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Hotel Rwanda Movie Questions/Reflections

Hotel Rwanda tackles one of the most horrifically ugly events in recent history, when the Hutu extremists of Rwanda initiated a terrifying campaign of genocide, massacring hundreds of thousands of minority Tutsis, while the rest of the world looked on and did nothing. Paul Rusesabagina is the hotel manager at the fancy Les Milles Collines hotel in Kigali. Paul is a Hutu, and a very successful businessman who smoothly greases the wheels, making powerful connections in all strata of Rwandan life. The catch is that his wife, Tatiana, is a Tutsi. She urges Paul to use his influence to help local Tutsis, who are being harassed and beaten with increasing frequency, but Paul will only use the political capital he's built up to help his own family, if and when they need it. Soon enough, the violence escalates, and the Hutus begin their genocide of the Tutsis. European guests and staff at the hotel are flown out of the country, and Paul is left in charge. He finds that his conscience won't allow him to watch as the innocent are slaughtered, and before long, the hotel has become a well-appointed refugee camp. Paul is seen as a traitor by some, putting his life in danger, and the predicament of his "guests" grows more precarious every day. Despite good intentions on the part of a journalist and a UN peacekeeping colonel, the rest of the world is not eager to intervene and stop the massacre.

Part 1- The Beginning of Horror

Questions Before the movie starts, draw a multi-flow map (smoothie map) of two causes and two effects of the Rwandan genocide.

Who is the man on the radio at the beginning of the movie? Why does he call the Tutsi- cockroaches?

What year does the movie and genocide take place? What is the capital of Rwanda (where the movie takes place)?

What European country had colonized Rwanda up until the 1960s? What ethnic group took power after they left?

What ethnic group is Paul? What is Pauls wifes name and what is her ethnic group? What is Pauls job? Why does he give gifts to some of his guests like the military general?

Who are the guys with the blue hats? Why are they in Rwanda?

At the bar, what do the reporters learn about the physcial difference between a Hutu and a Tutsi?

What happens to the Hutu President that ignites the genocide? What is the verbal signal to the Hutu Extremists (Interahamwe) to begin the killings?

Reflection (5-7 Sentence Paragraph)

Part 2- Hotel becomes Refugee Camp

Questions Why doesnt Paul force his worker, Gregoire (Hutu), out of the Presidential Suite and back to work?

What is the head UN colonel implying when he says, We are here as Peace Keepers, not as Peace Makers.?

Why is Paul happy that Jack (the reporter) shot footage of the massacre in the streets of Kigali? What is Jacks reply of how people will react to the footage in a country like the U.S.?

Why does the Red Cross Female volunteer say that they are targeting the Tutsi children?

How are Paul and the Tutsi refugees saved from the Hutu Interahamwe by a phone call? Reflection (5-7 Sentence Paragraph)

Part 3- Chaos
Questions How does Paul convince the military general into getting Gregoire back to work?

Why does Paul leave the hotel and why does he bring his worker Gregoire with him?

Why does Paul break down crying when he returns from his trip to get supplies?

What is an exit visa? What are some of the countries that are bringing in these refugees?

By not leaving with his family, how has Paul changed from the beginning of the movie?

What happens to the escape convoy as they try to exit the country? How do the Hutu (Interahamwe) find out about their attempted escape?

Reflection (5-7 Sentence Paragraph)

Part 4- The Finale

Questions Why are the people at the Hotel taking water from the pool?

How does Paul bribe the Rwandan military general into helping him and the Tutsi refugees?

Why does Paul emotionally check the roof of the hotel after he cannot find his family in the chaos? Where are they actually hiding?

Who chases off the Hutu Interahamwe as the escape convoy approaches safety/the border?

How did refugees search or hear about the fate of their loved ones?

Who does Tatiana find at the very end of the movie?

How did the genocide finally end in July of 1994? How many dead bodies were left behind?

Reflection (5-7 Sentence Paragraph)