Anyone who knows me knows that I absolutely love Africa. Those who know me best know it is Rwanda in particular that captivates my interest. Some of my friends think it's a tad bit obsessive, but most of them are pretty supportive of my interests and my dreams of one day visiting the region. Many know to associate myself with Rwanda, but few know why.
When I was a sophomore in high school, my teacher took the route most teachers take after SOL tests and took a more relaxed approach to the classroom. She showed us a variety of movies in those last weeks. One of them was "Hotel Rwanda."
"Hotel Rwanda" is based on the true story of Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager in Rwanda. Rusesabagina opened his hotel up for refugees and managed to save over 1,000 people from massacre in the Rwandan Genocide of 1994. He is my hero.
He was not, however, my hero in the beginning. When I first saw the movie, I had the initial "Oh my goodness, that's so sad" response that is expected in regard to this kind of story, and then I carried on with my day. The movie was really good with strong acting, but it wasn't so engaging that I got hooked immediately. I mean, we were talking about a historical event that happened on the other side of the world. Why would I care? In high school, during my junior year, I bought "Hotel Rwanda" when it was on sale at Target. I was trying to build up my movie collection and I had a balance on a gift card, so I figured, why not? I watched it randomly again and I had the same reaction of "that's a really good and sad movie," and thought nothing else of it. My senior year was a different story. I figure that was a mixture of not only being more educated but being more mature as well.
I watched the movie for a third time and it hit me in a completely different way. I had a better understanding of what was going on and I had more critical thinking skills to process what I was seeing. What really got me, however, were the frames at the end of the movie. At the end of "Hotel Rwanda," they take the angle that a movie based on true events takes. They end the movie with black frames with white text that details how the genocide came to an end and what happened to Rusesabagina and his family. When the date 1994 appeared on the screen, something in my head clicked.
Suddenly, this was no longer an entertainment venue or some far off historical event. This genocide occurred during my lifetime. I was four years old at this time. My life consisted of going to pre-school, going to ballet lessons, playing with my brother and following my mom around. I had the typical, uneventful four-year-old life.
For those of you who are not aware of what the Rwandan Genocide is, it was a massacre that occurred in the country of Rwanda in East Africa. It has an extensive history, and in the effort to save time, I am briefly summarizing it. I encourage you to research more if you are interested in the Rwandan Genocide. In 1919, Belgium gained control of Rwanda and took the people of the country and split them into two main identities: Hutu and Tutsi. Those classified as Tutsi had features that looked more like the Belgians, and were treated as if they were the better race.
The Belgians ended up leaving the country and leaving tension between the Hutu and Tutsi to fester. About 40 years went by and radical Hutu leaders came into power. They wanted to punish the Tutsi for the oppression they had endured and through a series of events, the genocide took off and lasted from April 6 to July 4, 1994. The goal was to complete an ethnic cleansing and rid the country of Tutsi. According to UNICEF, approximately 800,000 people were murdered in the genocide. Of that, 300,000 were children. An additional 95,000 children were orphaned through the genocide. This number is absolutely shocking to me. Nearly 400,000 children's lives were either ended or severely altered from this horrific event.
Many of these children witnessed their parents and their loved ones get murdered. Children were raped and forced to engage in the genocide against their will. When I was four, my biggest concern was putting my toys away so I could play outside. These children had to fight for their lives, and many of them lost the fight. The genocide occurred 18 years ago, but the end of the suffering did not come with the end of the genocide. According to that UNICEF article, 10 years after the genocide, approximately 101,000 children were heading 42,000 households. All of these children did not have parents present - either the parents were murdered during the genocide, died from AIDS or were in prison for genocide-related crimes. A common phrase used now is "Never Again." When it comes to government polices and the international community, it can be very difficult to navigate how to respond to instances of genocide, and although many people can stand behind the concept of "Never Again," genocide is unfortunately still occurring, and there needs to be some more support to not only prevent future genocides but to also support the survivors of genocide.
Rusesabagina started the Hotel Rwanda Rusesabagina Foundation (HRRF) in an effort to prevent future genocides and raise awareness about the issues in Rwanda and the Great Lakes Region of Africa. Established in 2005, the HRRF and provides education assistance for the orphans from civil wars, genocide and AIDS epidemic. One main goal of the HRRF is to use truth, justice and reconciliation to give the survivors a voice and help nations heal from the effects of genocide.
Amnesty International is another great organization that works actively in a global movement to fight injustice and promote human rights advocacy for everyone.
Another organization I am a huge fan of is Same Sky. Same Sky is a fair-trade company that was started in 2008 and employs HIV positive women who are survivors of the Rwandan Genocide. The women are trained to crochet and make bracelets using hand-blown glass beads. Instead of giving these women a hand out, they are given the tools and skills to make a product themselves and are empowered by the ability to support themselves, their families and their communities.
The jewelry is on the more expensive side, but if you can muster together the money, the net proceeds are used to employ more women and buy more supplies to create more jewelry.
Through these venues and others, we can work together to not only suport those who have been affected by genocide, but to also promote the hope that one day we will live in a genocide-free world.
