Through my African Eyes: You are not Helpless

10-27-2021

By Stephen Apollo

In Hotel Rwanda, a film based on the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, there is a scene where one foreign reporter walks out of his hotel. After a short while, he comes back exhibiting some uneasiness and plays to his supervisor, a video tape showing scenes of men ruthlessly massacring their compatriots. The supervisor is certainly shocked because this is happening not far from their hotel but more so on the other hand, he is excited that this “hot” footage will spice up the breaking news for his television network. When the hotel manager who is a Rwandese himself sees the footage, he shows some relieve and presumes that after the atrocities in his country are reported on a major global television network, the nations of the world will intervene and help the situation. But to his surprise the reporter tells him, “As people see this footage in their evening news, they will say oh my God! That is terrible! Then they will go on eating their dinners.”

There are many horrible things happening in the world today. We have run away from our common home of humanness. There is an acute shortage of love and the concern for common good has been neglected with reckless abandon. Human dignity of some has been mocked and sanity of life disrespected.There is wanton destruction of our environment and senseless degradation of nature. When you hear about the terrible happenings in your own context today, it is very easy to say, “Oh my God! How terrible!” And then continue to take your dinner. There is something you can do, however little it may seem, it is not insignificant. Your contribution is not a drop in the ocean. The world needs you, you can make a difference. You are not helpless.

Image by Randy Fath from Unsplash