Answer these questions before watching:
1. What is a refugee? a person who has been forced to leave their country in
order to escape war
2. What is genocide? the deliberate killing of a large number of people from a
particular nation or ethnic group with the aim of destroying that nation or
group
3. What other famous event was going in on Africa in 1994? People of South
Africa granted freedom
Answer these questions while watching:
1. Why does the country of Rwanda use francs as their currency? They use
francs because Belgium occupied the previous german colony.
2. When Paul’s neighbor (Victor) gets attacked, what does Paul do? Why?
3. What was the significance of the phrase “cut the tall trees?” “Cut the tall
trees” represents how the Tutsis were much taller than the average Hutu. So
whenever “Cut the tall trees” was said, they meant go in and attack the Tutsis
in a different way.
4. When violence breaks out, who comes to help? Who gets helped? Who
doesn’t get helped? When violence broke out the UN came to help everyone
except for Rwandans. Most of the people helped are whites from multiple
local areas and from the hotel. Many children are left behind with no guardian
because they are Rwandan.
5. When Paul realizes no one is coming to help the Rwandan refugees, he tells
them there is only one way for them to get help. What is it?Call all your
friends and family, everyone you know and guilt them into sending help. By
doing so they will get more people to help out and prevent these deaths. Also,
at this time he calls Belgium and
6. What deal does George try to make with Paul? That he will be used and
called a criminal and so he said if he helps him leave then he will help him
escape jail time.
Answer these questions after watching:
1. Why didn’t any foreign countries try to stop the Hutus? Other countries either
chose not to get involved or they didn't have the resources to help stop the
Hutus. ... The Hutu army was getting supplies by the French alliance made
prior.
2. What event sparked the beginning of the genocide? Who does that event get
blamed on? The genocide was sparked by the death of the Rwandan
President Juvenal Habyarimana, a Hutu, when his plane was shot down
above Kigali
3. Who was supplying the Hutu army? France actively supported the Hutu-led
government of Juvénal Habyarimana against the Tutsi-dominated Rwandan
Patriotic Front
4. What did 19th century imperialism have to do with this 20th century genocide?
European imperialism in Africa occurred mostly throughout the 19th century
and is often referred to as the Scramble for Africa
Closing Questions:
1. Where did the classifications of Hutu and Tutsi come from in Rwanda? The
classification used to separate Hutus and Tutsis was largely based on
arbitrary criteria put forth by the Belgians who ruled Rwanda using the
infamous divide-and-conquer strategy for many years leading up to the
genocide
2. Why are some people being helped and others are not?
3. If you were in Paul’s position, do you think your reaction would have been the
same as his? Explain. Yes
4. How did the international community fail the people of Rwanda? Why were
they so reluctant to act? What is our responsibility as global citizens in these
kinds of events? How are events in Rwanda and Darfur connected to 19 th
century imperialism? Lack of political will led to the failure of the Security
Council, which has responsibility for international peace and security. Its
malfunction meant that UNAMIR was never able to protect or save Rwandan
lives and became a bystander to genocide.