An Ordinary Man: An AutobiographyThe remarkable autobiography of the globally-recognized human rights champion whose heroism inspired the film Hotel Rwanda “Fascinating…your book is called An Ordinary Man, yet you took on an extraordinary feat with courage, determination, and diplomacy.” – Oprah, O, The Oprah Magazine 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. In An Ordinary Man, he 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. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 39
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... machetes all over Rwanda, but that five-story building became a refuge for anyone who could make it to our doors. The hotel could offer only an illusion of safety, but for whatever reason, the illusion prevailed and I survived to tell ...
... machetes all over Rwanda, but that five-story building became a refuge for anyone who could make it to our doors. The hotel could offer only an illusion of safety, but for whatever reason, the illusion prevailed and I survived to tell ...
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... machete could have taken these things away from me quite easily. My disappearance—and that of my family—would have barely been noticed in the torrents of blood coursing through Rwanda in those months. Our bodies would have joined the ...
... machete could have taken these things away from me quite easily. My disappearance—and that of my family—would have barely been noticed in the torrents of blood coursing through Rwanda in those months. Our bodies would have joined the ...
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... machetes. But after all the foreign nationals at the school were put onto airplanes safely, the Belgians themselves left the country, leaving behind a huge crowd of refugees begging for protection, even begging to be shot in the head so ...
... machetes. But after all the foreign nationals at the school were put onto airplanes safely, the Belgians themselves left the country, leaving behind a huge crowd of refugees begging for protection, even begging to be shot in the head so ...
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... machetes and were trying to get inside the houses of those they knew to be Tutsi, those who had Tutsi relatives, or ... machete dripping in blood. Watching this happen in my own neighborhood was like looking up at a blue summer.
... machetes and were trying to get inside the houses of those they knew to be Tutsi, those who had Tutsi relatives, or ... machete dripping in blood. Watching this happen in my own neighborhood was like looking up at a blue summer.
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... machete would catch the angle of the sun and you'd see the winking of metal across the valley. And far, far in the distance you could make out the clustered roofs of the village called Gitwe, where my parents told me I would one day ...
... machete would catch the angle of the sun and you'd see the winking of metal across the valley. And far, far in the distance you could make out the clustered roofs of the village called Gitwe, where my parents told me I would one day ...
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Common terms and phrases
able Africa Army asked banana become beer called capital church close coming death Diplomates door drink face father feel felt finally fire force French friends front genocide give going hands happened heard hill human hundred Hutu idea inside keep Kigali killed killers kind knew known later learned leave Listen lives look machetes manager military militia Mille Collines morning murder neighbors never night once Perhaps person president protection radio rebel refugees road RTLM Rwanda seemed seen showed side soldiers started stay stop story street suppose sure taken talk tell thing thought thousand told took tried trying turn Tutsi United usually village wanted wife