Hotel Rwanda — Kant and Moral Agency

The film Hotel Rwanda depicts the events that happened during the Rwandan genocide. Don Cheadle plays Paul Rusesabagina, a manager of a Belgian-owned hotel in Rwanda. He is married to Tatian, played by Sophie Okonedo, and they have three children. Paul is a Hutu, while Tatiana is a Tutsi.

The conflict that happened during the Rwandan genocide was between Hutus and Tutsis. During the Belgian rule in Rwanda (it was a Belgian colony from 1922 to 1962), the Tutsis were given positions of power because of their lighter skin color, even though they were a minority in the country. Over time, the resentment felt by the Hutus grew and it escalated in the real events of 1994 when an estimated 800,000 Tutsis were killed by Hutus.

In the film, Paul is faced with the violence in his country and hosts many Tutsi refugees in the hotel he manages and where the UN is also based. This film is incredible at many levels, I think it can change people’s hearts and minds regarding the plight of refugees and what obligations the world has when something like this happens. If you have not seen it, I would recommend you see it as soon as possible and then return to read the rest of this article. You won’t regret it.

There is a lot to say regarding this film, but I will focus on one particular aspect that I think represents a very important part of Kantian…