Hotel Rwanda

In 1962, after years of colonial exploitation in central Africa, two nations were established: Rwanda and Burundi. The former mainly made up of Hutu’s and the latter of the Tutsi tribe. For many years extreme violence between both sects was rampant. This was brought to a head in 1994 when civil war broke out in Rwanda. Many hundreds of thousands were killed.

According to a report, carried on the US based Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), the difference between the Hutu’s and Tutsi’s is economic rather than ethnic. In the 1980s, the report says:
‘The Rwandan Tutsi’s formed the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) and began attacks against the Hutu – led government. After years of fighting, the Rwandan government launched a genocidal campaign against Tutsi’s living in Rwanda. According to reports over 800,000 people were slaughtered over a period of 100 days. The ethnic strife that sparked the slaughters in Rwanda continue to infect the region.’

The above information provides a background to a terrifying, but compelling, film – ‘Hotel Rwanda’. Starring Don Cheadle and Nick Nolte, Hotel Rwanda has made over $30 million since its release and is a valuable window to anyone wishing to get a proper handle on African tribal violence.

The film follows the everyday life of a Rwandan hotel manager, Paul Rusesabagina (Don Cheadle) who attempts to rescue family and guests from his hotel, which is in the front line of ethnic conflict. But his valiant efforts are only partially successful. A frisson of tension is wrapped around the viewer.

Nick Nolte plays the UN commander, Colonel Oliver, and we are shown the utter futility of the UN. Ultimately the war in Rwanda grew to such a scale that avoiding a massacre became impossible.

The film’s director, Ulsterman, Terry George, brings a large dose of terror to proceedings and one is reminded of the Nazi era when countless numbers of Jews were exterminated. The serious nature of ‘Hotel Rwanda’ is plain for its audience to see. However there are some mildly humorous moments: the bribery, by Cheadle, of one of the militiamen with copious amounts of bottled beer brings a low volume chuckle to this viewer. The bribery is used as a delay tactic in order that the caring hotel manager can buy some time and evacuate his hotel and steer away from harm.

The innocence of those in the hotel is exposed to mindless violence. In one disturbing scene, a box is carried into the hotel kitchen and falls to the ground. A large number of machete’s spill out onto the floor and there’s no doubt they are destined to be used to kill in the warfare gripping Rwanda. ‘Hotel Rwanda’ is a gruesome film to watch and one recoils in horror at the mass murder of those unlucky enough to be caught in the genocide in an otherwise beautiful country.

Terry George’s fine depiction of events should serve as a reminder of the terrible things humans are capable of. Not much to laugh at here, but there is plenty in life that cannot be laughed at. Mr George successfully transmits to us the fear present in Rwanda at the time, a fear that sadly is all too common in many parts of the world. Depressingly, one feels the violence in Rwanda is only the tip of the iceberg in a continent beset with tribal tensions.

Africa has yet to end the brutality which has plagued the continent for decades, if not centuries. This film will hopefully contribute to ending this suffering. It should be a celluloid memorial to the victims and the terrible pain survivors have to endure, physical and emotionally, in a spree of violence that should never have happened.