Sunday, September 22, 2013
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
My Costume
"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"
"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"
Friday, September 13, 2013
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
All about me
I am Alex. I am 18 Years Old. I live in Hampstead, North London. I am adopted. As a Child I lived in Rwanda. I have a brother called Simon. He is the only person in my family that also survived the Rwandan Genocide. My dad is called Joseph. My mum Meg died, I miss her. Joseph is a photographer of war. He came to Rwanda to photograph the Genocide. He took me back to england to safety. I am black. I used to go to Kings University in Cambridge and I lived in a bedsit. I used to work in a, bar but now I work in sainsburys. I don't have a boyfriend. I want to go back to my village in Rwanda. I want to go back to where my family once lived. I want to know who I am.
The Truth
Today I found out the truth. I always thought my dad, Joseph,
was a hero because he was the one that saved me, he was the one that took me
home and looked after me. He was my hero…
But then my brother Simon turned up. I didn't even know I had
a brother, I thought I was the only one out of my family who survived the
genocide, but I was wrong. My older brother Simon survived as well and he
recently appeared in my house.
He made me realise my dad is not a hero; he is a man who
takes horrible, upsetting tragedies and makes them into art. He makes money out
of other people suffering.
Simon told me the truth. He told me that Joseph left me
standing by my mother, my dead mother, just so he could get a good photograph.
Joseph lied, he told me he couldn't rescue Simon because he couldn't carry us
both but that wasn't true. He left my own brother alone in Rwanda because he
was old enough to understand. He knew that Joseph was making this tragedy art.
Joseph left Simon behind because he didn't want me to know
what he had done. He knew I was too young to remember, so my brother watched Joseph
take me away, he only took me for his art and that makes me feel sick.
It’s like this photograph, the photographer made the medics
and no one go near the girl just so he could get the perfect picture. I was
just another girl suffering in the perfect place for a good photo. I never want
to see him again.
Rwanda
So you probably already know that I am from Rwanda, well today I talked to my dad and he was not happy. You see I want to go to Kigali, I want to go to the genocide Memorial and find out more about what happened and who I am. 
This picture shows crosses, it shows how many people died during this tragedy, I want to visit it, I feel if I go there I will be more connected to my mum and family. I want to go to my village, just to see what it would've been like and walk on the same ground where my family once did. I want to know is this where my family life ended.
"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 -"
I told my dad this but he has forbidden me to go. I know hes just doing it because he doesn't want me to get hurt, but I need to do this, I need to take this step to find myself.
"And sometimes I don't give a shit about any of it and I just want to stack shelves for the rest of my life"
My return to Hamstead
So I returned home to boring old Hampstead a few days ago eurgh. And guess what, dad already knows I have dropped out of university, he nearly killed me. Any way he is now trying to make me apply for St martins where apparently " the very famous dress designer Stella McCartney, daughter of the legendary Beatle, Sir Paul McCartney went there." - I'm not even joking that was my dads exact words. So I said I would think about it but only if he does the art exhibition Pauls been telling him to do.
I mean I found out its not just me who's quit, my dad has been taking wedding photos! I've only been gone six months and he has turned into a hamster ordering cheese of the internet and an artist that has decided to take photographs of weddings, what does he think hes doing!
I know hes my dad, but i'm not lying, my dads art matters. The photos he takes makes people think and i=I know his most famous is the one of me, but I want him to be successful, I know he wants to do it deep down. He will only do it if I go back to university, so I guess i'm going to be going back then, this time to a one that no one knows my past, lets just hope there is a place like that...
I mean I found out its not just me who's quit, my dad has been taking wedding photos! I've only been gone six months and he has turned into a hamster ordering cheese of the internet and an artist that has decided to take photographs of weddings, what does he think hes doing!
I know hes my dad, but i'm not lying, my dads art matters. The photos he takes makes people think and i=I know his most famous is the one of me, but I want him to be successful, I know he wants to do it deep down. He will only do it if I go back to university, so I guess i'm going to be going back then, this time to a one that no one knows my past, lets just hope there is a place like that...
The day my life changed forever
I am Alex and today I dropped out of Kings University in Cambridge. I haven’t told my dad yet; he’s
going to kill me! But, I have a good reason, it’s not like I wanted to leave, I had to. The first six months
of UNI were great, I made lots of friends and I was comfortable, and then it happened.
I walked into my lecture last Thursday, the one with the boring teacher, Mr Brian that mumbles to
himself and I sat down in my normal seat at the back. I sit there so if I get a bit tired I can dose of. We
were looking at photos, famous photos that had made artists who they were today and then it was
there, on the screen.
A picture of a young girl, crying next to her dead mother and other bodies. I felt like I was going to be
sick. I could feel the tears coming, and my hands started to shake. Everyone turned to look at me,
they had noticed, they knew.
The photo was me; yes me and everyone knew it. I was the little girl, I was the girl crying, and I was
the girl who watched my village be destroyed and watched my mother die. I had to get out or I was
going to scream.
The teacher, Mr Brian suddenly realised, he quickly turned the picture off and I walked out. No one
looked at me the same after that, I was the freak, the girl from Rwanda, the black girl who had lost
everything.
I couldn’t go back, I had to leave….
So now I’ve left, I’m packing up my things and leaving my shitty bedsit. I’m going to visit my dad for a
while and then I’ll figure something out. I want to go travelling, I want to leave boring London, I want
to go discover who I really am!
going to kill me! But, I have a good reason, it’s not like I wanted to leave, I had to. The first six months
of UNI were great, I made lots of friends and I was comfortable, and then it happened.
I walked into my lecture last Thursday, the one with the boring teacher, Mr Brian that mumbles to
himself and I sat down in my normal seat at the back. I sit there so if I get a bit tired I can dose of. We
were looking at photos, famous photos that had made artists who they were today and then it was
there, on the screen.
A picture of a young girl, crying next to her dead mother and other bodies. I felt like I was going to be
sick. I could feel the tears coming, and my hands started to shake. Everyone turned to look at me,
they had noticed, they knew.
The photo was me; yes me and everyone knew it. I was the little girl, I was the girl crying, and I was
the girl who watched my village be destroyed and watched my mother die. I had to get out or I was
going to scream.
The teacher, Mr Brian suddenly realised, he quickly turned the picture off and I walked out. No one
looked at me the same after that, I was the freak, the girl from Rwanda, the black girl who had lost
everything.
I couldn’t go back, I had to leave….
So now I’ve left, I’m packing up my things and leaving my shitty bedsit. I’m going to visit my dad for a
while and then I’ll figure something out. I want to go travelling, I want to leave boring London, I want
to go discover who I really am!
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