Hotel Rwanda

On Friday night I watched Hotel Rwanda. It is about the genocide that took place in Rwanda in 1994. A million members of the Tutsi tribe were killed by members of the Hutu tribe in a massacre that took place while the world looked away. I guess the film really focuses on Paul Rusesabagina, the manager of a four star hotel, and a real modern day Oscar Schnidler. He opens his hotel to refugees. And even after the economic collapse of the country he wakes up every morning, puts on a suit, and continues to fake business as usual, even when things get so bad that he can barely hold it together long enough to tie his tie. He saved the lives of 1200 people at great risk to his own. To see this film is to lament in human cruelty and to exalt the thought that there are those who risk their lives to combat it.

A man in the film, Jack, after being thanked by Paul for filming the genocide said, “I think if people see this footage they'll say, 'Oh my God, thats horrible!' And then they'll go on eating their dinners.” How true is that? How often do we watch the news, think about the horrors that are taking place, and then walk away. I know that there is really nothing that any one of us can do about it, but maybe that's just the attitude that gets everything fucked up in the first place. It's hard not to feel culpable.

-Ashley

Call you mom on the telephone
Tell her that you're coming home
Tell her there's not a chance
You're ever going to change the world.