"Even in the darkest times in our history,
people of extraordinary character have lived
among us, showing us a way out of the deplorable
cycle of hatred and aggression. They exist this very day.
It is to these people that we can turn in order to replenish
our encouragement, hope, and inspiration."
The Future of Peace, Scott A. Hunt

i finally got a chance to watch hotel rwanda ..it is those kind of movies where you leave wondering whether you can call yourself a humanbeing, or simply a clone..but, i won't get into much details, incase you haven't watched it.

can i display courage and fortitude in the midst of violence which is directed not just to me but also, those whom i love. what about strangers, folks who i don't know, never seen and most probably will forget about, once they turn the other corner.

division, or perceptions of division are always there. i can think of myself as being better than an akata, or walalau, white. asian. shit, if i really wanted to separate myself from anyone, i could. and very easily..yet, its just a pack of lies. an illusion, sense of mirage..

ten years have passed since the genocide & now, i realise i am letting myself feel the ramifications of it. rwanda isn't any different from kenya, or the burrios or anywhere else in these world. what was poignant about rwanda was how similar the forces where like in kenya. the killing instruments where day to day tools..machetes..pangas..things you wouldn't think of as agents of fear.

i thought about what it means to be african..not african american, latina or latino, or asian..what it means to be born, raised and living in the continent..and even though i am not there physically..at the end of the day, i am african. and truth be told, there is a difference of being african as compared to other peoples of color. our injustices are stemmed from the same source: plunder & abuse.

i can't explain though how in the scheme of things, at the end of the people of color scale, the black wo/man is the lowest common demoninator.

however, i cannot let that define who i am, how i see the world and navigate through it. before i am anything, i am woman. i am black. i am queer who adores men and loves woman. i am bitchy and child-like & an angel in between. i am spirit, enclosed in flesh. i am sweetness when touched and volcanic when transgressed against. i am all these and more. and nothing. i am fluid. i surprise myself.

Rwanda Estimates 1 Million Face Genocide Charges

Movie Review