The events leading to the war in Rwanda goes in history as one of the deadliest civil wars to have hit the world and Africa specifically. There is a raging tension building up between the Tutsis and the Hutus. At this time, the country is entangled in despicable cases of corruption and other social upheavals. Many people are corrupt, and the situation escalates to unexpected scenes of brutal attacks and subsequent genocide. Paul Rusesabagina is a Hutu and has a wife who happens to be a Tutsi.
Summary
When the political situation in Rwanda gets out of hand, the neighbors are dragged and are beaten as other are killed in streets. The marriage of Paul to a Tutsi critically complicates the situation and soon become the cause of friction with his friend who is now the local leader of the anti-Tutsi group. The friend is called George Rutaganda and is also the supplier to Paul’s hotel. Paul resorts to mechanisms in a bid to protect his family by taking favor with the people who command huge influence. The tactic Paul employs bribery of the top officials of the military and security forces by bribing them for the favor. He offers them alcohol and other goodies in return for protection. As the war begins, Paul is threatened by Army officer who seeks to kill him and the neighbors. However, Paul negotiates for the people to come to his hotel for safety. In the Hotel, he is now supposed to offer protection to people who are under threat of the government forces as well as the militia. It is at this point that a lot of challenges sets in and Paul has to care for the people. Many people come to seek refuge in the hotel and soon the militia and the forces are after them. In the quest to remain safe, Paul does everything within his powers and continues to offer strength to the people. As the UN refugee camps become overburdened many refugees resort for the hotel, and Paul is now faced with the challenge of maintaining the image of the hotel as a functioning unit rather than a refugee camp. He has to create deviatory tactics against the Hutu soldiers and keep on hiding his wife and family whenever potential adversity surfaces. The situation became more combative, and the mobs fill the streets baying for the Tutsi blood. It further creates an additional challenge as the realization of refugees seeking residence draws the soldiers into the hotel. The UN peacekeepers cannot act in the disastrous wars and are forced to take a back seat against the rebels. They are forbidden from taking combative action against the forces who continue to kill the people. As a result, several foreign nationals are evacuated. The situation implies that the Rwandans remain behind. With a heavy heart, Paul and the family have to bid goodbye to their longtime friends and the struggle continues.
Connection with the readings
About the readings, the readings draw the initial cases of racial prejudice that marred the American society during the slavery periods. African slaves underwent a similar form of brutality in the hands of their slave masters. Access to basic social needs became a forgotten story, and their fate was solely in the hands of their masters. Like the African slaves, Rwandans were enslaved in their country by the local leadership and key resources diminished through corruption. It thus deprived them of basic needs. Discrimination against a particular tribe is synonymous with the slavery in which African-Americans were discriminated against. Such discriminations led to the social upheavals. As witnessed in the cases of slavery, where the judge had ruled that slaves were properties of their masters thus subjecting them to harsh treatments, Rwandans had disillusioned by the bad rule that had rendered many poor.
