Worksheet 1: Background Information Rwanda Rwanda is a country in Central Africa with \ a population of 10 million people. Historical i yoO™ records begin with a Tutsi king who took - power in 1860, During this time, the Tutsi were the aristocracy and the Hutu were their servants. After World War I the League of Nations (an early version of the United Nations) gave Belgium power to administer Rwanda The Belgians used the already existing Tutsi and Hutu differences and made these differences part of their colonial system. ‘The Hutu were used as forced labour for the colonial administration, and the Tutsi supervised them. In 1933, Rwandans were given an ethnic identity card showing if they were Hutu or Tutsi, At that time, 85% were Hutu and 15% were Tutsi. This ID card and Belgium’s policy of favoring the Tutsi over the Hutu prepared Rwanda for future violence, In 1959, three years before independence from Belgium in 1962, the Hutus overthrew the ruling Tutsi king. Over the next several years, thousands of Tutsis were killed, About 150,000 went into exile in neighboring countries. The children of these Tutsi exiles later formed a rebel group, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), and began a civil war in 1990. This war, along with political and economic problems, made ethnic tensions worse and led to the April 1994 genocide shown in the film Hotel Rwanda. The Film Hotel Rawanda is based on real characters and events that happened in Rwanda in 1994. It focuses on the efforts of Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager, to hide hundreds of Tutsi refugees om the Interahamwe militia. The real Paul Rusesabagina with Don Cheadle, the actor who played him in Hotel Rwanda. Student’s WorksheetCharacters in the Film [ Tatiana is Paut's wite She is Tutsi, They echiicren. | Paul Rusesabagina is the | manager of Milles Calines Hotel. He is Hutu BF = se AS an. Colonel Oliver is commander of [ Generat Bizimungu is | George Rutaganda is businessman and leader of an Inierhamwe miltia group. the United Nations Peacekeeping head of the Rwandan Forces in Rwanda, ‘Armes Forces, U Sl [ Gack Dagiish is a jounalst [ Dube works at | | Gregoire works at | and photographer who | Miles Cotines. | Mille’ Coline: documents the Rwandan genocide, Madame Archer is a Red Gross Worker. Thomas and Fedens are Tatiana's brother and sister-inlaw. Student's WorksheetYeam Helpful Info: Main Characters: Paul Rt which is owned by a Belg is a Hutu, and Tatiana is a Tutsi The UN is visiting peace agreement with the Tutsis The UN soldiers will be wearing colorful uniforms. camouflage uniforms. 1. What is a refugee? 2. What is genocide? 3. What other famous event was going in on Africa in 19947 nswer these questions while watching: 1. Why does the country of Rwanda use franes as their currency? 2. When Paul’s neighbor (Victor) gets attacked, what does Paul do? wanda as the president is signi Imperialism The movie is set in Kigali, the capital city of Rwanda sabagina & his wife Tatiana Paul is the assistant manager of the hotel Mille Collines, fan company named Sabena, Paul t blue vests & hats. The Hutu soldiers (called the Interahamwe) will be wearing The police & military of Rwanda will be wearing regular Why?Yeam Imperialism What was the significance of the phrase “cut the tall trees?” 4, When violence breaks out, who comes to help? Who gets helped? Who doesn’t get helped? 5. When Paul realizes no one is coming to help the Rwandan refugees, he tells them there is only one way for them to get help. What is it? 6. What deal does George try to make with Paul? Answer these questions after watching: 1. Why didn’t any foreign countries try to stop the Hutus? 2. What event sparked the beginning of the genocide? Who does that event get blamed on?Yeam Imperialism 3. Who was supplying the Hutu army? 4, What did 19" century imperialism have to do with this 20" century genocide? Closing Questions: 1. Where did the classifications of Hutu and Tutsi come from in Rwanda? Why are some people being helped and others are not? 3. Ifyou were in Paul’s position, do you think your reaction would have been the same as his? Explain. 4. How did the intemational community fail the people of Rwanda? Why were they so reluctant to act? What is our responsibility as global citizens in these kinds of events? How are events in Rwanda and Darfur connected to 19" century imperialism?