Prejudice and Discrimination: An Analysis of Hotel Rwanda

Introduction

Prejudice and discrimination are terms that both refer to a negative perception of another individual based on no other reason than their belonging to a certain group. It may be based on race, sexual orientation, tribe, or any other factor on whose basis a social group may be formed. The difference between two terms presents in their manifestation. Prejudice is mainly inward and often refers to a negative preconceived idea about other individuals (Thompson, 2007). Discrimination however has an outward manifestation where one actually treats other individuals differently based on their perception of them. While discrimination and prejudice are both evident in Hotel Rwanda, the former is far more prominent, as will be revealed forthwith.

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Hotel Rwanda is a 2004 film that recounts the story of one Paul Rusesabagina, a Hutu hotelier who went to great lengths to protect his family and the endangered Tutsi refugees as they were being sought out by Hutu militia during the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. The film revolves around Paul's dealings and negotiations with his tribesmen, most of whom have joined the militia that is moving around the country slaughtering Tutsis. The Rwandan genocide is one of the most infamous civil wars in which an estimated 1 million Rwandan were killed, a majority of whom were Tutsi (Thompson, 2007). The conflict between the two tribes arose due to power imbalance whereby the Hutu held all the major government posts and believed that the Tutsi were not worthy to lead. The Tutsi however, also fought for their rights through the Rwandan Patriotic Force, which had experienced heavy opposition from the Government since Rwandan independence in 1962. By the time the genocide ended, over 2 million Rwandans had been displaced.

Various forms of discrimination are evident in the movie. Institutional discrimination is one of the most prominent themes, most evident in the operations of the hotel. Institutional discrimination occurs when an organization or institution is able to carry out its mandate or professionally offer its services due to a negative attitude towards some of its prospective clients. The hotel, for instance, mainly served the whites as opposed to the native Rwandans. Moreover, it was clear that the Hutus were dominant in government and military. For the Tutsi to emigrate out of the country, they require the government support, which is unavailable because the government is predominantly composed of the very people who are persecuting the Tutsis. The government also had the power to intimidate any organizations that aid the Tutsis.

The Hutu took up most positions of power after the exit of the Belgian colonialists. However, the Tutsi minority seemed to be economically privileged in comparison. They were in fact referred to as the elite in the film. The Hutu therefore used the government's resources and machinery to oppress and suppress the Tutsi, whereby the Tutsi are also portrayed as very resilient. The Tutsis are not ready to be oppressed but have no capacity to fight back during the genocide because the Hutus greatly outnumber them (Thompson, 2007). The Hutus also have a very low opinion of the Tutsi calling them 'cockroaches', and carrying out an attempted racial extermination.

Economic discrimination occurs when discrimination is motivated by economic status. For instance, one of the factors that divided the Rwandan people and led to the genocide was the perception that the Tutsis who were the minority, were elite and were economically stronger than the Hutus. Economic discrimination is also evidenced in the film through the perception that native Rwandans cannot favorably operate big businesses like the white Belgian immigrants. At one point, Colonel Oliver blatantly tells Paul that he (Paul) is incapable of owning the hotel simply because he is black.

While the UN sent peace keeping forces to Rwanda during the genocide, it was clear that the peace keeping forces were not of much help. First, they could not prevail against armed militia who were out to kill. The UN peace keeping forces are not allowed to engage militarily against insurgents. Secondly, it is apparent that the UN forces are not very concerned about the plight of the locals who are in conflict (Thompson, 2007). While it may appear so on face value, their actions indicate that their main priority is to facilitate the exit of white foreigners from the country to safety.

Media Portrayal Discrepancies

The media has always been accused of reporting and portraying issues and events in such a manner as to support a specific agenda. The media is a powerful political tool due to the power thereof in guiding public perception. Hotel Rwanda, for instance, is an American film which chronicles sensitive Rwandan events. The accuracy of various components of the movie has been questioned. However, the explanation offered is the possibility of diverse views when referencing different sources (Kayihura & Zukus, 2013). Different sources give different facts regarding what actually transpired in Rwanda during the period.

"We're here as peace keepers, not peace makers" is a controversial statement made in the film by Colonel Oliver (Kayihura & Zukus, 2013). However, Colonel Oliver's character is fashioned off General Romeo Dallaire. Colonel Oliver is depicted as disinterested in the lives of the locals. In fact, his attitude is the main basis of the conclusion that the UN peace keepers were only in Rwanda to aid in the emigration of the white settlers who were trapped in the civil war. However, contrary to that image, General Dallaire is known to have been of a different character. UN General Dallaire is deemed by most to have been caring and to have done everything in his power to help alleviate the situation.

Hotel Rwanda also seems to portray the violence as having been solely aimed at Tutsis, which is a gross misconception. Hutu sympathizers met the same fate as the Tutsis. In fact, upon President Habyarimana's assassination, the first step that was taken by the military and the Hutus who were planning the genocide was to eliminate all the Hutus within government who were likely to oppose the initiative (Kayihura & Zukus, 2013). Moreover, whenever chance arose, the chaos allowed members of the militias also frequently murdered individuals against whom they had personal vendettas irrespective of whether they belonged to their tribe or not.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the movie is depictive of the effects of prejudice and discrimination. However, the intermarriage between Paul and his wife is proof of the folly of prejudice when peaceful and productive community life is possible. Some of the instances of prejudice and discrimination include racial discrimination of blacks by whites as evidenced by Colonel Oliver's treatment of Paul as well as discrimination based on tribe between the Hutu's and Tutsis.

References

Kayihura, E., & Zukus, K. (2013). Inside the Hotel Rwanda: The Surprising True Story ... and Why it Matters Today. Dallas: BenBella Books, Inc.

Thompson, A. (2007). The Media and the Rwanda genocide. London: Pluto Press.