Hotel Rwanda Cultural Analysis

The first known inhabitants of Rwanda were the Twa. They may have been there as early as 30,000 B.C. The Hutus arrived sometime between the seventh and tenth century, and later the Tutsis arrived around the fourteenth century. The Hutus were the majority and made up about eighty-five percent of the population. The minorities were the Tutsis, who made up fourteen percent of the population and the Twa, who were about one

Culture is one of the most relevant elements that can define not only a society but also a country’s cumulative beliefs and system. Often noted as the origins of a country, culture is definitive in the sense that it harbors all the elements that can provide justification on the traditions and norms set by the society for its members. More often than not, the society members follow norms in order to create a harmonious community, and the beliefs and the traditions serve as the poles or grounding rules for each member to follow. Culture is very dynamic in the way that it can change over a variety of foreign influences but what is permanent about it is that original elements about it often lingers with the influences, therefore making it multi-faceted and broad. More importantly, culture serves as an individual and unique trait each society has, and therefore sets it apart from other countries and other societies.

In his memoir, Rusesabagina recalled his father providing shelter to fleeing Tutsis in his native village (pg. 6) and a time period when a good friend of his had to flee from school because of ethnic build up between the Hutu and Tutsi (pg. 20). Rusesabagina lived in a family mixed with Hutu and Tutsi. His mother was a Tutsi and he was married to a Tutsi, making their children three-quarters Tutsi. His children, however, were considered Hutu in Rwanda because of Rusesabagina’s ethnic lineage from his father’s side. As a young man, Rusesabagina did not follow his family’s dream to become a pastor but instead moved to Kigali in search of a job leading to his job at the hotel (pg. 40). Rusesabagina’s employment at the hotel gave him access to play a pivotal role during the Rwanda genocide. Rusesabagina describes bribing Hutu militants with money and a smile and even inviting them over to share drinks with(pg. 131). Through this tactful manners, Rusesabagina was able to protect the lives of his guests, mostly ethnic Tutsis for 76

Located in Central Africa, east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and north of Burundi, the Republic of Rwanda is predominantly rural, and its population relatively young; additionally, its population density is one of the highest in Africa. Humans began inhabiting the region between 8,000 BCE - 3,000 BCE, and had structured themselves into various clans (Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa) by the 15th century. The Tutsi Nyiginya clan grew to be the more dominant, and during the 19th century, under the reign of King Kigeli Rwabugiri, reached its greatest expansion. Hutus make make 84 percent of the population, Tutsi 15, and Twa 1 percent.

Reasons for ethnical tension between the Hutus and Tutsis have been the subject to several studies. “Historian have purported “ethnic hatred” as the cause of the Rwanda Genocide and while an ethnic divide was indeed present in Rwanda around the time of the conflict, the reasons for the genocide are multiple and far more complex.” (Hain 5) The Hutus were the original inhabits of Rwanda, but in the 15th century the Tutsis peacefully took over Rwanda and

Beforehand, Rusesabagina had been raised in a mud house with illiterate parents but well respected in their village of Nkomero. At a young age Rusesabagina had to sleep outside because his parents were keeping refugees during a periodic uprise of violence between the Hutu and Tutsi. As Rusesabagina grew up he had different interests than some people. “More interested in getting an education than in becoming involved with ethnic politics, Rusesabagina aimed at first

800,000, and most of those people were from of the Tutsi tribe. It began by the

In the middle of Africa there lies a small country by the name of Rwanda. Rwanda is made up of three different ethnic groups: the Twa (a group of aboriginals who were the first to settle there), the Hutu, and the Tutsi. Starting in the mid 1990’s, Rwanda was thrown into a terrible genocide stemming from deep ethnic hatred between the Hutus and the Tutsi. This atrocity was not readily noticed or acted upon by the rest of the world at first, but would soon shock it with the horrors that took place.

The Hutus and Tutsis are descended from ancestors sharing a common language, who settled the Rwanda-Burundi area of east-central Africa . Among these people, two forms of subsistence developed: One group relied on cultivation and farming and the other relied on cattle raising¹. Farmers were Hutus and pastoralists were Tutsis¹. The terms Hutu and Tutsi became class markers, and the Tutsis were the wealthier members of the society¹.The Hutu has always been the majority population².The Tutsi have always been the minority population and they believe in a hierarchical system, with the king being at the top .

In just one hundred days, almost one million people were murdered in the genocide rampage that swept through Rwanda, Africa in 1994. Hotel Rwanda, a film directed by Terry George in 2004, is a story based on the tragedy that occurred ten years prior. The massacre is a result of the Hutu tribe’s prejudice and discrimination of the Tutsi tribe and the world’s lack of intervention. George’s depiction of the event is less about the massacre itself though because of his choice to portray it from the view of Paul Rusesabagina, a Hutu hotel manager married to a Tutsi woman.

The ethnic rivalry that existed in Rwanda before the genocide between the majority who are the Hutus and the minority as the Tutsi was evident since the colonial times. Traditionally, the Hutus were farmers while the Tutsis were herdsmen. However, the distinction between the two tribes not very clear since they are hard to distinguish as their culture and language is the same. There has occurred intermarriages between the two ethnic tribes and this also made them hard to distinguish. Tutsis valued land for the sake of their livestock

One horrific, though often overlooked, genocide took place in Rwanda, Africa from April to July 1994. The tiny, landlocked country saw mass killings and state-sponsored hatred of the Tutsi people by the Hutu. Rwanda was divided into three major clans—the Tutsi, which made up about 15% of the population and were the paler group favored by the English and Belgian colonists, and therefore were originally chosen to rule the country after the European takeover. This greatly angered the Hutus, about 84% of the population, (the Twa, the third group, were only 1% of Rwandans, didn't have much to do with the genocide), so they were eventually given the ability to gain professional political positions as well, a right that had been taken away with the

In order to better explain why this deadly event took place, it is vital to understand the history of Rwanda and of the Hutu and Tutsi peoples. The Hutu and Tutsi people occupy what are now Rwanda and Burundi. The Hutu were the first of the two groups to settle in this region, and make up the majority. The Tutsi entered the area later, most likely in the 14th or 15th century CE. Though they made up a minority, they became the ruling class over the Hutu because of their access to cattle and greater knowledge of warfare.

As we look back to the 14th century of Rwanda, the indigenous people of that region composed of Hutu and another ethnic group which is Twa. The Tutsi was actually the immigrants which came to Rwanda from the southern Ethiopian highlands.

Furthermore, in August 1993, General Habyarimana (a Hutu) signed an agreement at Arusha, Tanzania, that was about including the Rwandan Patriotic Front, which would mean that the government would have both Hutu and Tutsi representatives leading the country. This made the Hutu very angry as they felt that the Tutsi did not deserve to be in power and so they tried to prevent the RPF from joining the government. Then in 1994, General Juvenal Habyarimana was elected as the president of Rwanda, in the same year his plane was shot while flying above Kigali airport in Rwanda and there were no survivors. When the news about the presidents’ death were announced to the public, the Hutu suspected that his plane was shot by the Tutsi. Source 2 is proof of this hatred that the Hutu had against the Tutsi, because the eye witness speaks about o they came to attack her family because she