Hotel Rwanda(2001) directed by Terry George and Murambi, the Book of Bones by Boubacar Boris Diop both depict life during the Rwandan genocide between the Tutsis and Hutus. Each work puts emphasis on the Western World powers and how no one did anything to stop the atrocities that were taking place within Rwanda. Thousands of innocents were murdered yet people mostly ignored the pleas of help from the victims.
Paul Rusesabgaina(Don Cheadle): “I am glad that you have shot this footage and that the world will see it. It is the only way we have a chance that people might intervene.”
Jack(): “Yeah and if no one intervenes, is it still a good thing to show?”
Paul Rusesabgaina: “How can they not intervene when they witness such atrocities?”
Jack: “I think if people see this footage they’ll say, “Oh my God that’s horrible,” and then go on eating their dinners.”
Only the “traitor” Hutus are helping their Tutsi neighbors stay alive, because not even the United Nations will intervene. In a time of war, Colonel Oliver(Nick Nolte) tells Paul “We’re here as peace keepers, not peace makers,” solidifying the idea that Rwanda has been left alone by the rest of the world to sort through their own problems and attempt to stay alive.
The character Cornelius, a history teacher who fled into exile as a teen in Murambi, Book of Bones goes through a transformation when he returns to his homeland where he feels regret and shame that he did nothing to help. While his friends helped and tried to create alert the world, he “had been leading a peaceful existence as a history teacher in Djibouti” (45). Cornelius spends his first few weeks in Rwanda truly learning what had occurred there, and although he started off wanting to compose a play, he decides not to after hearing firsthand what people went through to save themselves. When speaking with Gerard, a man who had escaped death by none other that Cornelius’ father, Gerard explains what he went to to save him self: “I decided that in order to save my skin I would stick with a group, come what may. Even when the soldiers started to shoot bursts in every direction, mu mind stayed very clear. I allowed myself to be covered by the bodies of the first victims. But I was still half visible. So I prayed really hard for others to fall next to me and that’s what happened. I had blood on my clothes, in my eyes, everywhere” (174). This puts emphasis on the tactics that innocent people had to go through, and what would haunt them for the rest of their lives. Gerard would say in conversation “My blood is full of blood,” meaning he was forced to swallow the blood of the victims under whom he was hiding. Cornelius is awakened through the stories of his friends, father, and the sight of the victims who still lay decomposing on Rwandan clay soil. Gerard finishes his story “I’m not making it up, for once that’s not necessary. If you prefer to think that I imagined these horrors your mind will be at peace and that’s not god. This is pain will get lost in opaque words and everything will be forgotten until the next massacre. They really did all these incredible things. It happened in Rwanda only four years ago, when the entire world was playing soccer in America” (176).
Hotel Rwanda and Murambi, Book of Bones takes a look into how the world simply turned their backs on a society of people, allowing some to be murdered mercilessly, while others rampaged the towns acting like maniacs as they were driven through hatred to kill any one of “them.” Each work puts, at least, a slight view of how the western world responded to the media, as well as pleas of the citizens of Rwanda, yet did nothing. Instead they focused on the World Cup Soccer Tournament, a happier event than genocide.
I like how you focused on the suffering of the people through Cornelius's own eyes. Since he had no part to play in the Genocide itself he becomes the chief investigator who we as readers discover the atrocities through. It seems like a very clever way on the authors part to indicate how little one can know about the situation unless we are prepared to seek out the truth for ourselves.
ReplyDeleteWhen there are happier events going on people tend to not want to hear about negative things. People want to focus on the good more than the bad. Think about it you are watching your team play in the World Cup, and someone in the middle of it comes up to you and says people are being killed right now. It is kind of like being a huge Elvis fan and someone coming up and telling you that Elvis stole all of his music. He just ripped people off. You don’t want to hear that ever. It is sad but people try to avoid bad news, and avoid problems. That’s why people constantly read throughout history about an individual standing up, or a form of a hero approaching because that’s really what it takes to push people.
ReplyDeleteWe’ve seen multiple forms of hero’s throughout the semester, and we were able to consider if they were truly a hero at all. The problem is that these people are forced to be heroes because many cannot. It is sad, but true. We can continue to educate and create more awareness, but will people respond or care?
Overall your article was very detailed, and straight to the point. I was able to connect the dots, and able to clearly see your opinion in these matters.
Notice the similarity with Sarajevo. The world was watching what the Royals were doing rather than what the Serbs were doing. Good discussion of Murambi.
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