Paul Rusesabagina

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Paul Rusesabagina

While receiving a US Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005
Born June 15, 1954 (1954-06-15) (age 55)
Flag of Rwanda Rwanda
Occupation Humanitarian
Spouse(s) Tatiana Rusesabagina

Paul Rusesabagina (born June 15, 1954) is a Rwandan who has been internationally honoured for saving 1,268 civilians during the Rwandan Genocide. He was the assistant manager of the Sabena Hôtel des Mille Collines before he became the manager of the Hôtel des Diplomates, both in Kigali, Rwanda. During the 1994 Rwandan genocide, Rusesabagina used his influence and connections as temporary manager of the 'Mille Collines' to shelter 1,268 Tutsis and moderate Hutus from being slaughtered by the Interahamwe militia.

Rusesabagina's efforts were the basis of the Academy Award nominated film Hotel Rwanda (2004). He currently lives in Belgium with his wife, children, and two adopted nieces. Formerly a taxi driver in Brussels, he later opened a trucking company.

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[edit] Birth and career

Rusesabagina was born in Gitarama in the Central-South region of Rwanda to a farming family. He wanted to be a pastor when he grew up, but currently is a lapsed Seventh-day Adventist. He had three children (Roger, Diane, Lys) with his first wife Esther. After they separated in 1981, he graduated from the Hotel Management program of Utalii College in Nairobi, Kenya, which included a trip to Switzerland.

When he returned from Switzerland, he was employed in the Hôtel des Mille Collines as assistant general manager from October 1984 until November 1992, upon which he was promoted to general manager of the company's Diplomate Hotel in Kigali. He met his current wife Tatiana in 1987 at a wedding party. Tatiana was a Tutsi suffering discrimination at her job as a nurse; Rusesabagina arranged for her to be moved closer to him for this reason, and to get to know her better. After they married, they had a daughter, who died only a few days after her birth. They later had a son, Tresor.

[edit] Media

[edit] Autobiography

His autobiography entitled An Ordinary Man (written with Tom Zoellner ISBN 0-670-03752-4) was published by Viking Penguin in April 2006.

[edit] Film

Paul's work is dramatised in the 2004 movie Hotel Rwanda in which he is played by Don Cheadle. There are few differences with the actual story.

  • Tatiana Rusesabagina was not in fact angry about Paul putting her and her children on a truck to escape the Hôtel des Mille Collines but was instead sad about the decision—which she nevertheless accepted due to the circumstances. Paul did not make his decision at the last moment, but rather he discussed the matter with Tatiana and the children the night before they attempted the evacuation.[1]
  • Tatiana was so badly beaten after leaving the hotel 'she lay in bed for two weeks unable to turn herself'.[2]
  • Paul and his family did not leave Rwanda immediately after they escaped the Hôtel des Mille Collines.[3]
  • "Paul Rusesabagina's mother is Tutsi although he and his father are Hutu; the film says he is Hutu with no mention of his mixed background. This may be because a child always took the race of the father, and no one was regarded as having a 'mixed heritage.'"[4][5][6]
  • Paul Rusesabagina said in a lecture that the film was "less violent" than the actual genocide, claiming that "you couldn't invite someone to watch the real thing."

[edit] Relationship with Paul Kagame

Rusesabagina and Rwandan president and former head of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) Paul Kagame have become public enemies of each other. In An Ordinary Man, Rusesabagina alleges "Rwanda is today a nation governed by and for the benefit of a small group of elite Tutsis...Those few Hutus who have been elevated to high-ranking posts are usually empty suits without any real authority of their own. They are known locally as Hutus de service or Hutus for hire." He has also criticized Kagame's election to president.

On April 6, 2006, Kagame suggested, "[Rusesabagina] should try his talents elsewhere and not climb on the falsehood of being a hero, because it's totally false." Francois Xavier Ngarambe, the president of Ibuka, the umbrella body of genocide survivors' associations, said of Rusesabagina, "he has hijacked heroism. He is trading with the genocide. He should be charged."[7] In December, 2006, Rusesabagina sent a letter to Queen Elizabeth II, calling Kagame a war criminal.[8]

In 2008, the book Hotel Rwanda or the Tutsi Genocide as seen by Hollywood, by Alfred Ndahiro, a public relations advisor to Kagame and journalist Privat Rutazibwa, was published.[9] It provides an alternative take to the portrayal of Rusesabagina's actions as seen in Hotel Rwanda. Rusesabagina issued a response to the charges of the book,[10] which in turn was responded to.[11]

[edit] Timeline

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Rusesabagina, Paul. An Ordinary Man. Viking. p. 148. ISBN 0-670-03752-4. 
  2. ^ Signon San Diego
  3. ^ Rusesabagina, Paul. An Ordinary Man. Viking. p. 170ff. ISBN 0-670-03752-4. 
  4. ^ "Reuters interview with Paul Rusesabagina". http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSL11920739. 
  5. ^ "Absolute Astronomy about Paul Rusesabagina". http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Paul_Rusesabagina. 
  6. ^ "The My Hero Project: Lifesaver hero". http://www.myhero.com/myhero/hero.asp?hero=Paul_Rusesabagina_06. 
  7. ^ Terry George - Smearing a Hero - washingtonpost.com
  8. ^ Taylor-Report.com - Hero of Hotel Rwanda Calls Kagame a War Criminal
  9. ^ Movie sparks public feud
  10. ^ EUX.TV - Rusesabagina responds to Rwanda government book on Hotel Rwanda
  11. ^ The New Times - Rwandas First Daily :: Issue 13545 :: Genocide negationist Paul Rusesabagina tries to drown the fish whenever his lies are exposed
  12. ^ "The Immortal Chaplains 2000 - Prize for Humanity". http://www.immortalchaplains.org/Prize/Ceremony2000/Rusesabagina/rusesabagina.htm. 
  13. ^ "2005 Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients". http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2005/11/20051109-10.html. 

[edit] Sources

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Rusesabagina"
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