Just Do It

Paul Rusesabagina


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Published: Mar 14, 2007

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Paul Rusesabagina is a name familiar to anyone who's seen Hotel Rwanda, Terry George's 2004 drama about a hotel manager who sheltered more than 1,000 ethnic Tutsis and Hutu sympathizers during the 1994 militia genocide. "Don Cheadle [who portrayed him in the film] was an excellent actor," says Rusesabagina, who recently released an autobiography titled An Ordinary Man (Viking Adult). "I couldn't have done it better myself. [But] the book has details that make a difference."

The World Affairs Council of Philadelphia has invited Rusesabagina to talk about the experiences in his home country both before and after the genocide, which claimed the lives of more than 800,000 Rwandans. "All this showed me one thing," says Rusesabagina. "As human beings we see things, but we tend not to be willing to learn. We have changed the players, but the game stayed the same."

The newly minted author has also set up the Hotel Rwanda Rusesabagina Foundation, which works to prevent children from being recruited into the army. He hopes to return to Rwanda one day. "That is my dream," he says. "They say east to west, north to south, home is the best. Home can be in the U.S., but the most important home [for us] is to be in Rwanda."

Mon., March 19, 5:45 p.m., $20-$60, The Union League of Philadelphia, 140 S. Broad St., 215-561-4700, www.wacphila.org