2008 Woodie Awards
One Man Who Never Abandoned His Nation
Paul Rusesabagina tells us of his Hotel Rwanda
By Kemy Clermont
Issue date: 2/26/07 Section: Campus Life
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On April 6, 1994, the face of Rwanda was changed, and by the twelfth of July the whole country was devastated. The Rwanda Genocide lasted for 100 days and claimed more than 800,000 victims. Unfortunately, the eruption between the two groups of the country, the Tutsis and Hutus, dates back to the late 1800's, when the country became divided. In 1918 after the Belgian occupation, IDs were to distinguish who belonged to each group. These IDs brought forth an image of the Tutsis being more intelligent and superior to the Hutus. As the years went by, the tension continued to boil. On that frightful day in April, both presidents of the Hutu and Tutsi people were killed in a plane crash. This incident ignited killings in the streets of Rwanda. During this turmoil, ten Belgian soldiers were killed. This incident, in turn, made the world abandon the whole country of Rwanda. This day also marked the day that Paul Rusesabagina expressed his courage and decided to stand up.
As Paul began the story of his incredible feat, not once did he mention his putting his own needs first. On April 6, 1994, 26 of his neighbors came to his house for shelter. Although he was already there with his wife and four children, he took in his neighbors. Three days later, at noon, police officers came to Paul's house for one of his neighbors. Paul, without any hesitation, walked out and went to converse with the officers. While he stated to himself, "Words are more powerful than guns," he convinced the officers to allow him to take all the people in his house with him to the hotel. As they approached a road block, twenty officers came to Paul and placed their guns to his head, commanding him to kill his friends. At times like this, one can only wonder and speculate what they would have done, but for Paul bravery kicked in when everything else was not quite working. He looked at the officers and said, "NO! I do not see in good reason why. I understand you are tired, hungry and thirsty from this war. Let's find a solution." Paul then explained his meaning behind his words. He believes, "Sometimes when you deal with people, you have to work with egos. If people are open for discussion, there are always solutions." As Paul continued to say, "The most important lesson is how to deal with evil."
On twelfth,, Paul had the roadblocks removed and moved 400 refuges into the Mille Collines Hotel. For days, he took it upon himself to help the refugees at the hotel. The people lived with no electricity and no water. Everyday at 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Paul took water from the pool to provide to the people who were also forced to eat corn and dry beans cooked by using firewood. At this point many people would have simply given up, but Paul continued on, knowing that he had obligations to his people and they were looking to him for safety.
On April 23, Paul was given 30 minutes to remove everyone from the hotel. Through his words and the telephone, he was able to gain contact with governmental officials and hold off the militia. There were many close calls that Paul was faced with and with each passing day, he took on the challenge to protect the people in the hotel. As the days become weeks, more and more people were entering the hotel.
A list came to the hotel with the names of people to be evacuated on May 2, and as Paul read the list, he realized that his name was on it. he thought to leave would grant him life and to stay would guarantee him a tortured death. Against the advice of his friends and family, Paul decided to stay. He realized to leaving would mean that he would never again be a free man but a prisoner of his own self.
On June 17, after two attempts to evacuate the people in the hotel, Paul turned to the Mayor to help him save the people of Rwanda. Unfortunately, the Mayor's answer was "NO". Paul looked him in the eyes and asked, "We are facing history. Do you want this answer in our history?" A day later, 1268 people were evacuated from the Mille Collines Hotel. No one was killed, beaten, or hurt. Everyone who entered that hotel, left on their own accord.
Hero is defined as "somebody who commits an act of remarkable bravery or who has shown great courage, strength of character, or another admirable quality" (Encarta Dictionary). More importantly, a hero is someone who is admired and possesses courage. Thanks to the Office of Africana Studies we were able to experience the heroism of Paul Rusesabagina through his inspirational story.