When the world closed its eyes, he opened his arms.

This is the tagline to the film Hotel Rwanda that I went to see on Wednesday night, the most compelling film I have seen in quite a while. It was one of those films where after the final credits had been shown, everyone in the cinema remained in their seats, numbed from the story they has just watched, not really knowing what to say or do.
Reflecting now on the film i'm still gripped by many of the same emotions of shame and disgust at the attitudes of the affluent west (and I include myself in this), as we sit by and allowed this mass genocide massacre to happen without really giving it a fleeting thought.
This film focusses on the story of one man Paul Rusesabagina, who turned the hotel he managed into a sanctuary to save over 1,000 Tutsi's from the genocide against their people. Similarities and parallels struck me throughout of the Good Samaritan passage in the bible, and the compassion shown by Christ in his life and ministry. It also underlined for me the sheer depravity of mankind in war-like situations to massacre thousands of people simply because they were of a different religious/political/ethnic/social/racial background.
This film underlined for me the difference between compassion and pity - pity is feeling sorry for hurting people in their time of need, compassion is actually doing something constructive to help alleviate their pain and suffering in whatever form that may take.
Theres an interesting article in The Guardian this week reminding us of the current attrocities in Darfur which are verging on genocide extremes.