#FreeRusesabagina

During the 1994 Rwandan genocide, hotelier Paul Rusesabagina harbored over 1,200 refugees at the Hôtel des Mille Collines in Kigali, the capitol of Rwanda. After the genocide, Paul Rusesabagina wrote about this experience in his book, An Ordinary Man. His story was later adapted into the 2004 film, Hotel Rwanda, starring Academy Award nominated actor Don Cheadle. Following a failed assassination attempt in 1996, Paul Rusesabagina left Rwanda, but has remained a vocal critic of Rwandan president Paul Kagame. In August of 2020, Paul Rusesabagina was kidnapped by the Kagame’s government and taken back to Rwanda. He remains illegally detained there - unable to communicate freely with his family. In our first episode of 2021, Erin Gruwell speaks with Paul Rusesabagina's family about his heroic story, the international community's response to the kidnapping and how you can join the fight to #FreeRusesabagina.