Paul Rusesabagina, deemed by many as a national hero who saved the lives of 1,268 Tutsi refugees and moderate Hutus in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, was arrested early this month on terror-related charges. Several rumours about Rusesabagina's whereabouts and conditions are under serious dispute with his family members, claiming he has been kidnapped, claiming president Paul Kagame has refuted.
The 1994 Rwandan genocide lasted from April 7th until July 15th. Over 800,000 Tutsis were murdered by members of the Interahamwe that were cleansing the nation" of Tutsi cockroaches. Paul Rusesabagina, who was working at the Milles Collines hotel in central Kigali, sheltered over a thousand Tutsi inside the hotel until the genocide was over. All of the Tutsis who stayed at the Milles Collines hotel survived. Soon after, Rusesabagina started getting more attention in international media for his selflessness and bravery. In 2005 he was given a Presidential medal of freedom by George W. Bush. What many people don't know is the story behind the "Hotel Rwanda" story. Several of the people who Rusesabagina "rescued" who've seen the "Hotel Rwanda" movie based on his heroic actions during the genocide have revealed the not so heroic past of Rusesabagina.
The majority of the Tutsis that stayed at the hotel who came forward said Rusesabagina made them pay to stay there as if they were regular hotel guests. There were even people whom he promised to bring to the hotel and had given him money to take them, but he never showed up. Whether he couldn't pick them up or intentionally left them, the known majority were killed in utterly inhumane, gruesome manners. These allegations are ones that Rusesabagina has yet to deny, which only raises further questions about Hollywood's "Hotel hero."
Written by Casey Bakarani
Artwork by Zara Masood
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