photo courtesy of the university of arkansas

Today’s Date: June 15th, 2009

Claim to fame: During the 1994 Rwandan genocide, Ruseabagina used connections as manager of a hotel to shelter 1,268 oppressed Rwandan natives from being slaughtered by the Interhamwe militia. His heroic efforts were the basis of the Academy Award nominated film, Hotel Rwanda.

As ethnic Hutus began killing their Tutsi neighbors in a devastating carnage, Rusesabagina (a Hutu married to a Tutsi woman) turned his hotel into an impromptu refugee camp for terrified Tutsis and moderate Hutus. During the hundred days of slaughter Ruseabagina honorably and selflessly paid off the Rwandan Hutu militia outside the hotel’s gates, and in the end he survived along with his wife, children, and most of the refugees he sheltered.

Did you know? In 2004 Ruseabagina received Amnesty’s “Enduring Spirit” award at the premiere of Hotel Rwanda.

Quote: “All we want to do is to show what happened, so that ten years later, people can at least know what it was and how it was.”

Happy Birthday Paul Ruseabagina!

June 15, 2009 by rachel
Tags: Academy Award, film, hotel, hotel rwanda, humanitarian, Hutu, paul rusesabagina, refugees, Rwanda, Tutsi