Paul Rusesabagina


Growth in Faith


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In 1994 there was a violent ethnic uprising in Rwanda. The Hutus, a rival ethnic group of the Tutsi's began a violent seizure of the Rwandan government. It is estimated that in the one hundred days following the start of the uprising around 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were murdered. Even though this genocide took place only a decade ago, it seems that the only reason most people know about it is because of the film Hotel Rwanda. Mr Rusesabagina was born on June 15th, 1954 in Murama-Gitarama, Rwanda.Depicted in the film by Don Cheadle, Paul Rusesabagina was the manager of a hotel, the Milles Collines in Kilgali during the genocide. Paul harbored around 1,200 Hutus and Tutsis throughout the conflict. Paul used his street smarts and political and military connections to call in all the favors he was owed, in order to save as many people as he could. Paul was not born a saint and he was not looking for glory or gratitude.He himself once said after the conflict, "I've become a humanitarian and I never thought I would become one." He was simply a man in a postion of power; and he proceeded to use that power to save the lives of his family as well as many others.

In 2000, Paul Rusesabagina received the Immortal Chaplains Prize for Humanity from Bob Dole and then in 2005, Paul received the National Civil Rights Museum Freedom Award. Today, Paul Rusesabagina still fights to educate the world about the genocides that occur, even now. In 2005 the Hotel Rwanda Rusesabagina Foundation (HRRF) was officially established to finacially assist poeple affected by the genocides of, not only Rwanda, but also other Sub Saharan African nations.

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