Over 800,000 dead bodies of slaughtered Rwandan men, women and children were found sprawled out across lawns and streets of neighborhoods for 100 days (Smith, et al. 113-114). The Hutu president of Rwanda Juvenal Habyarimana was killed in a plane that got shot down. His assassination sparked the beginning of a genocide between the Hutu and Tutsi groups. Paul Rusesabagina is a mix of both, his father is Hutu and his mother is Tutsi. Since his father is Hutu and bloodlines are passed from father to son he is dominantly Hutu. Rusesabagina is a classic hero because of his accomplishments during the Rwandan genocide.
Paul Rusesabagina is courageous not only as a hotel manager, but also as a father and a husband. In the beginning of the genocide …show more content…
He was forced to speak with the men that were massacring his fellow people. Everything they did he had to put aside while talking with them. Without this strong aspect, the conversations would not of been peaceful. Believing not only that “[w]ords are the most effective weapon of death in a man’s arsenal. But they can also be powerful tools of life” (Rusesabagina), helped him throughout the genocide. He knew that if he could not possess enough strength to hold out from retaliation against the murderers, there would have been no chance left to save the people in the hotel. After this war ended, Paul was determined for something good to come out of it. He decided to help the children who were all alone: “creat[ing] a foundation to help educate those kids and many others.” He explained how, “[t]he genocide left us with half a million orphans.[...] They need medical care and psychological solace. Someone, somewhere, has got to care for them” (qtd. in in Klein 74-75). Taking the bad things that happened to him, he wanted to turn it around to benefit others. Being able to keep his composure during and after, shows his …show more content…
Not only does he have multiple accounts of his life in Rwanda, but he has been presented with many awards. Paul Rusesabagina and Tom Zoellner’s “2006 autobiography [...] titled "An Ordinary Man," has been a tireless crusader for international human rights and democracy” (Constable). It has brought people’s attention to what happened in Rwanda, along with what is still happening in places like Congo. This novel also lead to the production of Hotel Rwanda, the oscar nominated film attributed to his actions. He received the Chaplains Prize for humanity in 2000, then in 2005 George W. Bush presented him with another award: “Presidential Medal of Freedom” (Constable). Recognition from millions of people around the globe, the U.S president and his own people show the respect people have for him. The deeds he has done have been acknowledged and will be
Paul Rusesabagina is courageous not only as a hotel manager, but also as a father and a husband. In the beginning of the genocide …show more content…
He was forced to speak with the men that were massacring his fellow people. Everything they did he had to put aside while talking with them. Without this strong aspect, the conversations would not of been peaceful. Believing not only that “[w]ords are the most effective weapon of death in a man’s arsenal. But they can also be powerful tools of life” (Rusesabagina), helped him throughout the genocide. He knew that if he could not possess enough strength to hold out from retaliation against the murderers, there would have been no chance left to save the people in the hotel. After this war ended, Paul was determined for something good to come out of it. He decided to help the children who were all alone: “creat[ing] a foundation to help educate those kids and many others.” He explained how, “[t]he genocide left us with half a million orphans.[...] They need medical care and psychological solace. Someone, somewhere, has got to care for them” (qtd. in in Klein 74-75). Taking the bad things that happened to him, he wanted to turn it around to benefit others. Being able to keep his composure during and after, shows his …show more content…
Not only does he have multiple accounts of his life in Rwanda, but he has been presented with many awards. Paul Rusesabagina and Tom Zoellner’s “2006 autobiography [...] titled "An Ordinary Man," has been a tireless crusader for international human rights and democracy” (Constable). It has brought people’s attention to what happened in Rwanda, along with what is still happening in places like Congo. This novel also lead to the production of Hotel Rwanda, the oscar nominated film attributed to his actions. He received the Chaplains Prize for humanity in 2000, then in 2005 George W. Bush presented him with another award: “Presidential Medal of Freedom” (Constable). Recognition from millions of people around the globe, the U.S president and his own people show the respect people have for him. The deeds he has done have been acknowledged and will be