More Research

I further researched the historical and and social circumstances during the play.

Hotel Rwanda

I decided to watch the film Hotel Rwanda so I could get a better understanding of what Alex had been through. I also wanted to find out more why joseph really didn't want Alex to go back there.

By watching this film I now understand how terrible the genocide was and how it affected thousands of people. This film did make me feel sympathy for Alex because it is horrible for her to release her family had to go through this when she was taken way, and it also really shocked me and made me release that Josephs morals must have been very twisted.

The Play

I also decide to buy a copy of the Witness in order to get a better understanding of what happens. Due to my scene being near the beginning I didn't know much about Simon and the main part of the story.

By reading the play I feel as though I have gained a better insight on the play and I also understand Alex more. If I didn't read the play I wouldn't know Alex as well as I do and I wouldn't know the different feelings felt by her which are portrayed in other scenes.

The Set

This is the set for the front room, It contains a tv, one three seater sofa and one two seater. There is also a coffee table, a table in the background and two doors, one to the back of the house, the other to the front door. It is April in 2011 so it is modern day. My scene takes place around midday and it is quite cool outside. My purpose is to persuade joseph to do the art exhibition and for him to let me go to rwanda.

Not gonna lie I love Passenger, best singer ever!!!

My life

My Costume

Alex is a young woman probably in her late teens, so I believe she would wear the same clothing as I normally would. Here I am just wearing jeans, a top and a warm fluffy jumper which most young girls wear. So that I don't just come into lesson with what I'm wearing I have decided to add a scarf. I personally do not normally wear scarfs, so by adding this piece of clothing it will help me become alex better because I will feel like I am a different person.

"Quotes"

"When I was in my shitty bedsit wondering who the fuck I was"

"You were nineteen when you first went away, to vietnam"

"I want to know who I am"

"Sometimes when I think of going back, I feel like I could run there. Like I'm being called back or something. I know it sounds ridiculous, I know, but I -"

"And sometimes I don't give a shit about any of it and I just want to stack shelves for the rest if my life"

Research

http://worldwithoutgenocide.org/genocides-and-conflicts/rwandan-genocide
http://www.theartsdesk.com/theatre/witness-royal-court-theatre

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zb6xhca561rgptk/rwanda%20genocide.docx

The Rwandan Genocide was the mass murder of around 800,000 people in 1994. It happened over the course of about 100 days and started with the assassination of Juvénal Habyarimana on April 6.

The first people settled in Rwanda raised cattle, the people who owned the most cattle were called Tutsi and the other people living in Rwanda were called Hutu. During this period you could change from Hutu to Tutsi or Tutsi to Hutu through marriage or decreasing /increasing the amount of cattle you owned.

 The Germans were the first to colonize Rwanda in 1894. They looked at the Rwandan people and thought the Tutsi had more European characteristics, such as lighter skin and a taller build, so they gave the Tutsi the responsibility.

 When Germany lost the war they stopped controlling Rwanda instead the Belgians took other and they made every citizen in Rwanda in 1933 carry a identity card. This card would say whether you were Hutu, Tutsi or Twa (hunters-gatherers).

Tutsi took up 10 percent of the Population, Hutu nearly 90. The Belgians gave the Tutsi all the leadership positions. When Rwanda struggled for independence from Belgium, the Belgians switched the status of the two groups. The Hutus were now in charge of the new government.

The animosity between the two groups continued for decades.

The Event That Sparked the Genocide

At 8:30 p.m. on April 6, 1994, President Juvénal Habyarimana of Rwanda was returning from a summit in Tanzania when a surface-to-air missile shot his plane out of the sky over Rwanda's capital city of Kigali. All on board were killed in the crash. Within 24 hours after the crash, Hutu extremists had taken over the government, blamed the Tutsis for the assassination, and begun the slaughter.

100 Days of Slaughter

The killings began in Rwanda's capital city of Kigali. The Interahamwe an anti-Tutsi youth organization  set up road blocks and killed any citzen carrying a Tutsi identity cards. Most of the killing was done with machetes, clubs, or knives. Over the next few days and weeks, more  road blocks were set up around Rwanda. On April 7, Hutu extremists began purging the government of their political opponents, which meant both Tutsis and Hutu moderates were killed. The priminister and the peacekeepers trying to protect him were also killed. This caused Belgium to start withdrawing its troops from Rwanda.

The violence spread over the next few weeks. Since the government had the names and addresses of nearly all Tutsis living in Rwanda the killers could go door to door, slaughtering the Tutsis. Since bullets were expensive, most Tutsis were killed by hand weapons, often machetes or clubs.

Many were often tortured before being killed. Some of the victims were given the option of paying for a bullet so that they'd have a quicker death.

Slaughter Inside Churches, Hospitals, and Schools

Thousands of Tutsis tried to escape the slaughter by hiding in churches, hospitals, schools, and government offices. These places, which historically have been places of refuge, were turned into places of mass murder during the Rwanda Genocide. One of the worst massacres of the Rwanda genocide took place on April 15-16, 1994 at the Nyarubuye Roman Catholic Church.  The mayor of the town told Tutis to hide in the church to be safe but he betrayed them, he told the hutus where they all were. The killing began with grenades and guns, but soon changed to machetes and clubs. Killing by hand was tiresome, so the killers took shifts. It took two days to kill the thousands of Tutsi who were inside.

Corpses

The Hutu extremists would not allow the Tutsi dead to be buried. Their bodies were left where they were slaughtered, exposed to the elements, eaten by rats and dogs. Many Tutsi bodies were thrown into rivers, lakes, and streams.

The World Stood By and Just Watched

Some people have said that since Hutu moderates were killed in the early stages then some countries believed the conflict to be more of a civil war rather than a genocide. Other research has shown that the world powers realized it was a genocide but that they didn't want to pay for the needed supplies and personnel to stop it. No matter what the reason, the world should have stepped in. They should have stopped the slaughter.

The Rwanda Genocide Ends

The Rwanda Genocide ended only when the RPF took over the country. The RPF (Rwandan Patriotic Front) were a trained military group consisting of Tutsis who had been exiled in earlier years, many of whom lived in Uganda.

The RPF were able to enter Rwanda and slowly take over the country. In mid July 1994, when the RPF had full control, the genocide stopped.

·         During this period, more than 6 men, women and children were murdered every minute of every hour of every day. This efficiency of killing was maintained for more than 3 months.

·         There are between 300,000 to 400,000 survivors of the genocide.

·         75,000 of survivors were orphaned as a result of the genocide.

·         http://modernhistoryproject2012.wordpress.com/genocide-facts/#

This information is relevant to the play because this is what Alex had to go through. She probably witnessed thousands of people die and she was only a young child. To be able to play her character we have to be able to understand her past. By doing this research I can now see how bad this situation was and how so many like her were orphaned. No child should ever have to go through something like this and I can use this information to understand she is slightly confused about what to do and is curious what actually did happen to her family. Having a photo taken of her by Joseph must be quite for her to witness so we can understand more about why she felt she had to leave university.