MovieChat Forums > Sometimes in April (2005) Discussion > Please!! Can anyone clear this up??

Please!! Can anyone clear this up??

posted 16 years ago by elenajones1
4 replies | jump to latest

The main character's brother was on trial for encouraging the violence via radio. At first I thought he must be the same DJ that you could hear throughout Hotel Rwanda. But now I am not sure that he could possibly be the same one. How could someone with so much anger and hatred toward the Tutsi's and their sympathizers risk his own safety to save a car full of Tutsis. Even if it was his brother's wife and children it would be very out of synch with the radio broadcasts we heard in both films. Were there more than one DJ broadcasting hate radio messages?

[–] aroian_99 16 years ago

There were several radio broadcasters. It was a radio station run for and by Hutu Power.

[–] marielle-fish 15 years ago

He wasn't the same broadcaster. Although his brother's wife was tutsi, it's explained earlier in the film that the ID runs through the father, so all of the children were hutu. He didn't want to take the women, but Augustine and Jean insisted, he was only going to transport the children as a favour to his brother.

[–] xenatorres 14 years ago

From what I can tell, this movie used fictional characters for the leads.

In regards to the hate radio, there were three main DJs behind it, one of them Belgium/Italian.

I suggest reading "Shake Hands With the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda" by UNAMIR force captain Lieutenant General (then Major General) Romeo Dallaire for a detailed account of the events in Rwanda, and the actions of the west.

[–] Ernest_Hero 12 years ago

The brother in question (Honore) was a fictional character, though I am guessing that quite a few of the 1994 radio announcers acted similarly to him. And yes -it's possible, as it appears that even high-ranking genocidaires like Théoneste Bagosora protected a small number of Tutsis (presumably due to family ties, friendships, etc.)

Some of the real life individuals who are associated with the Hutu Power (RTLM) station are listed below.

Félicien Kabuga, president
Ferdinand Nahimana, director
Jean Bosco Barayagwiza
Gaspard Gahigi, editor-in-chief
Phocas Hahimana, day-to-day manager
Georges Ruggiu, broadcaster (the only European/white charged with activities related to the genocide)
Valerie Bemeriki, broadcaster (possibly the only female broadcaster)