I heard Paul Rusesabagina speak at Lewis & Clark College.

Rating: 10/10 (21 July 2005)

"Hotel Rwanda" recreates the 1994 Rwandan Genocide in the same way that "Schindler's List" recreated the genocide against the Jews. The movie shows not only the massacre, but also how the international community did nothing to stop it. Hotel owner Paul Rusesabagina (Don Cheadle) and his wife Tatiana (Sophie Okonedo) sheltered several Tutsis and moderate Hutus in the Mille Collines hotel, saving them from getting murdered.
Right after I saw the movie, I attended a speech by the real Paul Rusesabagina at Lewis & Clark College. He explained how the Belgian colonization of Rwanda set the stage for the 1994 genocide (the Belgians put the minority Tutsis in power, completely disenfranchising the majority Hutus), and what it was like for him experiencing it. As for why specifically the international community did nothing to stop the massacre, Rusesabagina said (as a mild joke): "Maybe it's because Rwanda doesn't have oil." Anyway, "Hotel Rwanda" is a very powerful movie that reminds us not only of this specific event, but about what can happen if we forget the past. I recommend it to everyone.