Planning 10 Hotel Rwanda Activity
After watching the movie:
• read through the timeline of Rwanda
• read the Hutu commandments
• read the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• think about the questions to Develop a Human Rights
Discussion
• think about the post-viewing discussion questions
• write a one-two page reflection about the movie incorporating
the answers to the questions
• be prepared to discuss your thoughts and reflections on this in
small groups
• hand in your reflection (10 marks)
Timeline: Rwanda
A chronology of key events:
1300s - Tutsis migrate into what is now Rwanda, which was already inhabited by the Twa and
Hutu peoples.
1858 - British explorer Manning Speke is the first European to visit the area.
1890 - Rwanda becomes part of German East Africa.
1916 - Belgian forces occupy Rwanda.
1923 - Belgium granted League of Nations mandate to govern Rwanda-Urundi, which it ruled
indirectly through Tutsi kings.
1946 - Rwanda-Urundi becomes UN trust territory governed by Belgium.
Independence
1957 - Hutus issue manifesto calling for a change in Rwanda's power structure to give them a
voice commensurate with their numbers; Hutu political parties formed.
1959 - Tutsi King Kigeri V, together with tens of thousands of Tutsis, forced into exile in
Uganda following mter-ethmc violence.
1961 - Rwanda proclaimed a republic.
1962 - Rwanda becomes independent with a Hutu, Gregoire Kayibanda, as president; many
Tutsis leave the country.
1963 - Some 20,000 Tutsis killed following an incursion by Tutsi rebels based in
Burundi.
1973 - President Gregoire Kayibanda ousted in military coup led by Juvenal Habyanmana.
1978 - New constitution ratified; Habyanmana elected president.
1988 - Some 50,000 Hutu refugees flee to Rwanda from Burundi following ethnic violence
there.
1990 - Forces of the rebel, mainly Tutsi, Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) invade Rwanda from
Uganda.
1991 - New multi-party constitution promulgated.
Genocide
1993 - President Habyanmana signs a power-sharing agreement with the Tutsis in the
Tanzanian town of Arusha, ostensibly signalling the end of civil war; UN mission sent to
monitor the peace agreement.
1994 SLAUGHTER - Human remains at Nyamata, scene of many massacres
1994 April - Habyanmana and the Burundian president are killed after their plane is shot
down over Kigali; RPF launches a major offensive; extremist Hutu militia and elements of the
Rwandan military begin the systematic massacre of Tutsis. Within 100 days around 800,000
Tutsis and moderate Hutus are killed; Hutu militias flee to Zaire, taking with them around 2
million Hutu refugees.
A small number of major players could directly have prevented,
halted or reduced the slaughter of Rwandans
1994-96 - Refugee camps in Zaire fall under the control of the Hutu militias responsible for
the genocide in Rwanda
1995 - Extremist Hutu militias and Zairean government forces attack local Zairean
Banyamulenge Tutsis; Zaire attempts to force refugees back into Rwanda,
1995 - UN-appointed international tribunal begins charging and sentencing a number of
people responsible for the Hutu-Tutsi atrocities.
Intervention in DR Congo
1996 - Rwandan troops invade and attack Hutu mihtia-dommated camps in Zaire in order to
drive home the refugees.
1998 - Rwanda switches allegiance to support rebel forces trying to depose Kabila in the wake
of the Congolese president's failure to expel extremist Hutu militias.
2000 March - Rwandan President Pasteur Bizimungu, a Hutu, resigns over differences
regarding the composition of a new cabinet and after accusing parliament of targeting Hutu
politicians in anti-corruption investigations.
Rwandans have rejected ethnic divisions
President Paul Kagame, 2000
BBC's Mix Kroeqer on Kagame inauguration
Kagame elected
2000 April - Ministers and members of parliament efect Vice-President Paul Kagame as
Rwanda's new president.
2001 October - Voting to elect members of traditional "gacaca" courts begins. The courts - m
which ordinary Rwandans judge their peers - aim to clear the backlog of 1994 genocide cases.
2001 December - A new flag and national anthem are unveiled to try to promote national
unity and reconciliation.
2002 July - Rwanda, DR Congo sign peace deal under which Rwanda will pull troops out of DR
Congo and DR Congo will help disarm Rwandan Hutu gunmen blamed for killing Tutsi minority
in 1994 genocide.
2003 May - Voters back a draft constitution which bans the incitement of ethnic hatred.
2003 August - Paul Kagame wins the first presidential elections since the 1994 genocide.
2003 December - Three former media directors found guilty of mating Hutus to kill Tutsis
during 1994 genocide and receive lengthy jail sentences.
2004 March - President Kagame rejects French report which says he ordered 1994 attack on
president's plane, which sparked genocide.
2005 March - Mam Hutu rebel group, FDLR, says it is ending its armed struggle. FDLR is one
of several groups accused of creating instability m DR Congo; many of its members are
accused of taking part m 1994 genocide.
2005 July - Government begins the mass release of 36,000 prisoners. Most of them have
confessed to involvement m the 1994 genocide It is the third phase of releases since 2003 part of an attempt to ease overcrowding.
2006 November - Rwanda breaks off diplomatic ties with France after a French judge issues
an international arrest warrant for President Kagame, alleging he was involved m bringing
down Habyanmana's plane.
Hutu Ten Commandments
These were published in December of 1990 in the Kigali Newspaper
1 Every Hutu should know that a Tutsi woman, wherever she is, works for the interests of her
Tutsi ethnic group. As a result, we shall consider a traitor any Hutu who-1 Marries a Tutsi
woman 2 Befriends a Tutsi woman 3 Employs a Tutsi woman as a secretary or concubine
2. Every Hutu should know that our Hutu daughters are more suitable and conscientious in their
roles as woman, wife and mother of the family Are they not beautiful, good secretaries and
more honest?
3 Hutu women, be vigilant and try to bring your husbands, brothers and sons back to reason.
4 Every Hutu should know that every Tutsi is dishonest in business. His only aim is the
supremacy of his ethnic group As a result, any Hutu who does the following is a traitor 1
Makes a partnership with a Tutsi in business 2 Invests his money or the government's money in
a Tutsi enterprise 3 Lends or borrows money from a Tutsi 4 Gives favors to a Tutsi in
business.
5 All strategic positions, political, administrative, economic, military and security should be
entrusted to Hutu
6. The education sector must be majority Hutu.
7. The Rwandese Armed Forces should be exclusively Hutu
8. The Hutu should stop having mercy on the Tutsi
9 The Hutu, wherever they are, must have unity and solidarity and be concerned with the fate
of their Hutu brothers.
10 The Social Revolution of 1959, the Referendum of 1961, and the Hutu Ideology must be
taught to every Hutu at every level. Every Hutu must spread this ideology widely
Nipissmg University - (Dave Winsa & Jayson Hoffman) General Lesson Plan
Page 12
Youths
for Human Rights
International tm
The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Version for Young People
1. We are all free and equal. We are all born free. We all
have our own thoughts and ideas. We should all be treated
in the same way.
2. Don't discriminate. These rights belong to everybody,
whatever our differences.
3. The right to life. We all have the right to life, and to live
in freedom and safety.
4. Slavery - past and present. Nobody has any right to
make us a slave. We cannot make anyone our slave.
5. Torture. Nobody has any right to hurt us or to torture us.
6. We all have the same right to use the law. lama person
just like you!
7. We are all protected by the law. The law is the same for
everyone. It must treat us all fairly.
8. Fair treatment by fair courts. We can all ask for the law
to help us when we are not treated fairly.
9. Unfair detainment. Nobody has the right to put us in
prison without a good reason and keep us there, or to
send us away from our country.
1. The right to trial. If we are put on trial this should be in
public. The people who try us should not let anyone tell
them what to do.
11. Innocent until proven guilty. Nobody should be blamed
for doing something until it is proven. When people say
we did a bad thing we have the right to show it is not
share them. Nobody should take our things from us
without a good reason.
18. Freedom of thought. We all have the right to believe in
what we want to believe, to have a religion, or to change
it if we want.
19. Free to say what you want. We all have the right to make
up our own minds, to think what we like, to say what we
think, and to share our ideas with other people.
20. Meet where you like. We all have the right to meet our
friends and to work together in peace to defend our rights.
Nobody can make us join a group if we don't want to.
21. The right to democracy. We all have the right to take part
in the government of our country. Every grown-up should
be allowed to choose their own leaders.
22. The right to social security. We all have the right to
affordable housing, medicine, education, and child care,
enough money to live on and medical help if we are ill or
old.
23. Workers' rights. Every grown-up has the .right to do a
job, to a fair wage for their work, and to join a trade union.
24. The right to play. We all have the right to rest from work
and to relax.
25. A bed and some food. We all have the right to a good
life. Mothers and children, people who are old,
unemployed or disabled, and all people have the right to
be cared for.
true.
12. The right to privacy. Nobody should try to harm our
good name. Nobody has the right to come into our home,
open our letters or bother us or our family without a good
26. The right to education. Education is a right. Primary
school should be free. We should learn about the United
Nations and how to get on with others. Our parents can
choose what we learn.
reason.
13. Freedom to move. We all have the right to go where we
want in our own country and to travel as we wish.
14. The right to asylum. If we are frightened of being badly
treated in our own country, we all have the right to run
away to another country to be safe.
15. The right to a nationality. We all have the right to belong
to a country.
16. Marriage and family. Every grown-up has the right to
marry and have a family if they want to. Men and women
have the same rights when they are married, and when
they are separated.
17. Your own things. Everyone has the right to own things or
27. Culture and copyright. Copyright is a special law that
protects one's own artistic creations and writings; others
cannot make copies without permission. We all have the
right to our own way of life and to enjoy the good things
that "art", science and learning bring.
28. A free and fair world. There must be proper order so we
can all enjoy rights and freedoms in our own country and
all over the world.
29. Our responsibilities. We have a duty to other people,
and we should protect their rights and freedoms.
30. Nobody can take away these rights and freedoms from
us.
"Human rights must be made a fact, not an idealistic dream." — L Ron Hubbard
Youth for Human rights International™
P.O Box27306 - Los Angeles CA 90027 - Phone (323) 663-5799 - FAX (323) 663-2013 - e-maik [email protected] - www youthforhumanrights.org
This version for young people of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights has been provided to you as a public service by Youth for Human Rights International,
promotes widespread application of this historic document to encourage young people to learn and apply human rights
t
^ (c)2005 YOUTH FOft HUMAN RJGHT5 JWKNATION'AL™. All rights reserved
QUESTIONS TO DEVELOP A HUMAN RIGHTS DISCUSSION
Introductory Activity
What are human rights'?
Are there some basic rights everyone has and are entitled to?
Why are human rights important?
What are some of your rights?
Do you know when you are exercising (using) your human rights or do you take them for granted?
Give examples.
Do you think that adults and children have the same rights? Why or why not?
Do you think that people from other countries have the same rights as* people in the United States?
Explain.
Do you think there should be laws protecting your human rights? Why or why not?
Do you think you could help create or change a law that protects your rights? Give examples.
Are there any human rights that you feel should be protected more than others? Explain why.
r
I
Planning 10
Social Responsibility Project
Post-Viewing Small Group Discussion Questions
After watching the movie "Hotel Rwanda", are you shocked or surprised by any of
the scenes that you observed? Which ones and why? Talk about your feelings
and emotions.
Why do you think the rest of the world abandoned the Tutsi people at a time
when they needed the help the most?
Do you agree with the comment made in the movie about people "will watch the
news and say that's horrible and then continue on eating their dinner"? Why do
you think society, in general, does not help when there are so many problems in
the world? Are you one of those people who do this? Why or why not?
Define what it means to be a "Socially Responsible Citizen"
In thinking of a project that you as an individual can do to be a
"Socially Responsible Citizen" list 3 different kinds of activities that you
could participate in and the benefit to the individual(s) that you are
helping as well as to yourself.
Activity
(Be specific ~ global or
local)
Benefits to Individual
Benefits to Self