Rwanda

Hotel Rwanda is an excellent movie. It shows the horror of the 1994 massacre of Tutsis, but tells the story in a way that is comprehendable. In this case, Paul Rusesabagina is a Hutu (married to a Tutsi) who works at a 4 star Belgian owned hotel. It is his experience managing foreigners and his purported connections to the West that keep him and many Tutsis alive in the center of Kigali.

Paul's character, ably played by Don Cheadle, undergoes great change. At first he is reluctant to help his neighbors for fear of losing his job. He comes to see that his job is meaningless, particuarly when the West abandons the Tutsis to their fate. One criticism of the movie I read says that the movie does not put enough emphasis on the failure of the West to act. I think this is wrongheaded. The points are made, including the fact that the Belgians at best exaccerbated and at worst created the conflict between Hutu and Tutsi. The failure to intervene is made directly when the paras come to pull out the Euros while leaving the Tutsis to die. Still, to focus on the West makes the story about the West, rather than the Africans and the bravery of Paul Rusesabagina.

As Don Cheadle notes in his commentary about the abandoment of Rwanda, it is hard not to believe that West doesn't care about blacks killing blacks, especially when you consider what is still happening in Sudan and the Congo. Global Security has a good overview of the Congo war which claimed THREE MILLION lives. One of the war's catalysts was Rwandan Tutsis invading Congo to root out remaining Hutu war criminals. So, the Rwandan atrocities have this war on their heads as well. I don't know of any good books on the Congo war, but We Wish to Inform You that Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families is an excellent book on Rwanda.