Hotel Rwanda Directed by Terry George 2004 Rwanda

Hotel Rwanda Directed by Terry George 2004

Rwanda v Settled by the Twa people a tribe of pygmies v lived in the mountains v v Later joined by two different groups v Hutu: Bantu speaking people v Tutsi: were originally from Ethiopia or Sudan.

Rwanda v ‘Scramble for Africa”: the 19 th century, European nations began colonizing v v a complete disregard for the native people in the desired lands. European nations became competitive with each other. 1884 the Berlin Conference: European nations took claim in Africa v No regard for national borders v

Rwanda v Germany claimed Rwanda v v After World War I, ownership passed to Belgium v v did not establish a strong control over the area exercised a greater control over the land They also began to emphasize the tribal and ethnic differences in Rwanda, issuing everyone ID cards that identified their status as Hutu, Tutsi or Twa.

Rwanda Tribal or ethnic identification was complicated by the fact that those classifications were not really all that strong, and that Hutus and Tutsis intermarried and did not look all that different. v The Belgians began classifying the Tutsis based on their social status and wealth, and really reinforcing the differences. The Belgians favored the Tutsis. v The schools, which were all run by the Catholic Church, also reinforced the differences. v This led to great conflict between the groups. v

Rwanda v Imperialist governments usually rely on native groups to administer the lands for them, and the Belgians chose the Tutsis to be their administrators. v The Hutus were placed in a lower position and controlled by the Tutsis. v Conflict often became violent, and in 1962, when the country got its independence from Belgium, things did not ease between the two sides.

Rwanda The presidents from 1962 - 1994 were Hutu. v Terrible Civil Wars went on in the 80 s and 90 s v President Juvenal Habyarimana was negotiating with the UN and all of the parties in 1994 when he was assassinated. v His assassination on April 6, 1994 sparked a period known as the Rwandan Genocide where Hutu extremists, known as the Interhamwe exacted violence on the country. v

Hotel Rwanda The movie Hotel Rwanda tells the story of Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager stuck in the middle of the violence. v It tells the story of the violence and his actions during the period. v

Rwanda is a small country, called the ‘Land of a Thousand Hills’, because of the steep mountains and valleys that make up most of the landscape of the country. Rwanda is a popular tourist destination because of its beautiful scenery, wildlife and countryside. It is currently one of the most economically advanced and modern countries in Africa.