Rusesabagina Celebrates Mandela Day at the US Capitol

CHICAGO - July 22, 2013 - PRLog -- Contact: Kitty Kurth  Phone: 312-498-9279

Paul Rusesabagina, President of the Hotel Rwanda Rusesabagina Foundation and the real-life hero who inspired the film Hotel Rwanda, and saved more than 1,200 innocent civilians from the Rwandan Genocide, visited Washington, DC to attend the July 18 celebration of Nelson Mandela’s life. Mr. Rusesabagina attended the event at Emancipation Hall as a guest of Speaker of the House John Boehner.

Rusesabagina said, "The life and legacy of Nelson Mandela serves as an inspiration for all people. His legacy continues to offer hope as the people of Rwanda seek to heal the lasting wounds that still mar the country in the wake of the Genocide."

While in Washington, Mr. Rusesabagina met with key members of the House and Senate to once again encourage the United States to acknowledge and condemn the disruptive role that Rwanda currently plays in peacekeeping efforts to stabilize the Great Lakes Region of Africa. He asked the US work with in the region to promote sustainable peace.

Building on the lessons learned from the Rwandan genocide, the Hotel Rwanda Rusesabagina Foundation strives to promote an understanding of the dangerous conditions which lead to misunderstanding, hatred, and violence–the seeds of future genocides.

By focusing on issues of injustice worldwide, the HRRF advances the idea that it is through truth, justice and reconciliation that those silenced voices can finally be heard, and only then can a nation be truly healed from the long-term effects of genocide.

The Hotel Rwanda Rusesabagina Foundation, www.hrrfoundation.org, established in 2005, has provided educational assistance for the helpless orphans of Africa’s civil wars, genocide and AIDS epidemic. For many years, founder Paul Rusesabagina, whose efforts provided refuge for 1,268 people during the Rwandan genocide, has been speaking out about the genocide in Rwanda and other African nations. What started as a personal mission of education on the lessons of Rwanda has become an international movement to educate the world’s people and our leaders about the steps necessary to avoid future genocides.