Paul Rusesabagina and the Rwandan Genocide

On September 19th, Facing History and Ourselves and The Allstate Foundation welcomed over 2,000 San Francisco Bay Area community members, students and teachers to the Flint Center in Cupertino to hear and honor Paul Rusesabagina, the Rwandan hotel manager who rescued more than 1,200 refugees from certain death during the Rwandan genocide in 1994.

The event was part of a series of community-wide dialogues about civic engagement, individual and collective responsibility and tolerance across the United States. Facing History and Ourselves and The Allstate Foundation are inspired by the response and support from the community that welcomed Mr. Rusesabagina to the Bay Area.

After Mr. Rusesabagina spoke, Facing History students from four schools in the Bay Area joined him on stage for dialogue. The students' questions addressed a range of issues from personal identity to international justice and accountability.

Yasi, from St. Francis School asked, "How did you choose to 'Upstand' in your country when the danger was so immediate?"

Anthony from Eastside College Prep: "What can help us strive to be our best self? Your story makes me think about that, because I think you DID find your best self in a very bad situation."

Karen Murphy, Facing History's Director of International Programs, said, "We want our students to be inspired by rescuers and we hope they never have to face those choices. That is the hard work of prevention--to speak up, stand up, to act, to prevent violence in the small steps that lead up to it."

"When people began to investigate the causes of genocide, one of the things that came up again and again was education. History became a space to tell stories of hate and division. . . . .Facing History has been collaborating to develop new history materials for Rwandan teachers and to re-train them."

Paul Rusesabagina, whose story is portrayed in the Academy-award nominated film Hotel Rwanda,delivered a powerful speech about his individual story of action and heroism. During the Rwandan genocide Rusesabagina risked his life and the lives of his family to turn the Milles Collines Hotel into a sanctuary that saved 1,268 men, women and children from the fate of almost one million of their Tutsi neighbors who were killed.

During the genocide, Rusesabagina found the courage to speak up. His example reveals the power of nonviolent action and what happens when we ask ourselves if the decisions we make today we'll be able to face in the future.

After sharing his story, Rusesabagina participated in a Q & A session with four Facing History students from different schools. Rusesabagina's overall message to the students was to always be yourself, emphasizing that he was and is a hotel manager before, during and after the genocide. This insight reminded the community present that we can all make a difference as individuals whether we are a student, teacher, parent, businessman, humanitarian worker, athlete, artist and - of course - a hotel manager, among so many other kind of individuals.

Rusesabagina, who is involved in a charitable organization aiding survivors of the Rwandan tragedy, continues to speak out about the genocide that is currently occurring in Sudan.