Paul Rusesabagina’s keynote address inspired APSU freshmen and the public

October 2, 2009 |

Paul Rusesabagina

Paul Rusesabagina’s keynote address on Thursday evening closes out the first selection of the newly inaugurated Peay Read program. Designed to provide a unifying experience and contribute to the academic experiences for freshmen students, the reading program also offers opportunities for sophomore, junior and senior students.

His story inspired the production of the film, “Hotel Rwanda,” a riveting account of a man finding strength within him to save others in the midst of his country’s darkest moment.

Rusesabagina addresses the packed house

In his book, “An Ordinary Man,” Rusesabagina tells the story of his childhood, retraces his accidental path to heroism, revisits the 100 days in which he was the only thing standing between his “guests” and a hideous death and recounts his subsequent life as a refugee and activist.

As Rwanda was thrown into chaos during the 1994 genocide, Rusesabagina, a hotel manager, turned the luxurious Hotel Milles Collines into a refuge for more than 1,200 Tutsi and moderate Hutu refugees, while fending off their would-be killers with a combination of diplomacy and deception.

While militants threatened and surrounded the well-groomed grounds of the hotel, he spent hours on the phone, pleading with influential leaders, with his international connections his only defense against attack. He bartered luxury items such as money, gold, cigars and aged bottles of wine he hoarded in his hotel for the lives of strangers seeking refuge in the chaos. Miraculously, no one who was housed at his hotel died.

For more details about this year’s book reading selection or The Peay Read, visit http://www.apsu.edu/Read/.

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