June 29th, 2021

“He wasn’t able to go to the bathroom on his own, his eyes were blindfolded the whole time, they suffocated him, he was tied up entirely. there’s more but he wasn’t able to tell us—He called it a slaughter house, he could hear the screaming of others” -Carine Kanimba (Daughter of Paul Rusesabagina)

Paul Rusesabagina, a former hotel manager who housed and saved the lives of over 1,200 people in 1994 during the Rwandan genocide is now fighting for his life in his home country of Rwanda. Paul Rusesabagina is a U.S permanent resident as well as a Belgium citizen who rose to fame after being honored by the movie “Hotel Rwanda” for risking his own life to protect the lives of many others. The Rwandan Genocide occurred when conflict broke out between the two main ethnic groups within the country, Hutu and Tutsi. The Rwandan government alongside Hutu militias killed more than 500,000 Tutsis’ in less than a year. Paul, who was the manager of Hotel des Mille Collines at the time, utilized his hotel as a form of protection for the victims of the genocide. Paul was so heartbroken over the heartless killings that occurred by the Rwandan government, that he adopted two girls, Anaise and Carine Kanimba, who became orphans after their parents were killed during the genocide. 

Since then, Paul has founded the Hotel Rwanda Rusesabagina Foundation (HRRF), a foundation dedicated to supporting humanitarian efforts for victims of the 1994 Rwandan genocide. He has also given many speeches at schools, universities, and churches as well as received numerous awards. One award in particular that he received was the U.S. presidential Medal of Freedom given to him by George W. Bush. Paul also published an autobiography “An Ordinary Man” that depicted his life as well as criticized the government of Rwanda and claimed that the president, Paul Kagame who has been in office for the past 21 years, was a dictator. Paul was recognized by world leaders for his bravery and humanitarian efforts, a recognition that was severely envied and despised by the president of Rwanda.

Paul’s life has not been easy after his name and work were made famous. Since the movie “Hotel Rwanda'' came out back in 2004, Paul and his family have received numerous threats and false accusations placed upon them by the Rwandan Government. The threats became so severe that Paul and his family had to relocate countries after their house got broken into several times in an attempt to assassinate Paul. Paul and his family moved to the United States and resided in San Antonio, Texas. However, the relocation did not stop the Rwandan government from terrorizing Paul and his family.

In the Summer of 2020, Paul was invited by Pastor Constantin Niyomwungere, to speak about his experiences during the 1994 Rwandan Genocide to various churches in Burundi. Paul planned to meet the pastor in Dubai and fly together to Burundi. When Paul entered a private jet with the Pastor to fly to Burundi, he was unaware that this was no pastor, but an informant for the Rwandan government. The jet did not take Paul to Burundi, instead it took Paul back to Rwanda, a country Paul vowed never to return to. It was then that Paul was kidnapped and brought to an undisclosed location where he was blindfolded and bound for three days with no access to a lawyer. The Rwandan government placed false accusations against Paul and have kept him in solitary confinement with no access to his heart medication. 

The Amer Fakhoury Foundation spoke with Paul’s daughters, Anaise and Carina, about what life has been like since their father’s capture and the pain they are enduring with his absence. They are now living in fear that they might lose another loved one. In addition to the stress of their father’s life on the line, they have to deal with the rising bills associated with hiring international lawyers to get their father’s home. It was incredibly difficult for them as well at the start of all of this. The first 10 months it was hard for the family to fight against the lies that Rwanda was spewing about their father. This is a common theme with many illegally detained victims. The family is starting to feel that their voice is being heard and their father’s truth is coming out; however, their father needs to be released urgently. His health is not well and they don’t know how much longer he will be able to survive the inhumane treatment that the Rwandan government is putting him through. We call on the Belgium government as well and the United States to stand with Paul Rusesabagina and push for the Rwandan government to release him.