Stephanie Noland

Viewing the perpetrators of vile deeds as motivated merely by evil is a gross oversimplification. In the introduction, Jean Hatzfield states that the story will follow the lives of the killers: the Hutu men who perpetrated the Rwandan genocide and murdered their Tutsi neighbors en masse. The narration style switches between chapters written in third person omniscient style and chapters composed of many short sections of first person narratives from the perspectives of the Hutu men interviewed by the author. The third person chapters provide context for the stories of the Hutus, while the numerous stories themselves add a personal element that reveals the thoughts and mindsets of the Hutu’s who participated in one of the largest and most

The concept of groupthink comes from Irving Janis who discusses how “small groups tend to be vulnerable to a dangerous psychological process” (Barash 2014, 31). This group mentality allows for desensitization as well as a thirst for power. During the film, Paul Rusesabagina interacts multiple times with Georges Rutaganda who leads Interahamwe, a cruel local Hutu militia. Often he is seen trying to influence Paul into agreeing with his ideals either with threats or solicitations. There is a parade for “Hutu Power” during the film, where George is seen dancing along others whom are all brandishing weapons. This scene is significant because it shows how blissful events such as parades can influence individuals to celebrate a cause that is questionable. Additionally, one important symptom of groupthink is the “illusion of being invulnerable to the main dangers that might arise from a risky action in which the group is strongly tempted to engage” (Barash 2014, 35). It seemed as though throughout the film the members of the militia felt invincible and did not believe action would be taken against them, as was often the case. Thus, with this image of complete power in their minds, they felt no guilt with their actions, especially in a group

Hotel Rwanda is a tragic movie that puts a face on the conflict that was largely ignored by the western world. It graphically shows the results of various conflicts and the results of racial prejudice caused by historical actions. It also demonstrates that racism can occur outside the ‘normal’ black white conflicts. Hotel Rwanda falls short when giving an in-depth explanation of the causes of the war. However, a little research and critical reading bring a greater understanding of the film and the suffering of

The Hutu’s believe the Tutsi’s were trying to regain power. There was a long history of rivalry and violence between these two tribes and the killing of the president was the catalyst ignited the voracious flames of revenge. The Hutu’s began their manhunt to find and kill the Tutsi’s in revenge for the years of perceived oppression when the Tutsi’s ruled Rwanda.

Hotel Rwanda tackles a recent event in history where the Hutu extremists of Rwanda initiated a terrifying campaign of genocide, massacring approximately

In the article UBC faces new rights complaint over handling of sex-assault report by the Globe and Mail, it is explained that in January 2013, Stephanie Hale was sexually assaulted by a fellow student at the University of British Columbia. When filing a complaint to B.C.’s Human Rights Tribunal against the alleged attacker, they took little action in resolving the case, which in turn took Hale’s health and education for the worst. Hale believes there to be a better method in responding to reports like these and has continued to try persuade to the university to change its policies through the aid of lawyers and having trials, but to no avail. However, many are filing complaints to universities and are attempting to change their policies.

2. I believe that the quote "the person whose throat you do not cutwill be the one who cuts yours." originated from a Hutu extremist that wanted to exite hate in the minds of Hutus; also, to help loose the humanity in Hutus so killing will become easier. To counter act this there should be frequant reminders that Tutsis are not all horrible people.

On 6 April 1994, the worlds attention was shifted to the small, nation of Rwanda in africa. In the time following of the assassination of President Habyarimana, the ethnic Hutu majority began a deliberate the hutu extremist were known as R.P.F., carefully planned to eradicate the Tutsi population in any means necessary. When Rwanda gained independence, the Hutu majority took over of the political bodies and held a grudge against the tutsi minority. The Tutsi were for the most part had more money and were better educated. For this reason they were seen as spoiled so the hutus wanted what they had and example of class separation. After the R.P.F. took over the Rwandan government, they placed Tutsis in all the head positions of leadership. Starting in the late nineteen eighties , there were terrible massacres of the Tutsis people. A system of identification cards was put in place in to “ethnicity.” In 1990, a Tutsi majority rebel group, invaded Rwanda from Uganda, bringing more tension. The belgians coined the nickname “inyenzi”, meaning “cockroaches.” Racial slurs, hate media and negative propaganda escalated tensions to the point where political parties were forming militias and practically waiting for something to light the fuse. The flame that lit that fuse, came form the assassination of Rwandan long time favorite president, Juvenal Habyarimana. The identity of the person or persons that shot the rocket that hit his plane as it was landing is a mystery that has never

Fear sparked the Rwandan genocide. In the novel, Immaculee says, “It was always some disembodied, malevolent voice calling for ‘Hutu Power’--the catchphrase for Hutus to rise up against their Tutsi friends and neighbors: ‘These Tutsi cockroaches are out to Kill us. Do not trust them… we Hutus must act first!” The Tutsis were not going to kill the Hutus, but this caused the Tutsis and the Hutus to both fear each other. This caused the Hutus to exterminate them.

An illegitimate grandson of Roger II named Tancred claimed the throne quickly. Fearing Joan, who backed the rule of William II’s aunt, Constance, he restricted her movement and took all of her feudal revenue for himself. Joan’s brother, Richard I “Lionheart” of England, stopped in Sicily while on his way to the Holy Land for the Crusade. Richard threatened Tancred for his sister’s release and for her royal dowry. Tancred complied with her release, though he had to compensate for her royal seat (Monte Sant’Angelo) because he would not release it. Joan would return to England after returning from a short pilgrimage to Palestine in 1192.

Civil war constantly plagues Africa and can be the cause of tribalism, rival warlords fighting for control, and foreign influence to name a few. I will start off with civil war due to tribalism. The

Genocide is “the deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, ethnic, political, or cultural group”. In Rwanda for example, the Hutu-led government embraced a new program that called for the country’s Hutu people to murder anyone that was a Tutsi (Gourevitch, 6). This new policy of one ethnic group (Hutu) that was called upon to murder another ethnic group (Tutsi) occurred during April through June of 1994 and resulted in the genocide of approximately 800,000 innocent people that even included women and children of all ages. In this paper I will first analyze the origins/historical context regarding the discontent amongst the Hutu and Tutsi people as well as the historical context as to why major players in the international

“Hutu extremists blamed the RPF and immediately started a well-organized campaign of slaughter. The RPF said the plane had been shot down by Hutus to provide an excuse for the genocide” (BBC News). The Hutu extremists feared the RPF, a secret Tutsi resistance army, and needed to get rid of them, they now had their excuse. The 100 days of genocide began on April 6, 1994, when the Hutu leaders from several groups united and set up roadblocks and immediately began slaughtering Tutsis and even neutral Hutus less than an hour after word of the plane crash got out (BBC News). One of the major issues with this mindset, besides the fact that they were committing genocide, was that the racial differences between the Hutus and Tutsis were mostly arbitrary (History.com). The two groups were so interracially mixed that it was nearly impossible to tell them apart, and citizens needed ID cards with their ethnicity in order to classify them. Researchers even tried measuring nose lengths in order to categorize people to one group of the other. According to one researcher, “This was Third Reich stuff” (Tinline). The entire reason for the terror was capricious, caused only by fear of one group who wanted action and knew how to cause it. This is the first step of genocide, which might one day lead to the last step of humanity.

With this conceded class distinction came the fight for reigning ability, and amidst this power vacuum, Rwandans fell victim to conflicting groups and crime, the eventual building blocks that lead to the massacre of 800,000 civilians. The origins of this ethnic loathing and in turn ethnic genocide can be secured to European colonialism, where those who arrived to colonize and yield the wealth of western knowledge, instead carried racist beliefs. Through this haunting event in history, when foreign governments unfittingly place their ideologies in unknown territory, revealed is how uninvited nations can destabilize a state by stimulating ethnic warfare, causing it to collapse and crumble through conflict.

Beginning April of 2004, the Rwandan Hutu started mass murders of Tutsi. This genocide is believed to have spawned from the civil war that was taking place at that time. This civil war was based on issues over power and resentment between the Tutsi and the Hutu. (Rwanda, 2008) Eventually the war escalated to the point where the Hutu began genocide of the Tutsi and anybody who opposed the ideas of the Hutu. The killing of the Tutsis became so common—in a very short amount of time—that it was practically acceptable amongst the Rwandans. (Hintjens, 1999) This was a very brutal and gruesome genocide. In just five weeks, approximately half a million Tutsi and innocent civilians had been murdered. (Hintjens, 1999) This is an astounding number of people, especially because the Hutu murdered the Tutsi at knife point—usually with a machete. (Snow, 2008)