Wednesday, April 06, 2005

"Hotel Rwanda" in Rwanda.

Stadium premiere for Hotel Rwanda

The crowd erupted in boos and cheers during parts of the film
Almost 10,000 people packed the main stadium in the Rwandan capital Kigali on Monday for the country's premiere of Oscar-nominated film Hotel Rwanda.
The movie tells the true story of hotel owner Paul Rusesabagina's attempts to shelter refugees and rally global help during the 1994 genocide.
I can only imagine the effect this movie would have on people in Kigali. I left Kigali during the genocide, and I what I saw in terms of atrocities, was enough to disturb me for the rest of my life. Many of them lost close family members of their family, or have "genocidaires" in their family. And for some - and I can see their point - the genocide has never really stopped. It might have just shifted targets... In any case, I broke down in the theater watching this movie, as I could not contain the flow of emotions that overtook me, when reliving that moment when Hell broke loose in my life. In fact today is the anniversary of that day when we heard that the President's airplane had been shot, and we started hearing the rifles, and the cries in the night, signaling the beginning of the genocide. I still feel shudders, every year, on this day. I can only imagine, what a person who did NOT leave Kigali feel...

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

REALLY SAD MOVIE..a must-see movie...how can people be so cruel? ESPECIALLY THE UNITED NATIONS!!! why reject a country becuz of their race?

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