina is said to be a man who would search the rooms of the refugees to ensure they were not hiding anyone in typical Anne Frank fashion. It is reported that he placed a cashier in the dining area to ensure that no one ate for free. Many refugees describe the events which occurred at Hotel des Mille Collines as being so unforgiving that the guests were forced to have to drink the swimming pool water as Rusesabagina would not allow them access to fresh drinking water. Later the water was drained as the swimming pool water became unsanitary for them to drink (Source L).
In the film, Rusesabagina is portrayed as a caring and smart man who bribed officials with money and alcohol in order to protect his family as well as those people he was looking after in the hotel as refugees. He is portrayed as having kept good relations with the officials and on many occasions diverted them where necessary (Source M) by negotiating and bribing them in order to keep the refugees safe. However in reality Rusesabagina is reported to have only looked after his own interests by keeping up his associations with various insurgents during the genocide (Source L). In the film Rusesabagina is seen fighting during the evacuation of the refugees for their safe passage as he speaks to the Rwandan Army General, Augustine Bizimungu and when bribes no longer work, he blackmails him with threats of being tried as a war criminal (Source I). However in reality, when a delegation of Rwandan military and UN peacekeepers arrived at the hotel to evacuate the refugees with three trucks, Rusesabagina insisted on searching their luggage to make sure that no one had taken any hotel towels, linen or any other hotel equipment (Source L). Rusesabagina is described as being a friend of the masterminds behind the genocide. (Source L)
During the Rwandan genocide many people were kept hidden in places such as orphanages which were run by Italian priests for example (Source E) or in refugee camps run by the UN. However conditions in these camps were unhygienic as a result of overcrowding and lack of proper sanitation, food and water (Source P). During the Rwandan genocide many families were kept in these camps, however due to the unfavourable conditions mentioned such as poor sanitation, lack of proper clean drinking eater and little to no food, many of them ended up starving to death slowly and some even died (Source P). However in the film, in typical Hollywood style, although the refugee camps are shown, the harsh conditions the people living in these camps experienced are not fully shown. Only the large amounts of people living in these camps can be seen. Families in these camps are depicted as healthy and well fed which is in contrast to the actual truth of starving families (Source H).
In the film, civil war breaks out between the Tutsi’s and the Hutu’s due to the assassination of the president Juvénal Habyarimana when the plane he was travelling in was shot down and he died as a result of the plane crash (Source M). These events are the same as the events that occurred in the Rwandan genocide. The Hutu’s who were in the majority at the time, blamed the Tutsi’s who were in the minority at the time for the assassination of the president (Source L). In both the movie and the film the United Nations were requested to become involved in order to help the refugees and thus bring an end to the genocide (Source L and Source I).
Therefore one can conclude that when comparing both the film “Hotel Rwanda” and the actual events which took place during the Rwandan genocide, the events which took place are very similar, with slight changes in the film being introduced in order to appeal to the target audience. These slight changes to the events which are made in the film result in the film “Hotel Rwanda” not being a reliable source to reference when trying to obtain specific facts and figures and the depiction of actual information specific to the events which took place during the genocide, as peoples personal opinions and experiences were not taken into consideration and a biased viewpoint is portrayed. Character names are changed and the severity of certain events are not depicted accurately. However, the film, as a whole, accurately portrays the events of death and the way in which people were killed, along with vast numbers of people that were killed. The severity of the genocide is portrayed in such a way that the audience is shocked, but not as shocked as they should be when dissecting the war crimes and human injustices suffered by the refugees. The film “Hotel Rwanda” serves to educate its audience by portraying a Hollywood version of this atrocity – the truth would be banned