Mandatory Film Requirement: for Mitch Leyor Ambassadors and Congregants: Hotel Rwanda
As part of our commitment to understanding history, human dignity, moral courage, and the responsibilities we carry toward one another, all Mitch Leyor Ambassadors and congregants are required to watch the film Hotel Rwanda (2004).
The film, directed by Terry George and starring Don Cheadle as Paul Rusesabagina, portrays events surrounding the 1994 Rwandan genocide. While the film is a dramatization and should not be treated as a complete historical record, it provides an important starting point for discussing what happens when hatred, discrimination, fear, and indifference are allowed to take hold.
The purpose of this requirement is not simply to watch a film. Participants are expected to watch thoughtfully, reflect personally, and engage seriously with the moral questions raised by the story.
Following the viewing, each Ambassador and congregant must complete a 1,500-word essay addressing the themes of courage, responsibility, bystander behavior, and the protection of human life.
Essay Title
“If I Had Been There: A European Civilian’s Response to the Humanitarian Crisis in Hotel Rwanda”
Essay Requirements
Your essay should be approximately 1,500 words and should be written from the perspective of a European civilian who finds themselves inside or connected to the Hôtel des Mille Collines during the Rwandan genocide.
The central question is:
If I had been a European civilian staying at the hotel during these events, how would I have responded to the suffering around me, and what responsibilities would I have had toward the people seeking protection?
The essay should demonstrate empathy and historical awareness rather than simply retelling the movie.
Required Section and Word-Count Breakdown
1. Introduction — 150 words
Introduce Hotel Rwanda and the historical situation surrounding the film. Explain the perspective you have chosen and identify the central moral question you will explore.
2. Seeing the Crisis — 250 words
Describe what you, as a European civilian, would have witnessed at the hotel. Consider the fear, uncertainty, violence, displacement, and discrimination surrounding the people seeking refuge.
Discuss your initial emotional response. Would you have been frightened, confused, angry, or uncertain about what to do?
3. The Responsibility of a Bystander — 300 words
Examine the responsibilities you believe you would have had as someone who was comparatively privileged or protected.
Would you have remained silent? Would you have spoken to authorities, contacted foreign officials, assisted refugees, shared resources, or attempted to document what was happening?
Consider the difficult question of whether personal safety should affect your willingness to help others.
4. Courage, Fear, and Moral Choice — 300 words
Discuss the difference between knowing something is wrong and actually taking action.
Explain what might have prevented you from acting. Fear of violence, concern for your family, pressure from authorities, uncertainty about whom to trust, or the belief that someone else would intervene could all influence your decisions.
Then explain what ultimately might have compelled you to act.
5. What I Would Have Done — 300 words
This should be the most personal section of the essay.
Describe specifically how you believe you would have responded if you had been inside the hotel.
Consider practical actions such as helping vulnerable people, sharing food or shelter, communicating with outside organizations, encouraging others to remain calm, or using your position to seek assistance.
Avoid portraying yourself as a perfect hero. The purpose is to honestly examine how an ordinary person might respond under extraordinary circumstances.
6. Conclusion — 200 words
Reflect on what the experience teaches about human dignity, responsibility, courage, and indifference.
Connect the historical situation to the responsibilities of people today. Explain what you believe Ambassadors and congregants can learn from the film and why remembering historical atrocities remains important.
Total: 1,500 words
Important Guidance
Participants should distinguish between the events depicted in Hotel Rwanda and the broader historical record of the Rwandan genocide. The film should be used as a starting point for reflection rather than as the sole source of historical information.
The essay should be thoughtful, respectful, and focused on the human consequences of violence and discrimination. Participants should avoid treating the suffering of others as merely a dramatic story. The objective is to consider what ordinary people can do when confronted with extraordinary circumstances.
Short Reference Essay
If I Had Been There: A European Civilian at the Hôtel des Mille Collines
If I had been a European civilian staying at the Hôtel des Mille Collines during the Rwandan genocide, I believe my first reaction would have been fear. I might have arrived at the hotel expecting an ordinary stay, only to discover that the world outside had become increasingly dangerous. The people around me would not simply have been frightened travelers. They would have been families desperately searching for somewhere they could survive.
At first, I might have struggled to understand the seriousness of the situation. As a European civilian, I could have been accustomed to believing that international institutions, governments, or military forces would eventually intervene. That assumption could have made it easier to remain passive. I might have told myself that the crisis was beyond my ability to influence.
But seeing frightened families inside the hotel would have made the situation personal. I would have had to confront an uncomfortable question: If I am relatively safe, does that mean I have no responsibility toward those who are not?
I believe the answer would have to be no.
If I had food, water, information, or access to people outside the hotel, I would have tried to use whatever resources I had to help. I would have shared what I could, assisted vulnerable people, and encouraged others not to abandon those who were seeking protection. I would also have attempted to communicate with diplomatic representatives, international organizations, journalists, or anyone capable of bringing attention to what was happening.
At the same time, I cannot honestly claim that I would have been fearless. The possibility of violence would have been terrifying. I would have worried about my own survival and the safety of anyone traveling with me. Courage does not mean the absence of fear. It means recognizing fear while still deciding that another person’s life matters.
One of the greatest lessons I would take from the experience is the danger of becoming a bystander. It is easy to believe that somebody else will act. Governments will intervene. Soldiers will arrive. Organizations will respond. Someone with more authority will solve the problem. But when everyone waits for somebody else, precious time can be lost.
If I had been at the hotel, I hope I would have recognized that I had a moral responsibility to help wherever I could. I might not have been able to stop the violence or save everyone. Nevertheless, I could have refused to treat the suffering of others as someone else’s problem.
Hotel Rwanda therefore raises a question that extends beyond Rwanda: What would I do if I witnessed innocent people being threatened while I had the opportunity to help?
I would hope that I would choose humanity over indifference. I would hope that I would remember that every person facing persecution is someone’s parent, child, brother, sister, friend, or loved one. Most importantly, I would hope that fear would not become an excuse for doing nothing.
The responsibility to remember history is also a responsibility to learn from it. The purpose of watching Hotel Rwanda is not simply to look backward. It is to ask what kind of people we want to be when confronted with injustice today—and whether we will have the courage to act when another person’s dignity and safety are at risk.