Hotel Rwanda

My favorite quote was said by Cornel Oliver. he was a U.N. peace keeper in charge of protecting the lives at the hotel. His words were extremely important to me, and I quote “we are peace keepers, not peace makers.” I believe he meant that he must follow the rules of engagement, not to fire unless fired upon. That meant that they could not leave the hotel and just start shooting into random crowds of people. He was a great man who seemed to have no fear, at the time he only worried about the innocent lives at Hotel Rwanda. He did all he could to ensure he was at the hotel. Even when the Hutu’s entered through the gates after killing the guards he had posted their. He still kept his head telling his men not to fire. Soon after he begged Paul to let the refugees stay. I think that this part was crucial in helping Paul to open his eyes.

After Paul met cornel Oliver, and having seen nothing but death and destruction I noticed significant change in his personality and his ability to stay calm even when his family was in great danger. He wanted nothing more then to help as many people as he could. The big change was when he had been given a passport by Cornel Oliver to leave the hotel. When the time came to leave most the people at the hotel, he just couldn’t do it. He quickly got off the truck and said goodbye to his wife, thinking they would be safe. So he stayed with the people, he knew he probably wouldn’t make it.

I shall be keeping those words close to me. Not only are they meaning full in war or conflict, I can also see them being used in day to day life. I will never forget that movie, the lessons it has taught me have been stuck with me ever since we watched it. I shall always lead my life towards nothing but good, Paul is one amazing person, I wish I could have met him. He had great courage as well as Cornel Oliver.

Kevin