Hotel Rwanda

We had to do a little bit of research on Rwandan genocide history. Some cites were linked in the Edline and I got related information easily.

Before I watched “Hotel Rwanda,” I didn’t know about Rwandan genocide of 1994. It was the most rapid genocide in twentieth century. According to the movie almost a million Rwandans died in 100 days. Ninety percents of victims were Tutsis. It was a massacre between two ethnic groups. The reprisal massacres started when the Hutu president was killed by Tutsi rebels. The radio propaganda escalated the bad situation so fast. The Hutu ethnic group tried to sweep out the Tutsi ethnic group. The western world didn’t pay much attention and the United Nations force was helpless.

This movie showed the roles of the radio and video Medias. The movie started with the radio propaganda that urged that Hutu ethnic group united as a political power. Hutus power radio station warned the Hutu president to be careful for the Tutsi rebels. When the Hutu president was killed by Tutsi rebels, the radio broadcasted a signal, “Cut the tall tree,” which tells Hutu to kill Tutsis. In this movie many important situations were controlled by the radio. When some Tutsis tried to escape from the hotel, Hutus communicated through the radio and attacked the UN trucks. Western reporters took a video of massacring scenes at the risk of their lives. They sent out the records to the western world. It helped the western people to know what is happened in Rwanda.