Professor Fink
WR 121
27 May 2011 Paul Rusesabagina: Hero or Opportunist
In the film Hotel Rwanda, we see the portrayal of events at the Hotel Des Mille Collines as they were described in Paul Rusesabagina’s book titled “An Ordinary Man,” which talks about his experiences in Rwanda during the genocide committed by the Hutu people in 1994.
The Hutu people went on a killing spree, massacring over 800,000 Tutsi natives in the span of two months. In the film, Rusesabagina is made out to be a hero of the people who saves over
1200 Hutu and Tutsi refugees from being slaughtered by the rebel group known as the
Interahamwe. With the help of some powerful friends, payoffs, and manipulation of officials, …show more content…
The movie portrays
Rusesabagina as the savior of these people, a hero deserving of honors, but the public opinion of the events sometimes tells a different story that causes me to question the authenticity of
Rusesabagina’s claims. With an outcry of liar, genocidaire, extortionist, defender of mass murderers, and opportunist being screamed from so many different sources, can we truly take Paul Rusesabagina at face value? Was Paul Rusesabagina truly the hero he was made out to be in the film, or was he the opportunist who fooled the world?
Hotel Des Mille Collines: Two Tales In the film Hotel Rwanda, Paul Rusesabagina shelters over 1200 refugees from the