Hotel Rwanda: The Film, The Real-Life Hero

Ten years ago, as the country of Rwanda descended into madness, one man made a promise to protect the family he loved - and ended up finding the courage to save over 1200 people from genocide. Over the course of 100 days, almost 1 million people were killed in Rwanda. The film, Hotel Rwanda, tells the inspiring story of real-life hero Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager in Rwanda who used his courage to shelter over a thousand refugees from certain death.

In celebration of Black History Month, Eckerd College presents a screening of the film and a talk by the real-life hero on which the film is based.

A free, public screening of Hotel Rwanda will be shown on Friday, February 24 at 7:30 pm. in Miller Auditorium. Nominated for 3 Academy Awards® and directed by Terry George, the 2004 United Artists and Lion's Gate Films' production of Hotel Rwanda features actors Don Cheadle, Sophie Okonedo, Joaquin Phoenix, and Nick Nolte. Presented by the International Cinema Series.

The film's real-life hero and humanitarian, Paul Rusesabagina, will give a talk entitled, Hotel Rwanda: A Lesson Yet to be Learned, on Tuesday, February 28 at 7:00 p.m. in Fox Hall. Sponsored by the Eckerd College Afro-American Society, this lecture is free and open to the public. Part of the Presidential Events Series and College Program Series.

The Rwandan Conflict
The Rwandan conflict of the 1990s marked one of the bloodiest chapters in recent African history. While occasional reports about "tribal warfare" in Rwanda were carried by international news agencies, the horror of the genocide, instead of causing international outrage, seemed to be written off as another "third world incident" and not worthy of attention.

Over the course of 100 days, almost one million people were killed in Rwanda. There was no international intervention in Rwanda, no expeditionary forces, no international aid. Rwanda's Hutu extremists slaughtered their Tutsi neighbors and any moderate Hutus who stood in their way, and the world left them to it.

About Paul Rusesabagina
Paul Rusesabagina was born June 15, 1954, at Murama-Gitarama in the Central-South of Rwanda; his parents were farmers. In 1962, he entered the SDA (Seventh Day Adventist) College of Gitwe, a Missionary School, and was there for seven years of primary school and six years of secondary studies.

From 1975 to 1978, Rusesabagina attended the Faculty of Theology in Cameroon and, in January 1979, was employed by Sabena as a front office manager in their newly opened Hotel Akagera in the Akagera National Park. It was at this time he learned about the Tourism, Hotel, and Catering Industry. Through The Suisse Tourist Consult, Rusesabagina's application was accepted for entrance into the Kenya Utalii College in Nairobi in the Hotel Management Course, which he started in early 1980 and finished in September 1984 in Switzerland.

Back from Switzerland, Rusesabagina joined Sabena Hotels again and was employed as assistant general manager in the Mille Collines Hotel from October 1984 until November 1993, at which time he was promoted to general manager of the Diplomate Hotel (also in Kigali).

For the 100 days of the genocide, Rusesabagina had to move back to the Mille Collines Hotel. His colleague Bik, manager of that unit, left Kigali on April 11, 1994, despite the number of refugees still left on their own. It was the next morning, when the government (Interim Government) left Kigali for Gitarama. Rusesabagina was there for almost the entire span of the genocide.

When the massacre slightly calmed down, in July 1994, Bik came back and joined his unit, and Rusesabagina went back to the Diplomate Hotel where he stayed until September 1996, after which he went to Belgium as a refugee. From that time to date, Rusesabagina has worked as a businessman and owns a transport company. He is also still involved in charitable organizations aiding survivors of the Rwandan tragedy and has set up the Hotel Rwanda Rusesabagina Foundation to help the relief effort.

In November 2005, President George W. Bush awarded Mr. Rusesabagina the nation's highest civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. With so much left to be told about Paul's incredible story, the genocide, the future of Rwanda, and other African nations, Viking Books will publish his memoirs entitled An Ordinary Man in April 2006.