Paul Rusesabinga

Friday Class Weather!

I hope everyone has had a good week. It's been a mixed week for me, maths is causing me a few issues. I hope it gets resolved so I can successfully transfer. If not we will have to go back to the drawing board!

But it has been a remarkable week in other ways. The visit of Paul Rusesabagina, for me was truly amazing. I actually have had such a keen interest in Rwanda for a few years. In my High School, we had to write a dissertation on a world issue we deeply cared about. For me, it was always Rwanda; after seeing Hotel Rwanda, and a number of documentaries on this atrocity. I wrote around 15,000 words and a presentation, on 'Who was responsible for the Rwandan Genocide?' It was not as clear cut as the question may seem. Delving into it, it seemed that the West had a large role in allowing one million Rwandans be slaughtered, over 100 days. Whilst the West turned away, luckily, real heroes like Paul, in the midst of unimaginable horror saved 1200 lives. He let the refugees stay at the Hotel he was general manager of.

There was something really powerful about seeing the real Paul speak. I was struck by his humility, his ability to see good in the face of evil, and his bravery. I could not believe how when he was ordered by a militiaman to shoot his own family, in the face of this horrifying situation, he tries to reason, to speak to this man, offer him food and drink. This reliance on using the power of words to resolve conflict, instead of the UN or any resources was spoken about a lot. It is also scary how accurate the film is to real events. I also was shocked Paul was basically still running, he lives in exile in Brussels but is having to relocate to America because he is not afraid to speak out. I was under the false impression, that Kagame's government in Rwanda was rapidly improving things for Rwandans. Whilst this may be true on the one way, Paul spoke about Kagame's role in the conflict in the Congo which is still occurring, and has claimed over 7 million lives. It seems incredible, that a man so calm and collected, is having to continually run because of threats from Kagame's government even in Europe. For me it was really thought provoking. It was also interesting as he himself, still cannot understand why his neighbors and friends turned on one another, in such a manner for this genocide. This is a question I have always struggled with, how can a great majority of a population be completely desensitized/dehumanized and commit such acts of horror?

Regardless, I encourage you to watch Hotel Rwanda, it is not easy watching. But, I had no idea so many people were unaware of the Rwandan Genocide, for many it really is the modern day Holocaust. I always think, the more people know what happened, and is continually happening in the Congo, the less the West can ignore it. This event has always been a large reason why I have been so desperate to go into conflict resolution/human rights issues. So it is truly incredible someone like Paul could visit!