Katrine Joy D.

Azuelo International Political Economy

AB Foreign Service 302 Sir. Jumel G. Estrañero

Hotel Rwanda: The Depiction of Rwandan Cataclysm and the Philippine Security

Rwanda is a country in the East Africa which possesses a horrible history. Before
Europeans came in Africa, there already two ethnic groups existing, to wit, the Hutus and the
Tutsis. Back then, the Tutsis were composed of the elites, and the Hutus of the peasants, mostly
of farmers. By 19th century, the Europeans came and divided Africa. Germany got Rwanda at
first, then eventually, by early 20th century, Rwanda was given to the Belgians. Belgians severed
the line between the Tutsis and Hutus, and they were the ones who issued the ethnic identity
cards to them. They at first preferred and favored the Tutsis and gave them education and jobs.
However, upon the realization of the Hutus that they are being aggravated, they started to
consider their majority when it comes to number and depicted such ‘democratic” acts. The
Belgians eventually had this change of hearts and started siding with the Hutus. The Hutus then
realized how powerful they are and started dominating over the Tutsis. Years passed, by the year
1962, Belgium declared Rwanda’s independence. Up until 1990’s there were cycles of killings
and revenge between the two ethnic groups. Some of the Tutsis went to Uganda. In Burundi,
some of the Tutsis are still in power, and they murdered Burundi Hutus. Hutus from Burundi, to
escape the power of Tutsis transferred to the south of Rwanda. This is where the Hutus had the
determination and decided that they will never let Tutsis treat them the same way again. Despite
the power held by the Hutus, there were still many Tutsis left. Hutus dominated with the feeling
of fear that one day Tutsis might attack again. On 1990, Tutsis from Uganda turned Hutus’ fears
into reality. Their rebel army called the Rwandan Patriotic Front marched out to Ugandan bush
to make war on the Rwandan Army. By the year 1994, on the 6th day of April, Rwandan
president’s plane was shot down, and it is believed that the Tutsis are the ones who are behind
this. This inflicted more anxiety to the Hutus and they ordered to “Cut all the tall trees now.”
(referring to the Tutsis). This then began the 100-day genocide in Rwanda.
One of the movies which portrayed the horrible event of the 100-day Rwandan genocide
is the movie entitled, “Hotel Rwanda”. The main character here is a man named Paul
Rusesabagina, a hotelier at the Hotel des Mille Collines. More than that, he is a father, a loving
husband, and a thoughtful neighbor. It was showed in the movie how smart he is. He is really
good at bargaining with the other high-ranking officials, which he used as a way of saving him
and his family in the times of need. The characters in the movie experienced the dreadful
genocide, as well as political corruptions, irresponsible authorities, violence, and racism. Paul
faced multiple dilemmas in the movie, and one of it is between his duty and his family. His wife
is a Tutsi and so does the other members of her family. By the time the conflict became worse,
he sheltered his family and neighbors in the hotel where he works in. Since Tutsis were seen as
“cockroaches” by then, he had to keep it with the other hotel workers, thus depicting that he
values his family first before his duty and anything else. Another important character facing a
tremendous dilemma in the movie was Romeo Dallaire, the Force Commander of UNAMIR by
that time when the genocide happened. His eagerness to protect and help the Rwandan people
was seen in the movie, however, this was covered with frustrations, as the superpowers and other
Western authorities are not willing to help Rwanda anymore. Here, it shows that self-reliance is
very important in a state because external helps aren’t propitious. Organizations such as the
United Nations aren’t effective enough to solve such problems, they are just aids, and from what
Dallaire reiterated in the movie, “We’re here as peacekeepers, not peacemakers.” Through
Dallaire, racism was portrayed, he was the one who explained to Paul how the West thinks about
small and poor countries such as Africa. Another important character in the movie is Augustin
Bizimungu, the general of the Rwandan Armed Forces (RAF), he is an example of a corrupt
officer. This character suggests that everything has a price. Paul was able to ask favors from him
like protecting the hotel in exchange of bribes or goods – money or liquors. He played an
important role because at the end, it was his troops which protected Paul and the other refugees
from the Interhamwe. Another important character in the movie is Pat Archer, a courageous
woman who saved hundreds and thousands of children. Another one is Georges Rutaganda, the
leader of the Hutu militia, or the Interhamwe, a paragon of a pro-violence individual. He was the
one providing supplies (originally stolen) to Paul, and he was the one who supplies arms to the
Interhamwe. It was believed that without him, the genocide would not be as brutal as it is.
Overall, the movie depicts how difficult it was for the Rwandans to survive the genocide.
There came a point when they just wanted to give up and wait until death comes to them, but
thanks to Paul, the main character who despite of all the struggles remained selfless and strived
to rescue his fellow Rwandans. The Hotel des Mille Collines stood as a hope for all the
Rwandans that time, as well as their hero, Paul Rusesabagina.
Up until now, the scars of the genocide in Rwanda is still not erased. It affected not only
the population of the country but also their political economy. Hence, realizing that national
security is very important in a state, and even in regions. The effects of security in political
economy may differ and will depend on the level or frequency in which it is imposed. Security
can also become the basis of policies of the state, including economic policies. In a state where
security is mainly prioritized, it might result to political stability. Wherein there might be less
political opposition groups because of good security policies. On the other hand, a state with
good security policies might attract more investors, hence will contribute to the good
performance of the economy. Plus, there will be less hostilities internally, therefore, less
allotment of budget for the reconstructions and repairs of infrastructures and the like. On the
contrary, lack of security might compromise the political economy of a state. Other than those,
there are also such security issues that may arise, to wit, issues in energy security, environmental
security, food security, and cyber-security. When it comes to the regional security, it is more
complicated. For example, the Philippines in the Asia-Pacific. It would be more complicated for
the country to have its security measures, because the cost of its national security might be the
heightening of the conflicts with other nations of the region (Asia-Pacific). Most especially when
there’s China, and there’s still a throbbing dispute in the West Philippine Sea. The country shall
also consider its relationship with other states in strengthening its security.
What is it really that should come first, development or peace? For me, it would be peace.
Without peace, there would be no developments. Imagine a state where there’s full of conflicts
and atrocities. How could the government impose development projects orderly? Well, let us
take Rwanda for example. After the genocide on the year 1994, and after all the hostilities, there
came the peace and order. Today, Rwanda, according to the World Bank, has been politically
stable since after the genocide. In terms of their economy, they are having long-term
development goals. It depicts that after the atrocities, there will be peace, then there will be
development.
Today, we can assume that the Philippines is making a good strategy in attaining peaceful
and sustainable development by committing to the United Nations Development Program’s
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This is a universal effort to “end poverty, protect the
planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity”. Another one is the approval of
President Rodrigo Duterte of the “enhanced” National Security Policy (NSP) for 2017-2022.
This is for promoting and safeguarding the Philippine national interests. It also includes his anti-
illegal drug campaign. However, despite the effort of the President to eradicate the drug related
crimes, at some point, it brought anxiety and hostilities especially when it comes to the human
rights issues. The effectivity of the other security policies has yet to come.

We are aware of what happened in Rwanda back then on the year 1994. It can
happen anywhere else in the world especially when the security of the country is not prioritized.
Here are some of the recommendations for RP on avoiding the same devastating incident or
scenario in the film Hotel Rwanda.

 RP shall focus on implementing security and legal order. This is very crucial for attaining
sustainable development and self-reliance.
 The country, upon realizing an arising conflict, shall immediately plan for conflict
prevention, but shall be in diplomatic terms, and shall not resort initially on hostilities.
 RP shall give minority groups in the country a voice and shall treat their rights equal with
any other groups.
 RP shall invest on modern technologies, including space explorations (building more
satellites). This will help the country to monitor insurgencies and other threats to the
national security.
 RP shall try to stabilize itself when it comes to politics, economy, most especially in
military to be self-reliant. It shall not rely on the aids coming from other external entities.