Paul Rusesabagina, the subject of Oscar-nominated film Hotel Rwanda portraying his life-saving actions during the Rwandan genocide, is now facing many years in prison for terror-related crimes.
Nearly two decades ago he presented himself as an ordinary man who happened to be caught up in extraordinary times. The Rwandan former hotel manager, 67, is credited with saving the lives of more than 1, people during the genocide. Over the course of days, starting in April , about , people, mostly ethnic Tutsis were massacred by extremists from the Hutu community. As Rusesabagina, a Hutu married to a Tutsi, described in his autobiography, An Ordinary Man, it was his ability to persuade the killers against targeting those who had sought refuge in the Hotel Mille Collines that spared them.
He was also able to use his connections and call in favours with some of the high-profile people who used to pass through the upmarket hotel. In addition he had cash. In one passage he writes about the hotel being surrounded by "hundreds of [militia] holding spears, machetes, and rifles" shortly after he was told he had to evacuate the building. He then got on the phone and spoke to as many senior officials as he could, one of whom called off the attack. He always maintained that it was what he said that made the difference.
Words can be "powerful tools of life", he wrote in his book, but now they have landed him in prison. Rusesabagina, who left Rwanda in , went from hero to enemy of the state in a short time as his criticism of the post-genocide government grew louder.
It gradually morphed into calls for regime change. In a video message in , he was recorded as saying that "the time has come for us to use any means possible to bring about change in Rwanda. As all political means have been tried and failed, it is time to attempt our last resort".
Rwanda's government, under President Paul Kagame, has a reputation for dealing harshly with opponents in exile. Mr Kagame, a Tutsi, led the forces that ended the slaughter and later went on to become president.
A number of his critics have been killed, or attempts have been made on their lives, but the government has always dismissed suggestions that it was involved. Rusesabagina had long complained of harassment from Rwandan agents.
In , he left Belgium, where he had settled with his family, for the US after his home was burgled several times and important documents were stolen. Lerato Mokgotho Carine as Carine. Terry George. More like this. Watch options. Storyline Edit. In Rwanda, the classification of the native population into Hutus and Tutsis, arbitrarily done by the colonial Belgians, is now ingrained within Rwandan mentality despite the Rwandan independence.
Despite the Belgians having placed the Tutsis in a higher position during the Belgian rule, they have placed the majority Hutus in power after independence. The Milles Collines, owned by Sabena the national airline of Belgium , is a four-star hotel catering primarily to wealthy white westerners. Paul, who knows how to work the system to run the hotel effectively for its guests and for Sabena, is proud that most of the Caucasians who he meets in this professional capacity treat him with respect.
After a specific incident, the relative calm between the Tutsi guerrillas and government-backed Hutu militia takes a turn. Paul's thought that the native population as a whole who are not directly involved in the conflict will be protected as the UN peacekeeping forces and thus the world is watching doesn't happen as the western world largely evacuates from Rwanda and abandons the natives. Such begins what will become a genocide of the Tutsi population.
Paul, who is able to get his immediate family to the hotel which is still largely seen as a place of sanctuary, will have to use the considerable skills he has used to run the hotel as well as he has instead to keep himself, his family and any others taking refuge at the hotel alive, whether they be Hutu or Tutsi. Meanwhile, Colonel Oliver, a Canadian heading the UN peacekeeping forces, and Pat Archer with the Red Cross do what they can to assist Paul and to get people to safety first to the hotel then out of the country, while field journalists, like photographer Jack Daglish, try to bring the genocide back into the global media to have the world once again care about what is going on.
When a country descended into madness and the world turned its back, one man had to make a choice. Biography Drama History War. Rated PG on appeal for violence, disturbing images and brief strong language. Did you know Edit. Trivia The screenwriter spent one year writing the first draft of the script. During the process, he called the Rwandan embassy in DC. The woman who picked up the phone was a survivor who stayed at the Milles Collines Hotel.
From until the country was officially called Zaire and would have been named as such in formal references. On the other hand, this area was known as Congo from to It should not be unusual for a character in the movie to refer to it as Congo e. Quotes Paul Rusesabagina : I am glad that you have shot this footage and that the world will see it. User reviews Review. In only three months, one million people were brutally murdered. In the face of these unspeakable actions, inspired by his love for his family, an ordinary man summons extraordinary courage to save the lives of over a thousand helpless refugees, by granting them shelter in the hotel he manages.
Sign In. Edit Hotel Rwanda Jump to: Summaries 3 Synopsis 1. The synopsis below may give away important plot points. Getting Started Contributor Zone ». Edit page.
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