Guiding Vision

Last night I went to a lecture given by Paul Rusesabagina, a self described “ordinary man” who overcame extreme challenges to save 1,268 people during the Rwandan genocide of 1994. His story was brought to the big screen in the movie Hotel Rawanda.

Hearing him speak brought this story alive even more than ever before. The crowd at the college auditorium was a mixture of students and community members and it was standing room only.

It was a tense hour as Mr. Rusesabagina talked about the history of his country and the conditions that led up to the massacre of 1994. He recounted in detail how he engaged in diplomatic talks with terrorists on both sides of the conflict, government officials and generals to save the refugees holding up in his hotel. He emphasized how he used talking to resolve conflicts as well as heal the emotional wounds in the years since the events.

One of the most moving parts of his speech was when the revealed just how desperate and hopeless the situation became near the end. He said they knew they would die, it was just a matter of how and when. His family together with those strangers who had become friends assembled in a room. That day they all swore a blood brother oath to one another. Parents made their children realize that from now on they were all brothers and sisters. If the adults did not survive the children would care for one another.

At the end of his speech Mr. Rusesabagina implored the audience to realize that the violence continues today in many African countries including Congo, Sudan and Uganda. He said that we could make our voice known to international leaders to help stop the government corruption in African countries.

One audience member asked if efforts like the One Campaign had made a difference and Mr. Rusesabagina enthusiastically said, yes it had and asked us to continue to support such campaigns. War has left many children orphaned, poor and vulnerable to the AIDS epidemic and we can help by donating to reputable charities. He has actually set up a charity just to help Rwanda, The Hotel Rwanda Rusesabagina Foundation (HRRF). (Demonstrating his humble nature, he did not even include this in his speech. After he left the stage one of the lecture organizers mentioned this in closing.)

Another audience member asked how he coped emotionally during those events and had the strenght to stand up for the people. He responded, “Some people think it was courage. This is not so. I just didn’t have time to think about it. I was always busy.”

He then paused and said, “It is important to be who you are. I was a hotel manager, and for those 100 days I remained still a hotel manager.”

Such a simple statement, but given his situation, so profound. I would guess that in all the years preceding these events he never thought his work pleasing and negotiating with hotel guests would one day be used to negotiate for people’s lives.

Now many people thank this Ordinary Man for his work then and what he contines to do through his foundation.