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Hoosier United Methodist News Archives
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March 2005 |
Real life hero of Hotel Rwanda to speak at DePauw April 25
By Ken Owen
GREENCASTLE, Ind. - The man whose heroic story is the basis of the Academy Award-nominated film Hotel Rwanda is scheduled to visit the DePauw University campus on Monday, April 25 to share his story of humanity, courage, perseverance and hope.
Paul Rusesabagina will deliver The Timothy and Sharon Ubben Lecture, "Hotel Rwanda: A Lesson Yet to Be Learned," at 7:30 p.m. in Kresge Auditorium of DePauw's Performing Arts Center. The event is co-sponsored by DePauw's Office of Academic Affairs. Like all Ubben Lectures, the speech is free and open to the public.
Ten years ago, as the country of Rwanda descended into madness, Rusesabagina made a promise to protect the family he loved - and ended up finding the courage to save more than 1,200 people. Over the course of 100 days, almost one million people were killed in Rwanda. Hotel Rwanda tells the inspiring story of real-life hero Paul Rusesabagina, who is portrayed in the movie by Don Cheadle.
The motion picture that Peter Travers of Rolling Stone called "a film of rare courage and imperishable heart," was nominated for three Academy Awards. (See review in February issue of Together, p. 17 or read online at www. inareaumc.org.)
A middle-class Hutu married to a Tutsi and the father of four children, Rusesabagina's hotel became a refuge for those fleeing the violence. When the wave of violence was over, 1,268 people who were sheltered at the hotel were still alive because of Rusesabagina's compassion and cunning.
"It was worse than what you saw on screen," the 50-year-old Rusesabagina says. "When you see all around the road, both sides, dead bodies, and you hear noises of people being killed, and there are people passing with machetes and machine guns...The message of our movie is to say - look, this happened in Rwanda ten years ago. The people of the world were not informed. Now today you are informed and again it is happening - are you not going to take action?
Today, Rusesabagina owns a transportation company and is involved in charitable organizations aiding survivors of the Rwandan tragedy. He is in the process of setting up a foundation for further assistance. Rusesabagina served as special consultant to United Artists and Lion's Gate Films' production of the hit film, Hotel Rwanda.
For more information about the lecture or DePauw, log on to www.depauw.edu.
Last updated on 25 Apr 2008