In the movie Hotel Rwanda, Paul, along with all the other Tutsis, puts all of his faith in Western powers. He believes that they will have to come and save them at some point because having them stand by and let this genocide happen is not an option. At one point when a reporter comes to apologize to him for the massacre footage he had filmed. Paul says that he thinks it is important for the world to see this because it will make them intervene quicker. However, later in the movie we see that the West doesn’t really know what is going on at all. On the radio we hear a man saying that there are some acts of genocide going on in Rwanda but it seems that they don’t think the situation is that bad. One of the leaders of the UN shows Paul that the world has no interest in getting involved. He says that no one is coming to help and that their only interest is saving the white people.
In the book Murmbi, The Book of Bones, is also similar to the movie in this way because the characters believe that once the media shows the world what is happening, they will have to intervene. Michel assures his family that the war will soon be over because the west will intervene. He states, however, that he knows it is a lie. He knows that no one will care about what is going on even though they will see the massacres on the news. It is easy to write it off saying that it is happening in a far away place and there is nothing you can do about it.
I thought that one of the most interesting stories was about Faustin Gasana. I think that when the story of the genocide in Rwanda is told, it is rarely described from the sides of the Hutu. The reader is given the impression that Faustin is a reasonable man. He relies on history to say that the Hutu and Tutsis could never live together. It is outrageous to see that his father believes they should be more like Hitler was and only make sure they don’t make the same mistakes that he does by letting people escape. Faustin doesn’t seem to be very emotional about the events that he knows will occur in the next days. He speaks of how excited his men are to kill and he very casually mentions how he will let them sharpen their machetes.
Hotel Rwanda did a better job than Murambi in depicting the indifference of Western powers during the massacre. The inclusion of white reporters among the hotel guests at the Mille Collines was pivotal for understanding the role of Western countries and citizens caught up in the genocide. When all was said and done, it was better for the West to remain indifferent and pull their own people out than it was to support African peoples.
ReplyDeleteShaw: Hedda, I definitely agree with you that Faustin's perspective was very interesting to see. I think in any situation where genocide has occurred, it is hard to view the side of the aggressors with an objective perspective. To see Faustin presented as such a reasonable man is shocking when the Hutus have such a terrifying reputation. However, I extremely disagree with Chandler's comment on this post. While it is imperative to pull out any civilian forces in an area of conflict, it is also important to recognize when fellow humans are being mercilessly slaughtered and tortured. Not that Western powers have a place in every war, but I think to simply ignore what happened and say that it's their problem is a dangerous foray into isolationist theory. We have a responsibility not as a nation or race but as fellow humans.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. Yes, Hotel Rwanda did a better job depicting Western involvement/uninvolvement than Murambi, the Book of Bones. In the film we see how the UN is only interested in saving the whites, not the Rwandan natives. They actually leave after a few of their high ranking officers were killed, fearful for their lives. This left the victims of this African nation to defend for themselves. Yet can we say that it was better for the Western powers to remain indifferent? China was involved, they supplied weapons to the aggressors. Could not the Western powers offered protection to the victims? When does a nation decide it is time to intervene? After the ground is literally soaked in blood? Would then be a good time to step in? Or do they just watch the blood dry?
ReplyDeleteWe often depend on the media to solve problems. In fact, the media was a part of the problem in Rwanda.
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