No Ordinary Man
The hero of Hotel Rwanda, Paul Rusesabagina, launches a damning critique of the United Nations and the Rwandan government, telling Rupert Neate why the world needs to take notice of Africa, the "forgotten continent"
On the 6 April 1994 the Hutu-controlled government of Rwanda launched a well-planned attack on the Tutsi minority with chilling efficiency, resulting in the deaths of more than 800,000 people in just 100 days. Whilst the West largely ignored the conflict, refusing to acknowledge it as genocide, Paul Rusesabagina turned the prestigious Hotel des Mille Collines into an impromptu refugee camp. In his new autobiography, An Ordinary Man, he tells the story of how he saved the lives of 1,268 Tutsi and moderate Hutus.
Throughout those three months Paul insists that he did "nothing special, I managed the hotel like I would every other day" but, to the people in his care his actions were nothing short of extraordinary. Through his bravery and selflessness they escaped the rape and slaughter that besieged the streets as soldiers and the government armed Interahamwe militia systematically hunted down the Tutsi 'inyenzi' (cockroaches).
It is difficult to imagine how he managed to save his own life, let alone those of 1,268 others, when by rights he should have been on the government's hit-list. Though a Hutu himself, his wife is a Tutsi and as such his children are of mixed-race, making him a target. He was also a known dissident who often rebelled against the government, refusing to wear badges expressing devotion to the Hutu President and hosting the Tutsi rebel army, the RPF.
Although no other moderate Hutu would have been tolerated by the regime, Rusesabagina was able to charm and cajole many of the militants and officials. Using a black binder full of the names of Rwanda's movers and shakers collected during his years of service in the Mille Collines' sister hotel the Hotel Diplomates - he traded in those favours for lives.
He applied his amazing ability to read people methodically: first, flattery, by implying that officials were `too important to be dealing with this', second an appeal to their wallet, and failing that, he would play on their fear of doubt - `what if the Hutus lose the battle, and you are up against the Court of Human Rights, what will you tell them? If you help us I will be able to defend you.'
Ironically, the only people who failed to succumb to Rusesabagina charm and persuasion were Western governments. When the hotel phones were cut off in April 1994, his black binder and the influential contacts it contained were useless, removing the last lifeline. However, the ever-ingenious Paul saw round this problem by using the fax machine (which had a direct line to the national grid). He stayed up late every night firing off faxes to the Belgian Foreign Ministry, the White House, and the United Nations - whoever might listen. One night he followed up on a fax to the White House only to be told that he "should contact the embassy of the United States in Rwanda". He informed the White House that their embassy left Rwanda on the 9th of April.
Despite minimal help from both the UN and the US, Rusesabagina was able to keep the refugees alive until they could be transported to refugee camps around the country. Soon afterwards the RPF took power, forming a Tutsi-only government.
Two years later after his family were granted asylum in Belgium he left Rwanda as a refugee. With little more than a briefcase Paul was able to support himself as a Taxi driver. Being a natural businessman he expanded this into a minicab firm, and has now started a trucking company in Tanzania.
Paul's story became widely known with the release of Hotel Rwanda, where he is played by Don Cheadle, who Paul says is "much better looking". Following the release of the film he was invited to the White House to meet President George Bush. When asked about the meeting, in which they discussed the situation in Africa, he simply laughed. He holds a lot of resentment toward the United States for its failure to intervene or even address the atrocity by its proper name - genocide.
Fully aware that the International Genocide Treaty would force them to act if they labelled the conflict as genocide, the US stated only that "acts of genocide had occurred", but there was not sufficient evidence to suggest that the acts were targeted at eliminating a specific group.
Subsequently President Clinton has apologised to the Rwandan people and publicly stated that not intervening in Rwanda was one of the biggest regrets of his administration. Paul told Felix, "He [Clinton] apologised; that is ok, but it would have been better if he had joined words with actions. Those were just words."
It is widely acknowledged that the world at large made a dreadful mistake by not intervening earlier. A meagre 2,500 United Nations Peace Keeping troops were sent to Rwanda prior to the genocide but with a pitiful mandate. They were prevented from using their weapons except in selfdefence, and were powerless to intervene even when people were being slaughtered directly in front of them.
Rusesabagina heavily criticises General Romeo Dallaire, commander of UN forces in Rwanda, and the UN in general, stating that its presence was "worse than useless", and was only there to appease the world's conscience. Early on in the genocide, Dallaire submitted a proposal to the Security Council for 5,000 wellequipped soldiers. His request was refused. A later investigation revealed that this force would have, at the very least, reduced the slaughter. Dallaire tried in vain to force the genocide into the forefront of the Security Council's mind, giving interviews to every major media organisation, in which he appealed for more troops and a revised mandate. However, Rusesabagina believes that this was inadequate and Dallaire "should have disobeyed the foolish orders from New York... or if he did not have the stomach to do this then I think he should have made a spectacle out of resigning."
The timing of the genocide could not have been worse for the victims. The slaughter began in April 1994 just months after the failed operation in Somalia of Black Hawk Down fame, which left the West extremely reluctant to send any more troops to Africa. On the first day of the genocide the militia slaughtered ten Belgian peace-keepers to further discourage any intervention by the UN. As a result, Belgium, backed by the UK and the US, withdrew its troops, leaving just 260 poorly equipped soldiers, all from the developing world.
Paul remains critical of the UN's peacekeeping record. He says that in most cases the `men on the ground' are from poorer countries, whose governments are using the UN "as just a means to an end to improve their 'premium' with the superpowers" and that "the business of peace-keeping is now more of a joke, as superpowers are no longer involved."
In Rusesabagina's view the UN's failure in Rwanda is just one of the events that has left the UN in its current state of impotence. The UN was forged for all the right reasons in the aftermath of the Second World War, to be an international body for peace, but Rusesabagina believes that its very inclusiveness is the one thing preventing it from being an effective body. "The UN can't decide unless they decide by consensus. Each and every one of the 150 members must have their say but by then the genocide would have been over."
Rusesabagina told me that "`never' and `again' are the two most abused words in the world today". When President Clinton used those words in an inauguration speech at the Holocaust memorial in Washington in 1993 there was another genocide taking place on the other side of the world.
Though officially there are no longer distinctions made between Hutus and Tutsis - everyone is simply Rwandan - Rusesabagina told me this is just a façade to keep the West happy. "Telling someone `you are not a Hutu' and the other `you are not a Tutsi' is just like telling you `you're not white' and me `I'm not black'." Rusesabagina believes that the hatred is so ingrained that fresh bloodshed in the future is not unimaginable. He says that although there is now a multiracial government, with Hutus in positions of authority, these roles are largely just symbolic, with no effective powers.
In the eyes of the Western world the new Rwandan government is a model of African democracy, but according to Rusesabagina all is not as it seems, as the government operates through intimidation. Paul explained, "When they see the Tutsi survivors they tell them, `listen you guys. Your Hutu neighbours were going to kill you. It was us, the RPF, who saved your lives. Shut up.' They also come to Hutus and tell them `we will kill you anytime we want, if it wasn't for us you wouldn't be here'. Those Hutus also shut up." The Rwandan government's intimidation does not stop with its own citizens. "Whenever the international community raises a voice the government says `listen you guys. You ignored the fact that there was a genocide. Don't give us a lesson. You've got nothing to teach us' and the international community just shuts up."
Western nations have tried to press Rwanda into dealing more effectively with the 120,000 genocide suspects held in prison, more than 50% of whom are being held without charge. He told me "it is worse than Guantanamo Bay, because in Rwanda with the husband in jail the wife and children are also in prison" as the wife has to bring the husband's food to the prison at 10am every day, preventing her from working.
Though the legal system is overwhelmed by an immense workload, this is not a sufficient excuse for its lack of effectiveness, as Paul explained: "after the genocide the whole world felt guilty. They said `now we are going to help Rwanda to rebuild'. They raised $1.2bn. They started training judges, but those judges never went to courts."
Instead of a more formal justice system, Rwanda has favoured a form of community justice called Gaccaca courts, where the local people come together to try and to convict their peers. Rusesabagina strongly disagrees with the Gacacca system because "everyone knows that in the Gaccaca courts those peasant people will be trying and convicting their neighbours. They can convict you to 30 years imprisonment or even life. Is that power really to be given to people of such a lower level?"
Paul is extremely worried about the situation within not just Rwanda but also Africa as a whole. According to Rusesabagina, the whole of Africa is just a "forgotten continent". He reels of a list of other forgotten African horrors: Uganda, Darfur, Ivory Coast, Somalia. "Africa seems to be very far away from America and Europe. Those are the deciders?" He believes that the status quo can be changed but "what we need now is to send a strong message to all of those dictators who kill their own people, who steal from their own countries. Listen you guys, you are not untouchable, one day you will also face justice."
Today, we shudder at the astounding rapidity with which the massacres took place. Averaged out, 8000 people died each day, meaning more than 5 lives were taken each minute. Paul Rusesabagina, whose names mean, fittingly, `the great communicator' and `warrior who disperses enemies' managed to save 4 hours worth of people. His autobiography is a tale of courage and human resilience, yet he himself is a modest and simple man, who insists that he did nothing extraordinary. He is a modern day hero, and an inspiration to all.
An Ordinary Man is published by Bloomsbury and priced at £16.99 (hardback).
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