Paul Rusesabagina

Paul Rusesabagina photo credit - Kevin Gass

What would you do if you lived in a conflicted country that most people almost forgot about? And how do you feel if you have to run away from a cruel militia? What will you do if you live with a haunted feeling? I couldn’t imagine that I could survive under such a great deep pressure like my hero, Paul Rusesabagina, did. He was not just surviving from that conflict, but also saving other people's lives. And the amount of people that he saved was not a little but a lot!

In 1994, Rwanda had a great civil war that made over 900.000 Rwandans murdered. The Hutu military, Iterhamwe, slaughter the Tutsi population after the death of Rwanda’s president, Juvénal Habyarimana, a Hutu that murdered by a Tutsi. Habyarimana's death made all his supporters angry as though it was the Tutsi mistakes. So the Interhamwe militia began to slaughter the Tutsi all over Rwanda.

Paul and his wife Tatiana

Therefore, Paul Rusesabagina, a Hutu that had a Tutsi wife, Tatiana, tried to save his family. He’s a Hutu so he could escape from the Interhamwe militia. But his wife and his children couldn’t. So he tried to make the Mille Collines Hotel, place where he worked, become a safe place for his family. At first he was just trying to save his family only, but at the end he saved more than a thousand civilians from the Interhamwe militia. He tried to make all the Tutsi that defend behind the Mille Collines Hotel find refuge in other countries. He asked for help from the Diplomats that usually stayed at the Mille Collines Hotel. He also flew to Belgium as a refugee with his family and now he owns a transport company.

Therefore, Paul Rusesabagina, a Hutu that has a Tutsi wife, Tatiana, trying to save his family. He’s a Hutu so he could escape from the Interhamwe militia. But his wife and his children couldn’t. So he tried to make the Mille Collines Hotel, place where he worked, became a safe place for his family. At first he was just trying to save his family only, but at the end he saved more than a thousand civilians from the Interhamwe militia.

Now, besides owning a transport company in Belgium, he also found a foundation that named “Hotel Rwanda Rusesabagina Foundation”. This foundation helps people that were affected by the Rwanda Genocide and now also helps people affected by genocides in other Africa Nations. He received a lot of awards such as Immortal Chaplains Prize for Humanity in 2000, three awards in 2005 (Wallenberg Medal of the University of Michigan, National Civil Rights Museum Freedom Award, and Presidential Medal of Freedom), and Honorary Doctorate of Law from the University of Guelph in 2007. He also has his own autobiography titled "An Ordinary Man" and a film that tells his life struggles during Rwanda genocide titled "Hotel Rwanda" – which I loved very much. Starting from when he wanted to save his family, now Paul Rusesabagina saving the Africans. From a little thing it became a great good thing, that’s what a hero should do!

“I’ve become a humanitarian and I never thought I would become one. And, as a humanitarian, I wanted to take this message on a wider scale, to raise awareness of what happened in my country so that the international community can help others who suffer now.” - Paul Rusesabagina