Hotel Rwanda Essay
Throughout history, the human rights of many different groups in various nations and countries have been violated. Governments, individuals, and groups of individuals have often attempted to stop these violations, with different methods. There has been a range of results, from successful to unsuccessful. Two nations that have experienced human rights violations are Rwanda, where the Hutus and Tutsis were violated, and Sudan, specifically the western region of the country; Darfur. Both were subject to genocide, which is defined as “ the deliberate killing of a large group of people, especially those of a particular ethnic group or nation.” The Hutus and Tutsis both faced human rights violations stemming from the hatred that arisen between the two. When Rwanda was colonized under Belgian rule, the Belgians divided the people of Rwanda into two groups. The Tutsis were people with longer noses and necks, generally meaning they were taller. They were also people who had more than 10 cows, a sign of wealth. The less wealthy people, and those with stockier features were considered Hutu. Even after the Belgians left, despite being similar people of common descent, there was a hatred existing between the majority of the members of each group. The
Hutus make up the majority of the population in Rwanda.
The majority of people who were victim to human rights violations were Tutsis. Starting on April 7, 1994, hundreds of thousands, possibly even 1 million Tutsis and people suspected of being Tutsi or helping Tutsis were killed. Hutu extremists carried out this genocide after the
Hutu president of Rwanda was killed in a plane he was on which was shot down. The Hutu blamed this on Tutsis due to their past oppressive rule. The UN and other governing bodies failed to help or intervene in Rwanda to stop the killing or even prevent it from happening,

even due to prior knowledge that Hutu extremists were preparing for a mass attack on Tutsis at any opportunity.
One person who did try to help during this time was Paul Rusesabagina. He was given charge of
Hôtel des Mille Collines during the Rwandan Genocide. With control of the hotel, he used it to save over a thousand Tutsi and Hutu refugees. He was a Hutu himself, and used this not to save just himself, but used it to hide Tutsis in his hotel, after bribing Hutu militarists with everything he had to save the Tutsis. Whenever the rebel Hutu military would show up at his hotel, he would find a way to steer them away and keep the refugees safe. He was a true hero to the Tutsis and Hutus who would have otherwise been killed in a genocide.
Another mass violation of human rights is currently happening in the present time. In
Darfur, another genocide was started in 2003. This genocide happening in Sudan stemmed from civil war that started in the 1950s. Darfur, the west region of Sudan, was left majorly undeveloped; a peace agreement which ended civil war in Sudan failed to recognize the effects of the war on Darfur and left it neglected. This governmental instability and