Eyes On Africa, the fourth Case Study
To start things off......
It is now the start of our fourth quarter in our school year and this may be the last case study that is going to be done for now. This fourth case study is going to help us open our eyes to the bloodshed and violence of Africa through the nineteenth century. Occasionally, it's also going to reflect on some "now" events.
The first two posts are going to be about a movie called "Hotel Rwanda". Enjoy~
Background on Hotel Rwanda:
The movie is based on a true story by an African Hutu named Paul Rusesabagina (Don Cheadle). The film takes place in 1994. It's filmed in 2004 and directed by Terry George. Paul, as a talented businessman and hotel owner, Paul can be considered well-off in Africa at that time. He had a Tutsi wife named Tatiana Rusesabagina(Sophie Okonedo). He had three children all too young to experience this kind of violence. When everything looked great for Paul, everything went downhill starting from April 6th of 1994. It was when President Habyarimana was killed when his plane was shot down. The killing begins that very night. Paul is stuck in an interesting situation since he is a Hutu, but his wife is a Tutsi. Paul helped house about a thousand Tutsis in his hotel that he worked in even though it is "illegal" as the revenge crazed Hutus went around and killed all the Tutsis around.
First Post:
Background Timeline of "Hotel Rwanda" (causes and effects):
the following is the timeline we were handed before we watched the movie
Timeline Rwanda
A CHRONOLOGY OF KEY EVENTS:
PRE-COLONIAL
Rwanda was a highly centralized kingdom presided over by Tutsi kings who hailed from one ruling clan. The king ruled through three categories of chiefs: the cattle chiefs, the land chiefs, and the military chiefs. The chiefs were predominantly, but not exclusively, Tutsi, especially the cattle and military chiefs. Although the relationship between the king and the rest of the population was unequal and parasitic, the relationship between the ordinary Hutu, Tutsi and Twa was one of mutual benefit mainly through the exchanges of their labor. The relationship between the ordinary people was symbiotic. By the time the Germans came as the first colonial conquerors, the social structures of present-day Rwanda were highly organized and pyramidal in nature. The hierarchical and organized society of Rwanda laid a foundation upon which the subsequent genocide of 1994 was constructed.
COLONIALISM
1918 Under the Treaty of Versailles the former German colony of Rwanda-Urundi is made a United Nations protectorate to be governed by Belgium. The two territories (later to become Rwanda and Burundi) are administered separately under two different Tutsi monarchs. Both Germany and Belgium turned the traditional Hutu-Tutsi relationship into a class system. The minority Tutsi (14%) are favored over the Hutus (85%) and given privileges and western-style education. The Belgians used the Tutsi minority to enforce their rule.
1926 Belgians introduce a system of ethnic identity cards differentiating Hutus from Tutsis.
1957 PARMEHUTU (Party for the Emancipation of the Hutus) is formed while Rwanda is still under Belgian rule.
1959 Hutus rebel against the Belgian colonial power and the Tutsi elite; 150,000 Tutsis flee to Burundi.
1960 Hutus win municipal elections organized by Belgian colonial rulers.
INDEPENDENCE
1961-1962 Belgium withdraws. Rwanda and Burundi become two separate and independent
countries. A Hutu revolution in Rwanda installs a new president, Gregoire Kayibanda; fighting continues and thousands of Tutsis are forced to flee. In Burundi, Tutsis retain power.
1963 Further massacre of Tutsis, this time in response to military attack by exiled Tutsis in Burundi. Again more refugees leave the country. It is estimated that by the mid-1960s half of the Tutsi population is living outside Rwanda.
1967 Renewed massacres of Tutsis.
1973 Purge of Tutsis from universities. Fresh outbreak of killings, again directed at the Tutsi community. The army chief of staff, General Juvenal Habyarimana, seizes power, pledging to restore order. He sets up a one-party state. A policy of ethnic quotas is entrenched in all public service employment. Tutsis are restricted to nine percent of available jobs.
1975 Habyarimana’s political party, the National Revolutionary Movement for Development (NRMD) is formed. Hutus from the president’s home area of northern Rwanda are given overwhelming preference in public service and military jobs. This pattern of exclusion of the Tutsis continues throughout the 1970s and 1980s
1986 In Uganda, Rwandan exiles are among the victorious troops of Yoweri Museveni’s National Resistance Army who take power, overthrowing the dictator Milton Obote. The exiles then form the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a Tutsi dominated organization.
1989 Coffee prices collapse causing severe economic hardship in Rwanda.
July 1990 Under pressure from Western aid donors, Habyarimana concedes the principle of multi-party democracy.
Oct 1990 RPF guerrillas invade Rwanda from Uganda. After fierce fighting in which French and Zairean troops are called in to assist the government, a cease-fire is signed on March 29, 1991.
1990-1991 The Rwandan army begins to train and arm civilian militias known as Interhamwe (“Those who stand together”). For the next three years Habyarimana stalls on the establishment of
a genuine multi-party system with power-sharing. Throughout this period thousands of Tutsis are killed in separate massacres around the country. Opposition politicians and journalists are persecuted.
Nov 1991 Prominent Hutu activist Dr. Leon Mugesera appeals to Hutus to send the Tutsis “back to Ethiopia” via the rivers.
Feb 1993 RPF launches a fresh offensive and the guerrillas reach the outskirts of Kigali. French forces are again called in to help the government side. Fighting continues for several months.
Aug 1993 Following months of negotiations, Habyarimana and the RPF sign a peace accord that allows for the return of refugees and a coalition Hutu-RPF government. 2,500 U.N. troops are deployed in Kigali to oversee the implementation of the accord.
Sept 1993-Mar 1994 President Habyarimana stalls on setting up a power-sharing government. Training of militias intensifies. Extremist radio station, Radio Mille Collines, begins broadcasting exhortations to attack the Tutsis. Human rights groups warn the international community of impending calamity.
March 1994 Many Rwandan human rights activists evacuate their families from Kigali believing massacres are imminent.
April 6, 1994 President Habyarimana and the president of Burundi, Cyprien Ntaryamira, are killed when Habyarimana’s plane is shot down near Kigali Airport. Extremists, suspecting that the president is finally about to implement the Arusha Peace Accords, are believed to be behind the attack. That night the killing begins.
Causes and Effects:
The Treaty of Versailles caused the previous nation of Rwanda to become a UN protectorate, thus governed by the Belgium. This also caused the Tutsi-Hutu relationship to be separated into class systems.
Hutus and Tutsis seems to have this natural hate for each other. At the very least, the Hutus disliked the Tutsis a lot because the Tutsis were favored by the Belgium. The Belgium liked the Tutsis better seemingly due to their minority. They gave the Tutsis chances for western education thus giving Tutsi more of an advantage. This caused the hate from the Hutus.
The Belgians introduced the identity cards that helps people identify if the person is a Tutsi or a Hutu. This later caused the Hutu to gain an advantage in the genocide cause they can easily see who's Tutsi and who's Hutu.
The Hutus win the municipal elections that were organized by the Belgian colonial rulers, causing the Hutus to come in command and also the withdrawal of Belgium.
Rwanda and Brundi became separate and independent countries. Rwanda controlled by Hutus and Brundi controlled by Tutsi. This caused the Hutus to start killing the Tutsis. Many Tutsis were forced to leave Rwanda.
killing of Tutsis continues
RPF formed by Milton Obote. Name is acronym for Rwanda Patriotic Front, completely dominated by the Tutsis. This was a main piece to the end of the genocide.
As the Coffee prices suddenly drop, Rwanda was thrown into economic hardship.
RPF guerillas invaded Rwanda from Uganda with French and Zairean troops for assistance. Caused a cease fire to be signed on March 29, 1991.
Second Post:
Three Perspectives~>Hotel Workers, Western Countries, Rebels
Hotel Workers:
The Hotel Workers seemed to have one of the hardest parts from my perspective. They had to work their butts off to help the large amount of refugees that are housed in their area. They are still expected to do almost everything almost perfectly every time even though their own lives may be in danger. All the faculties except one person(a Hutu) had their lives on the line and worked every hard day with fears of death. The workers also had a really confusing time when the original boss of the hotel just left and left Paul in charge. They were shocked because they were abandoned and also confused because they didn't know who to listen to anymore. Leave or work?
Western Countries:
The Western Countries helped and also didn't help the Tutsis. They don't seem to recognize Tutsis as humans. Some forces were sent in as peace keepers. Some were sent to Hotel Rwanda to keep the order there and protect that hotel, but the people stationed at the hotel are not even allowed to shoot! When the riots escalated, the Western Countries retracted all forces that were originally stationed in the Congo. They did bring out some people in the Congo, people that are not citizens of the Congo that is. The countries only moved when they received massive amounts of phone calls from the hotel. That's when it's decided that certain families are to be brought to safety by the UN. UN troops are pretty useless getting ambushed by Hutus. Anyway, the Western Countries played a great part of "stabbing in the back", "loss of hope", and "blindness" is what I believe. The Western Countries seemed pretty useless especially towards the end, when everything depended on the Rebels.
Rebels:
Everything seemed to depend on the rebels toward the end. It actually did. The camp of the rebels are said to be very safe for Tutsis to be in. There are many Tutsi refugees there as shown in the movie. Behind that Rebel line is a guaranteed safe area. From there, Tutsis are moved to safer areas. The peace of the country and the end of the massive genocide depended on the victory of the rebels. It's a pretty big importance to the future of the land. Much pressure have to be placed on their shoulders. I would never be able to stand in their place like that. Having one thought running through my mind, "It's ok, if we lose this everyone is just going to get killed." I admire the rebels for their bravery and their love for their country.
Third Post:
Reflection of a Student's Presentation
Our class currently had Eyes on Africa individual projects. The goal of this project was to give us a basic look on Africa's problems and all the crisis there also the changes that happened throughout three ranges of time. The three ranges are: 1.) After the Berlin Conference, 2.)1900~1950, 3.) 1950~Modern Day. The reflection I'll be doing from a project done by my classmate, Angela.
Here is the link to her blog:
http://angelaapollo.blogspot.com/
Here is the plan of her project:
A Portugal adventurer named the country Sierra Leone because he heard a sound of lightening and thought it was the sound of a lion when he was in a mountain in the country so he named the name.
Sierra Leone was the center of slaves trading until it became an independent colony under the help of the Sierra Leone Company on March 11, 1792 and became a British colony in 1808. It gained independence in 1961. It is now a constitutional republic including three provinces (Eastern province, Northern Province, and Southern province) and the Western Area; these areas are further divided into fourteen districts. Freetown is the capital city of Sierra Leone. It is also the largest city and economic center. The other major cities are Bo, Kenema, Koidu Town and Makeni. The climate there is tropical. There are savannahs and rainforests so there are rhinos and buffalos because they live in savannahs. People in the North and East part of Sierra Leone are Islam; other people are Christian or other religion. People often marry people with different beliefs. Sierra Leone is rich in mineral resources; it has many rarest and most valuable mineral types in the world. The country’s economy is based on mining, especially diamonds; it is one of the top 10 diamond producing nations in the world. It has many mineral exports. Sierra Leone is also the largest producer of titanium and bauxite, and the major producer of gold. The country has one of the world's largest deposits of rutile. But most of the people in Sierra Leone are still poor. Sierra Leone is one of the poorest countries in the world.
There was a war called Sierra Leone Civil War during 1991. About 50000 people died in the war. The cause of the war is because of the politic. The second Prime Minister, Albert Margai, see the state as a tool for personal gain and used the military to threaten to end his half-brother, the first prime minister’s rule. After the death of the first Prime Minister, Milton Margai, the politic in the country was corrupted. There were mismanagement and electoral violence and the education system collapsed. People were not happy about the government so they started the rebellion. Those people were called the Revolutionary United Front. During the war, both sides didn’t have enough military sources so they forced many children to be soldiers or miners. The movie Blood Diamond is talking about this. The civil war ended in year 2000. It resulted in the defeat of rebel forces and the country reestablished democracy. The current president of Sierra Leone is Ernest Bai Koroma. He was elected on 17, September, 2007.
The economy of Sierra Leone was terrible in 1970s and 1980s because of the unstable politic. It became worse in 1990s because of the politic and the war. In 2002, many countries helped them and their economy became better but still terrible.
Nowadays, people in Sierra Leone’s main food are rice. Their rice combined with different stews, usually vegetables like cassava leaves. They don’t eat meat often (they eat chicken). Soup and fish are also popular. They have a little fast food. There are no shopping malls but there are super markets, usually owned by Africans or Indians. There are many Indians and also Chinese in Sierra Leone. They cannot tell jokes there except of old people. Ole people are respected there. Fifteen to twenty people live in a house there and almost everyone plants vegetables in their gardens. They called those gardens kitchen gardens. They have pets, dogs or cats, but they keep them outside. They build small houses for their pets. Most of the people in cities have televisions but the countryside has no electricity. Soccer is the most popular sport in Sierra Leone. They even fight over soccer. Volleyball, cricket, and lawn tennis is also popular there.
The Review:
Angela Apollo based her presentation off Sierra Leon. It's on the ups and downs of Sierra Leon. She presented her information with pictures drawn herself. She drew interesting pictures that clearly reflects what is being expressed at that moment of time. The sadness in the looks of the people on the drawings shows the hard times the Africans must have been through. She spoke pretty clearly so I believe it was a good presentation. But I believe a bit more information could be added to the presentation though it gets lengthened. Also, the plot of the presentation jumps around, from politics to food. The plot sometimes lack consistency. Overall, it's a good presentation.
Fourth Post:
Self Evaluation:
As stated above, we have been doing projects for Eyes on Africa. It directs our view to conflicts and problems in Africa since the nineteenth century. The following will be a my prezi and also a self evaluation for myself.
My Prezi:
Here is the current link.
I feel that I have been missing one major item in my presentation: color. The color I mean is not the color as in blue and red color. The color I have in mind is interesting points that keeps the audience's interested in my topic. I could have added more pictures, and a few videos if I liked, to spice up my presentation a bit. My prezi is wordy, very wordy. I could have left out the words a bit more, keep everything to bullet point form and speak directly from what I learned. Using the prezi just as reference once in a while. So I can say that even though my presentation is packed with information, if it doesn't grab the attention of the audience, it's useless. That's my thought of my presentation. -->not that good
This scramble is also during the New Imperialism period, between 1881 and World War I. Another reason why the European countries are splitting Africa is because they believe that this would eliminate the threat of a Europe-wide war over Africa. 
