His story inspired “Hotel Rwanda”. Now he’s speaking out against the government: NPR

Paul Rusesabagina in 2019.

Nicolas Maeterlinck/AFP via Getty Images

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Nicolas Maeterlinck/AFP via Getty Images

Paul Rusesabagina in 2019.

Nicolas Maeterlinck/AFP via Getty Images

From April to July 1994, the world witnessed the genocide in Rwanda. A million people died when neighbors brutally attacked neighbors with clubs and machetes.

Thirty years later, the horror of the Rwandan genocide endures, as does the humanity and courage of Paul Rusesabagina, whose story was told in the 2004 film. Hotel Rwanda.

The real Rusesabagina recounted some details when he spoke to All things Considered welcoming Juana Summers recently from her home in San Antonio.

“I was a hotelier in 1994 and I had 1,268 people who came to hide in my hotel, Hutus and Tutsis. And none of them were killed. None of them were beaten in the “Hotel from start to finish,” he said.

Fast forward to the present day and Rusesabagina’s story has changed dramatically. He has not lived in Rwanda since 1996, but he still cares about his country and has been outspoken about that country’s government.

“I became an enemy. This experience was like being in a hell where you are tortured,” he said.

Rusesabagina claims to have been kidnapped, tried and imprisoned in Rwanda for two years and seven months. After intervention from the United States and other countries, Rusesabagina was finally released. At the time, he said he electronically signed a letter promising not to criticize the government.

“Once you’re in hell, what can’t you sign? You can sign anything,” he said.

The reasons he decided not to keep that promise were the focus of NPR’s conversation with Rusesabagina and his daughter, Anaïse Kanimba. And it started with a plea from his fellow inmates.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Interview Highlights

Paul Rusesabagina: (The prisoners) told me: “Listen, Mr. Rusesabagina, you spoke for us. You have been the voice of those who have no voice. Now you have seen how much we have suffered, how tortured we are. Now you’re out. Please be our voice. So I can’t keep quiet since I have a mission.

Juana Summers: I have to ask both of you, at this point, given what your family has been through – Paul, given what you’ve personally been through – how safe do you feel today speaking openly of the Rwandan government, including President Kagame himself?

Rusesabagina: What I’m going to tell you is what I told all those military intelligence guys who were going to torture me: the only thing I know for sure is that one day I will die. But when this is supposed to happen, who is supposed to do it, these are things I don’t know. But I believe that it will never happen a day, a minute, a second before the time determined by the Almighty God.

Anaïse Kanimba: And if I can add, I think yes, it is very risky to talk about what is happening in Rwanda because Rwanda practices transnational repression. When my sister and I and our family were advocating for our father, my sister ended up having Pegasus on her phone. And this was the subject of research by the Amnesty International team and other journalists. And I think it’s a call to action to the international community to prevent this from happening, to protect those who speak for others, those who defend democracy and human rights.

Are: If you talk to President Kagame’s allies, many of them will say that he has been responsible for leading an era of what they call relative peace in the country, of what they call improvement, economic progress. How to reconcile these two things?

Rusesabagina: I would tell you that today you have two Rwandas. There is Rwanda for the elite, the capital Kigali, and the other Rwanda where people die and are buried because of hunger. In the prison where I was, there were 18,500 people. The people ate only corn and beans and one meal served to them every day at 11 a.m. Is this an evolution?

Kanimba: Some allies of Rwanda, and in particular the Western allies of President Kagame, do talk about the development of the country, but this comes at the expense of the freedom of the Rwandan people. If people cannot express themselves freely, all this work will not be sustainable. And I would also call on these allies of Paul Kagame not to undermine the ability of Rwandans to be able to choose their own leaders while living in security. And you know, we shouldn’t believe that we need someone like Kagame to be safe. And I think they are depriving the Rwandan people of the opportunity to make that choice for them.

Are: Knowing that you are both, of course, outside of Rwanda, do either of you see any signs that the country is poised for change in the near future?

Kanimba: I believe yes, the country is on the verge of change because this country is made up of very active Rwandans who want to see a developed country, who want to bring the best to their country, who work hard every day. Our country can be better. And our people are there, and they are suffering today under the dictatorship or the authoritarian regime of Paul Kagame. But that doesn’t mean they can’t take ownership of their country and move it forward without this type of leadership. And so I think, yeah, I mean, it’s possible.

And I hope to be able to go to Rwanda very soon and not worry that if I walk the streets of Kigali I might be put in prison. It is my dream and my dream to return to this country where I was born. But today, I can’t. So I would like to be able to do that in the future and be able to share with you my perspective of Rwanda. But that is not possible. And I believe that my brothers and sisters who are in Rwanda, my compatriots, will find a way to allow all those who are outside to return one day.

Rusesabagina: Well, I will tell you that Rwanda today is more or less a boiling volcano that could erupt at any time. Rwanda has millions of people outside this country. These millions of people are also willing to return to their own countries, but they cannot. And in Rwanda, there are people, many people who have been silenced and others who are silencing them. Rwanda is therefore more of a boiling volcano that could erupt at any time.

After this interview, NPR contacted the Rwandan government for comment. Government spokesperson Yolande Makolo sent this statement, which is presented here in full: “Rusesabagina constantly lies. He was never tortured. Everyone in Rwanda can say whatever they want, as long as it does not violate the laws that govern the country. all of us and this ensures the safety of Rwandans.