“Hotel Rwanda” hero to speak in Portland on genocide, April 24th

See note on previous post regarding the Sen. Mitchell talk about the possibility of attending this presentation instead... Please R.S.V.P. which presentation you'd like to attend!

The man whose story inspired the movie “Hotel Rwanda” will offer a firsthand account of genocide and explain how the problem, for many African countries, remains a critical issue even today.

Paul Rusesabagina will speak at Hannaford Lecture Hall at the University of Southern Maine in Portland on April 24, 2006 at 7:30 p.m. April 24 also the commemorates the date of the Armenian genocide of 1915 in which more than 1 million Armenian men, women and children were murdered.

The University of Southern Maine’s Academic Council for Post-Holocaust Christian, Jewish and Islamic Studies, the Hudson Foundation and TD Banknorth, among other organizations, are hosting the lecture, entitled "Never Again? Genocide and Indifference," in memory of Douglas Schair.

Schair, a Falmouth resident, was committed to the fight against genocide through education and dialogue. He was the founder and president of the Hudson Foundation.

In 1994, Rwanda’s Hutu president was assassinated, for which Hutu militants blamed the Tutsi people. The militia, known as the Interahamwe, launched a fierce campaign of ethnic cleansing, killing nearly 1 million people over 100 days while the United Nations and the rest of the world watched silently.

Rusesabagina was a manager of the Milles Collines Hotel in the country’s capital, Kigali, at the time. Using the hotel as a safe house, he was able to save more than 1,200 lives.

His story is told in “Hotel Rwanda,” which was nominated for three Oscars. Rusesabagina’s character is played by film-star Don Cheadle. Viking Penguin Press will publish Rusesabagina’s autobiography, An Ordinary Man, in the beginning of April. A book signing will take place after the lecture.

“Paul witnessed unspeakable horror. We’re talking about children being slaughtered with machetes,” Justin Schair, Mr. Schair’s son and an acquaintance of Rusesabagina, said.
The lecture aims to raise awareness in the Portland community about the gravity of genocide and global passivity to these kinds of atrocities.

“Paul draws critical parallels between Rwanda and genocides happening right now,” Justin Schair said. “His visit stands to make a positive and effective impact on the Greater Portland Community.”