Hotel Rwanda
Finally watched this on DVD this evening. It tells the true story of this hotel manager called Paul and how he sheltered many hutu and tutsi refugees during the Rwandan genocide in 1994.
As one would expect, the film is both moving and shocking, although it's only a 12 certificate so it's not as violent as it could be.
Like so many of these movies, I am reminded that people can be so horrible to each other and how race causes so many issues. It's good to think about what my response is to these kind of attocities, although I am not going to be moving to a war-zone, there will be conflicts as I live in S.Africa.
If you've read the book, you'll know that when Heather and Patrick (founders of GGA) first started taking Zulus in to their home they had trouble from some whites who lived around them. And this finally lead them to move to their current location. Some people couldn't understand why they were taking in 'black babies'... This is beyond my comprehension at the moment, how anyone could judge another on their colour. It's a deeply embedded problem that probably can't be resolved overnight. Prejudice. And we are all prejudiced to some extent, because we are all flawed human beings.
I was at a party recently here in Leamington and was introduced to some guys from S.Africa. When I told them that I was going to S.Africa soon to work with AIDS orphans, one guy's instant reaction was a rather patronising 'Why would you do that?' My reply was 'Because they need help.' But I was rather shocked at the attitude of this guy. He has a problem. I did not feel like pursuing it so didn't bother to talk more with him. Maybe sometimes that is the answer, to walk away from this ignorance and prejudice.
I get the feeling this won't be the last time I blog about such issues.
One good thing about the film though, was that it was filmed in South Africa and it is beautiful. There were scenes of lots of kids running around happy and I thought, 'That'll be me someday soon, surrounded by lots of African kids'. It's little thoughts like this that encourage me greatly. If only I could fast-forward past all the preparation time and be there now...
oh and I own the DVD of Hotel Rwanda, so if you fancy borrowing it sometime, have a word.
As one would expect, the film is both moving and shocking, although it's only a 12 certificate so it's not as violent as it could be.
Like so many of these movies, I am reminded that people can be so horrible to each other and how race causes so many issues. It's good to think about what my response is to these kind of attocities, although I am not going to be moving to a war-zone, there will be conflicts as I live in S.Africa.
If you've read the book, you'll know that when Heather and Patrick (founders of GGA) first started taking Zulus in to their home they had trouble from some whites who lived around them. And this finally lead them to move to their current location. Some people couldn't understand why they were taking in 'black babies'... This is beyond my comprehension at the moment, how anyone could judge another on their colour. It's a deeply embedded problem that probably can't be resolved overnight. Prejudice. And we are all prejudiced to some extent, because we are all flawed human beings.
I was at a party recently here in Leamington and was introduced to some guys from S.Africa. When I told them that I was going to S.Africa soon to work with AIDS orphans, one guy's instant reaction was a rather patronising 'Why would you do that?' My reply was 'Because they need help.' But I was rather shocked at the attitude of this guy. He has a problem. I did not feel like pursuing it so didn't bother to talk more with him. Maybe sometimes that is the answer, to walk away from this ignorance and prejudice.
I get the feeling this won't be the last time I blog about such issues.
One good thing about the film though, was that it was filmed in South Africa and it is beautiful. There were scenes of lots of kids running around happy and I thought, 'That'll be me someday soon, surrounded by lots of African kids'. It's little thoughts like this that encourage me greatly. If only I could fast-forward past all the preparation time and be there now...
oh and I own the DVD of Hotel Rwanda, so if you fancy borrowing it sometime, have a word.
posted by Caroline @ 10:50 pm
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