DIRECTIONS: Watch the movie and identify each of the characters pictured below.

Write a detailed description of who

they are, what their background is, and consider why each person does what they do.

This is Paul Rusesabagina. Paul was born in June 15, 1954 in Gitarama. He is the
hotel manager of the Belgian-owned Hotel des Mille Collines. He is a Hutu and
is married to his Tutsi wife. Paul has four children. He was formerly a general
manager of the Diplomates Hotel, an affiliate of Hotel des Mille Collines. He
housed around 1,268 Hutu and Tutsi refugees from the Interhamwe militia in
1994 during the genocide. I feel like he did that because it was the right thing to
do. He couldn’t have left them on the streets to die. He does favors for different
people to stay alive along with everyone else.

This is Colonel Oliver. He is Canadian from the United Nations Peacekeeping

force. He is also the commander of UN forces in Rwanda. He does what he
can to assist Paul and to get people to safety first to the hotel then out of the
country. When they are unable to take assertive action against the Interhamwe
since they are forbidden to intervene in the genocide, Colonel Oliver felt
worthless that he couldn’t help them.

This person is Tatiana Rusesabagina. She is Paul’s wife and a Tutsi. She was
originally a nurse at Ruhengeri but Paul transferred her to another hospital so
she could be closer to him. They married and have four children. Her brother
and sister-in-law have gone missing during the genocide and supposedly dead.
She and Paul are guardians of their two daughters Anais and Karine. She is very
compassionate and loving. She deeply cares for her daughters and sons and for
Paul, as she want them to be safe. She is also very caring to the other Tutsi and
Hutu refugees as she wants to help them and make sure their safe.

This is General Augustin Bizimungu. He is a Hutu and the General of the

Rwandan Armed Forces. As an ethnic Hutu, he hates the Tutsi and because of
that, he took part of the genocide. He hates the Tutsi because of class warfare.
The Tutsi are perceived with greater wealth than the Hutu. Paul would kiss his
feet so he and family and the other refugees can survive. Few years after the
genocide, he was arrested and was sentenced for 30 years in prison for his part
in the genocide.

This is George Rutaganda. He is Hutu and supplier runs a warehouse. He wants

Paul to come to the rally to show support for the Hutu power, and he gives him
a shirt symbolizing the Hutu power. Rutaganda was also second vice-president
This is Dube. He is a friend of Paul and Tutsi. Dube works at the hotel as a
porter. Dube heavily relies on Paul. He trusts Paul and does what he what he
says. He is scared that he might get killed but he trusts Pauls judgement.

This person is Pat Archer. She runs an orphanage and is part of the Red Cross.
She deeply cares for the kids and want them to be safe. When she finds out the
Interhamwe killed the children when she went to get them to the hotel, she
was heartbroken and devastated. She and Paul are good friends. Paul, while
apprehensive, graciously took the orphans she was able to get from the
orphanage, and when Paul asked to find his nieces, she agreed and was able to
get them safely.

This is Gregoire. He is an employee at the Hotel Mille Collines and a Hutu. But
when the genocide started, he stopped doing his job and stayed in the
presidential suite and just hanged around women. He threatened to Paul to out
the Tutsi to the Interhamwe if he kept bothering him. When Paul was able to
get him back to work, he went behind his back and told on him to the
Interhamwe because he felt that it was his job as a Hutu to destroy all the Tutsi
“cockroaches.”
DIRECTIONS: Answer the following questions.

1. Why did so many people in Kigali feel safe even though there was evidence
that something terrible was most likely going to happen?
a. Not many people believed that it was actually going to happen. They
thought that it was just a joke and it was just another ruse to scare
them. All bark, no bite.

2. What was the event that signaled the start of the killing and how did the
media promote the killing?
a. The event that signaled the killing was the RTLM radio. It used the code
words “Cut the tall trees. Clean your neighborhood. Do your duty,” to
basically tell people to kill the Tutsi. To promote the killing, it would call
the Tutsi cockroaches and dehumanize them. Tell all the bad things, the
Tutsi have done, and the time is now to strike. It would also give the
names and addresses of the targets, so people can know where they
are and kill them. And if they would run away, his/her position and
direction would be broadcasted.

3. Was the government a part of the killing? Why or why not and what
evidence assisted you in coming to that conclusion?
a. The government was part of the killing. Government workers were
handed out to the militias who went out and killed the Tutsi. Most of
the heads in the government were Hutu and the hate propaganda may
have also convinced them to kill the Tutsi. People like General
Bizimungu and Georges Rutaganda who are part of the government
were arrested and charged with crimes against humanity, murders, and
more.

4. Who are the “Interahamwe” and what are their beliefs?

a. The Interhamwe is a Hutu paramilitary organization. It can be roughly
translated to “those who work together. The militia had the backing of
the Hutu-led government leading to the Rwandan Genocide. They
believe that Tutsi are “cockroaches” and have no right to live. Also that
 the Tutsi constantly enjoyed their high status and wealth and in some
way responsible for Hutu poverty. They also believe in Hutu power,
which is a racist ideology by Hutu extremists.

5. Why did Gregoire act the way he did? Describe a personal example of
someone acting like this? Please provide a narrative of the situation.
a. In the movie, Gregoire is an employee at the Hotel Mille Collines. When
the killing started to happen, it didn’t seem to bother him as much
because he is a Hutu. He thinks he will be safe and not get killed
because they will only kill the Tutsi. With Paul focusing on the refugees
coming in and calming everyone down, he decided to stop working and
just stay into the presidential suite and relax because he thinks he has
the power. When Paul told him to get back to work, Gregoire
threatened to out all the Tutsi refugees including Paul's wife, if he
doesn’t let him do what he wants. The RTLM radio was saying that
whoever knows anyone hiding the Tutsi “cockroaches” should come
forward and say the truth. He went behind Paul's back and believed the
words that the radio sprouted into his head because he thinks he was
doing the right thing as a Hutu. A personal situation of someone acting
like this is when my mom is mad at me, whether for a good reason or
not, and my sister would add salt to the wound by saying that I did
another wrong, when I didn’t even do it in the first place. She did it to
spite me and get me in more trouble and since she’s the younger one
and my mom favors her more, she knows that she will not get that
much trouble.

6. What was Paul’s primary belief that helped to maintain the spirit of the Hotel
Mille Collines and how did he promote that esprit?
a. Paul's primary belief is that the Tutsi didn’t deserve to die and they
shouldn’t have to die. He believed the reason for the whole genocide is
idiotic and just full of rancor. He basically believed in equality. To
promote that esprit in the hotel, he helped protect as much of Tutsi
and Hutu alike and risked his life for them.
7. Describe the United Nations leadership and soldiers during the genocide.
What is your opinion regarding their efforts; please provide details explaining
your description?
a. United Nations troops went to Rwanda around 1993. Their command
was to keep the peace between powers of the Hutu government and
renegades of the Tutsi-overwhelmed Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF)
which had dispatched a common conflict in 1990. An international
agreement had been endorsed in August 1993 and the UN force should
monitor the peace, assist the different sides with incapacitating and
regulate progress to a force sharing temporary government. But during
the genocide, they were given specific orders to not interfere or shoot
anyone. Their mandate did not permit them. They could have
absolutely done more. They couldn't make the slightest effort to
intercede and forestall the passing of a huge number of honest
individuals who were being murdered under their actual noses.

8. Why do you think the rest of the world did not intervene in the genocide?
a. First and foremost, I think it was racism. The UN troops were able to get
the foreigners to a safe place but not the Rwandans that were getting
slaughter by the minute. I also think it was due to national interest. The
United States chose not to mediate in Rwanda as there was no public
interest in the question. Third, because of the media's inability to give
an account of the annihilation, there was no inner pressing factor from
residents that might have impacted policymakers.

9. What correlations can you make between the movie Hotel Rwanda and the
previous literature you have read: 12 Rules for Life, from Night, and The
Censors; and your own area of focus (cultural domain/purpose)?
a. The loser lobsters are like the Rwandan and Jews. They have lost a lot
of things and because of that, they have more octopamine to serotonin
ratio. They look more scrunched up, defeated, drooping, dejected, and
inhibited.
b. Also, the Hutu extremist and Juan are a bit similar. They thought they
were doing the right thing; Hutus killing the Tutsi and Juan getting deep
into his work and over-censoring things, which ended up killing
innocent people. Their minds were too inscribed with insanity and
faulty justice.
c. The Nazi and the Hutu extremist dehumanize the Jews and the Tutsi
alike. The Nazis called the Jews “rats” while the Hutu’s called the Tutsi
“cockroaches.”
d. If they were to use anticipation like if Paul had listened to his brother-
in-law and sister-in-law and anticipated the killings, maybe they could
have been alive at least. Also, if Paul anticipated that Gregoire was
going to turn his back on him, then things might have been more
different, and less blood might have been shed.