We are not that different after all

Rwanda genocide was one of the most brutal and deadly tragedies in human history. It happened merely 15 years ago, at a time when most of us believe that the unprecedented prosperity would leave the remote memory of genocide behind us. And yet it happened relentlessly and it will be one of our ugliest scars that will never disappear. The hatred between different ethnic groups (Hutu and Tutsi) was the immediate cause of that slaughter, but the UN and some of the western countries' indifference during the course of the incident assisted them.

The story of Rwanda Hotel is similar to that of the Schindler's list. What strikes me the most is the incapability or reluctance of some of us to put our feet into the shoes of the people whose basic human rights (like survival) are being deprived of and provide our help if possible. I still remember CCTV reporting the massacre in Rwandan in 1994 when I was 12 years old. It sounded so far away that it seemed to be some kind of sad stories that you read in the novel, which made your heart go into spasm out of the basic sympathy for a short while before it was safely ignored. There is a Chinese proverb goes like: Only take care of the snow in your own doorway, the frost on other people's roof tile is not your business. According to what happened in Rwanda 1.5 decades ago, it seems to be one of the universal natures of the human beings. However, at least the application of our selfishness to the area of basic human rights like the right to survive is something that we should be ashamed of and fight against.

One of the theories in the idea of Communism that I agree with is that the history of our development is the history of the class struggle. There are always some people trampling on other people's right in pursuit of their own interest. It was, is and will be like this for a long time. There is probably no better way of organizing the human society because it matches the human nature. We are just more civilized kind of animals and we are flawed. But as our society are evolving, we shouldn't allow those things like genocide from happening again, even if we can get or at least not lose any of our interests from it. What happened in Darfur is one example. I understand the complication of the problem since we are getting 1/10 of our oil supply from there, but the cost of losing the moral ground is too dear to be sustainable.

I also remember when 911 happened, I was in the college dorm together with my 3 roommates. Our feeling at that time was a mixture. We were sorry about the tragedy because so many people died. I even dreamed of me being one of the passengers in the plane that was used to attacked the World Trade Center and the feeling of that was so scary and desperate. But we also feel a sense of happiness since there were finally some people who stood up and fought against the American Imperialists. I feel ashamed of it just as Sharon Stone should be ashamed of calling the Sichuan earthquake last year a Karma. The ideology or the attitude to a specific incident or the impression toward a country, should never surpass the importance of the basic human rights. They are lives, just like you and me and our family. We are human beings, we are not that different after all.

Rwanda hotel is a good movie.