100 days too many days

           Hey guys!  I'm writing a response to a movie I recently watched titled 100 Days by Nick Hughes. The movie follows these two Tutsi families as they attempt to survive the Rwandan genocide that occurred in 1994. What occurred in that genocide are atrocities that one can not even attempt to comprehend, however, that does not mean one should not know about them as many people even nowadays do not. For those of you who don't know the genocide started on April 6, 1994 due to the assasination of the Rwandan President Juvenal. President Juvenal was part of the Hutu clan which were and are in great opposition to the Tutsi clan.  This is important to know because it is universally thought that the RPF an organization comprised of exiled Tutsis were responsible for the assasination. Hutu's who already hated the Tutsis due to years of oppression decade back and a belief that Tutsis thought themselves better than them took this opportunity to lash out. They murdered hundreds of thousands of Tutsis. The murder of Tutsis only stopped as the RPF entered Rwanda. However, when they entered they too began their own atrocities and killed many Hutu. In the end, it is thought that any where between 800,000 and 1,000,000 million Rwandans were killed.
             100 days is set in this absolute chaos. I think what made the atrocious actions even more appalling was the misleading start of the movie. The movie starts with the two protagonists (Josette and Baptiste) chasing one another. They are in love and their love is portrayed as something ideal and pure. This love misleads one as it is in stark contrast with all the events that happen afterwards.
               What sets the movie in motion is the assasination of President Juvenal. When he dies the rug underneath Josette's and Baptiste's lives are pulled right underneath them. Immediately after the assasination a gang of Hutu's come upon Baptiste's house and murders his entire family. Baptiste narrowly escapes but after this the movie is full of atrocities scene after scene.
                  However, what I find most disheartening is that the evil that occurred in Rwanda was not only committed by the lowly people, but by people who had power and who should of led their society down a more righteous path. The puppeteer behind all the atrocities acts occurring in Josette's and Baptiste town appears to be a normal Hutu man.  I did not really see him as a person of power initially but just a man with leadership qualities. I was wrong this man wasn't a normal Hutu but it appeared he was French. Their was a scene where French soldiers pick this man up and basically tell him they are not certain of other people's welfare but that the French will take care of the French. What I understood of this was that since the man was being picked up and being driven to safety that he was French. Therefore,he had colonial power supporting him which would of made him a powerful person. Instead of using his power to help his people and to make a better world for them he drags them to utter chaos. It was he who lit a match on to the gasoline that killed many Tutsi children and it was he who made the speeches that put seeds of hatred into the people's hearts. He was a monster.
                Another person who did much the same was a Rwandan priest. Priests are supposed to be men whose morality people strive to have. However, what this priest did was take advantage of families when they were most scared and vulnerable. The priest lies to the families he is taking care of in his church telling them that he will protect their daughters if they go with him. Instead, what he does is take them up to his room and rape them. Josette is a victim of this manipulation and becuase he rapes her she becomes pregnant. This is probably the event that broke Josette's spirit  for you see ,although, in love with Baptiste she had saved herself so that when they did get married no one would think they did so because she was pregnant, but more so know that they got married because they were in love. Therefore, her pregnancy really tugged at my heart strings because she had fought temptation so hard only to have what she most did not want to happen with a man who was a complete stranger. The priest was also in the wrong because he had full knowledge that Hutu men were coming and going to kill off all the Tutsis in his church. He tells the Tutsi people nothing and lets the mass killings happen. He was a horrendous man.
              Other people in the wrong were the U.N. and the media people. The U.N. abandoned the Tutsis in their time of need and just left them in their churches knowing full well that they would be murdered. They should've of just murdered them themselves in that way they would've been killed more "civilly". The media people also did not do much to help as all they did was make sure there was a camera on people who were being murdered. With all the connection they have you think they would've done more.
          Why couldn't anyone do something? The tools were there to prevent the events that occurred so why weren't they utilized? The movie just had me realize how truly racist and prejudice our society is. If this would've been a European nation or any other predominantly white country the atrocities would've been stopped immediately. Instead they went on for approximately 100 days. The international community were as much to blame as the Rwandans who committed the crimes.

This is a video to help you better understand what occurred:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVEQHhsOcFQ

Shrug

          Hey everyone! I hope you are all doing well. As many of you might know this semeseter I am taking an African literature class and in this class we are reading a book called No Sweetness Here and Other Stories by Ama Ata Aidoo. In this class I was assigned to rewrite one of the stories in No Sweetness Here and Other Stories in a character's persepective of the story. I've decided to rewrite "In the Cutting of a Drink" in the perspective of the character Mamsa. The story was about the journey of Mamsa's brother who goes to the city in search of Mamsa only to be shocked by the city culture and to discover his sister who he had not seen in twelve years is a prostitute.

The teacher’s words don’t make any sense. I raise my hand but he dismisses it quickly. I hate mathematics. I look out the crooked window and some of the older boys are playing football. I envy them.

                “Mamsa so what do you think the solution is,” the teacher asks. I look around frantically hearing some of the girls in the back laughing. How am I supposed to know the answer? I sometimes think the teacher purposely does this to ridicule me. I shrug. He shouts telling me I am nothing like my brother, and that I should apply myself more but I look away. Soon his words drown out as I imagine myself outside playing football.

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                “Mamsa at last your home.”  Midway in smiling my mother hurriedly takes my hand and drags me in front of a pot. I am told we are preparing tuo tonight and my mother is behind on preparations.  I start helping with the rice but my elbow hits the pot and the rice falls to the ground.  My mother is infuriated and sends me out of the kitchen.  

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                My father is a voracious eater. The meal that had taken my mother hours to make is finished in just a few minutes. My brothers are much the same. I’ve never really liked tuo and my mother scolds me for playing with my food. “I have an announcement to make children,” says my father as he chugs his food down.  I look up as my father pierces me with his eyes. “We are sending your sister ,Mamsa, to a family friend to learn housework and sewing. Mamsa, we have heard your complaints about school and have agreed that this is what’s best for your future.”  But why? Why can’t mother teach me? I begin to protest but my father’s glare shuts me up quickly.  I pack my things immediately. My mother comes to talk to me and asks me if I will be ok. I look at her and shrug.

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                The woman is nice. Her name is Siara and with her son’s death she has no family to speak of. She sees how incapable I am at housework so she just humors me.  I have a little cot and share a room alongside three older girls. There all nice but I don’t get to talk to them much. They sleep most of the day and only have time to talk to me for a little while at night before they leave.  It is quite lonely. I count the days before Christmas when the woman promised to take me to my parents’ house.

 BANG. The door is slammed and I’m awaken from my thoughts. I turn and it’s Cheruba one of the girls I share a room with. She is crying. I run toward her and her face it is swollen and her left eye is bleeding. What happened? I run to go grab water as Siara runs in. She begins scolding the girl about leading the man to the house and for not finishing him. “Cheruba how are we to get rid of him now,” she asks.  I can hear the man screaming. I am horrified. The man is demanding for his money back and Siara looks distressed. “Cheruba the neighbors will hear and we will soon be discovered. He specifically wanted a young woman so I can not take care of it myself. Oh but why must the rent be due so early in the month cause then I would have had the money.” Cheruba looks worried and looks at me. “Why not have him see if he will take Mamsa,” she asks. “Cheruab she is only a child.”  “I was younger than Mamsa when I started and besides stop fooling yourself. Mamsa is a horrible housekeeper we will be doing her a favor by leading her to another profession. At least this way she will be able to work and as you always say any kind of work is work.” Siara looks sad. She goes outside and talks to the man. She whispers in my ear, “ It will all be over soon.”

I’m led outside and the man takes me by the hand toward some bushes.

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                  Christmas is as it always is. My parents are talking about the local gossip, my sisters are playing with their new dolls, my brothers are fighting over the last piece of chicken but I feel so out of place. My mother must of seen my face for she excitedly gets up and tells me she wants to show me something.  My mother has sewn a white dress for her friend’s daughter that is soon to be married and tells me one day she will do the same for me. “Nothing less for my righteous daughter,” she says. I cringe.

                The next morning Siara comes to fetch me and seeing that both my parents seem happy to see her she knows I’ve said nothing. As we walks out I turn at my house knowing this will be the last time I will see it. I shrug.

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                Another work day or night I should say. I enter the bar and see many lonely men and know that tonight is going to be a good night. I dance with a few men and have them promise that they will meet me soon after for business. As I walk toward the bar another man dressed quite strangely asks me to dance. He begins to question my profession but who does he think he is. I quickly get upset but he has me look at him. Wait, I recognize him. He is my brother. How long has it been since I last saw one of my family members? He tells me my family is looking for me and so I promise Ill return for Christmas. It’s been too long. And if they want the whole family together for Christmas I can play the charade I can be the daughter who got good grades, excelled in her housework, and married a big businessman.