In 1994, Rwanda was engulfed in horrific internal violence. The manager of the Hotel des Mille Collines ? Paul Rusesabagina, worked tirelessly with an American Colonel to save over 1,200 lives. His efforts were remembered 10 years later, when the movie Hotel Rwanda celebrated his work and told the story of the genocide and violence that took place between the two ethnic groups in the country.



For years, the Tutsi tribe was in control of the country and members of the Hutu ethnic group were treated with disdain. When the Hutu took over control of Rwanda they used genocide violence to murder a million Tutsis in about 100 days and through it all the manager of Hotel Rwanda managed to keep up appearances, allowing the hotel and its guests, refugees of both ethnic groups, alive and safe.

The movie is not focused on the violence or the attempted ethnic cleansing. Instead, it looks at how the manager of Hotel Rwanda worked to make all those who visited the hotel come to respect the property, and how the hotel became an oasis-like area where the internal struggle of the country could be temporarily forgotten.

Rusesabagina simply ran the hotel the best way he could ? he attempted to please every single visitor, he made them happy, and did favors for everyone. He pleased the rich and powerful guests ? before the violence broke out, and afterwards, and used his connections and friends to keep his family and guests safe after the violence started.

Hotel Rwanda Still Open For Business

Despite the raging of death and destruction, the manager in Hotel Rwanda continues to go to work everyday, operating the hotel as he did every day. Focusing on meeting the needs of his guests, from the powerful to those seeking refuge, he provides the same class of service he had always demonstrated.

Rusesabagina's dedication to keeping the hotel running smoothly throughout the violence, and his tireless work to take care of his guests made people from both of the tribes respect the hotel and in turn, those staying there. The movie Hotel Rwanda tells us of his struggle to save his wife ? a member of the Tutsi tribe, and his children ? who could all have faced death as part of the 'ethnic cleansing' taking place in the country at the time.

He managed to save over 1,200 people during the struggle, from both tribes, and the film celebrates this small success and his bravery even under the shadow of the violence and the tragedy of the million deaths in the country.