Discuss “Rusesabagina raises awareness of genocide”

On November 30, 2500 people came to Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall to listen to Paul Rusesabagina, the hotel manager from Kigali, Rwanda, who saved thousands of lives during the Rwandan genocides in 1993–1994. As most of the audience knew, Rusesabagina was the protagonist of the film Hotel Rwanda, which detailed his efforts to keep the refugees in his hotel alive, even as murderers were climbing the walls outside.

Listening to Rusesabagina’s account of the genocide was heart-wrenching, and he received warm support from the audience, but the event was tinged with mild irony. Prior to Rusesabagina’s speech, the event’s sponsors, which included Hillel JUC and other student organizations from the University of Pittsburgh, gave a brief...