Northwest Center for Holocaust, Genocide and Ethnocide Education

Review

An Ordinary Man (with references to the film Hotel Rwanda)- Overview written by Nicole Trecker

During the late spring and early summer of 1994, hotel manager Paul Rusesabagina saved the lives of 1,268 Rwandans.  In the midst of a genocide that killed approximately 800,000 Rwandans in 100 days, Rusesabagina did what he claims any “ordinary man” would do: he transformed the luxurious Belgian-owned hotel he managed, the Mille Collines, into a refuge for all Tutsi or moderate Hutu refugees who sought safety.  As chaos ensued outside the hotel walls, Rusesabagina courageously utilized a combination of diplomacy and persuasion, and when these didn’t work -- guile and deceit, to protect his guests. 

As revealed by the book’s title, Rusesabagina doesn’t consider himself a hero.  In his words:  “I am nothing more or less than a hotel manager, trained to negotiate contracts and charged to give shelter to those who need it.  My job did not change in the genocide, even though I was thrust into a sea of fire.  I only spoke the words that seemed normal and sane to me.  I did what I believed to be the ordinary things that an ordinary man would do” (pg. xvi).  

In this autobiography, Rusesabagina recalls the story of growing up in rural Rwanda, the role he played in protecting men, women and children during the 1994 genocide, and his present life as an activist.  Skillfully interspersed in clear and concise personal narrative, readers will discover context and commentary on Rwandan history and culture, the origins of racial distinctions in Rwanda, responses of the international community to the genocide, and the choices Rusesabagina had to make in order to help save lives.  

The first four chapters of the book serve primarily as a medium through which readers become acquainted with Rusesabagina’s character.  At the same time, Rusesabagina provides invaluable insights into the events and situations that gave rise to the genocide.  He eloquently describes the development of Rwanda, beginning with some of the cultural traditions that reach back generations.  Rusesabagina provides basic, yet effective, explanations of European colonialism, the role of ethnicity, and the events in Rwandan during the early 1990’s that gave rise to an atmosphere of hatred and violence.  These powerful explanations allow readers to better understand the complexity of events.  For example, Rusesabagina addresses a common misconception: 

It always bothers me when I hear Rwanda’s genocide described as the product of “ancient tribal hatreds.” I think this is an easy way for Westerners to dismiss the whole things as a regrettable but pointless bloodbath that happened to primitive brown people….Nothing could be further from the truth….Those “tribal hatreds” were merely a cheap way to motivate the citizen killers—not the root cause. It is phenomenally dangerous to dismiss Rwanda in this way, because it steals one of the most vital lessons all this bloodshed has to teach us. Make no mistake: There was a method to the madness. And it was about power. What scared our leaders most was the idea that Rwanda might be invaded and their power taken away. (pg. 53)

However, the majority of this book is dedicated to traveling back in time to the seventy-six days Rusesabagina spent inside the walls of the Mille Collines.  He recalls the various methods used to keep guests healthy and safely outside the reach of the Interahamwe’s machetes.  The vaults and the alcohol cellars of the Mille Colline were emptied in exchange for lives, and favors were called in from international business contacts as well as friends and former patrons of the hotel who were sprinkled throughout the Rwandan army and militia.  Time and time again, Rusesabagina documents how he used the rapport he had developed as the manager of a luxury hotel to convince leaders of the genocide, such as Georges Rutaganda and General Augustin Bizimungu, to spare the Mille Colline. The ultimate paradox is that Rusesabagina maintained friendships with the very men who were committing genocidal slaughters of the people he sought to shelter:  

My only goal was saving the lives of the people upstairs, and questions of my taste in friendship were secondary—if they were relevant at all. If you stay friendly with monsters you can find cracks in their armor to exploit. Shut them out and they can kill you without a second thought. I reminded myself of this over and over again. (pg. 121)

I had to stay close with him [Bizimungo] because he could help me save lives.  I would have stayed close with anyone who could help me do that….If I had ended that friendship, I do not think I would be here to write these words today. There are at least 1,268 people who survived the killing partly because of the instructions of Bizimungo. (pg. 163)

Rusesabagina ends this book discussing the healing process in Rwanda and the path his personal life has taken since the end of the 1994 genocide. Currently, Rusesabagina speaks all over the world about his experiences, African affairs, healing and reconciliation after acts of genocide, and the important role that individual, ordinary people play in the fight against genocide. He concludes with these words: “Wherever the killing season should next begin and people should become strangers to their neighbors and themselves, my hope is that there will be those ordinary men who say a quiet no and open the rooms upstairs” (pg. 204).    

For the Educator 

According to the Fry Readability Formula, An Ordinary Man reads at a 6th to 8^th grade reading level.  While these results indicate that the book may be at an ideal reading level for middle school students, examination with a checklist reveals that it can also be effective at the high school level.  The writing style, vocabulary, and content are such that most high school students should find it engaging.  What is more, high school students should be able to read it independently.

Within a social studies classroom, there are many potential opportunities for students to learn from this book.  Classrooms that are studying international organization and/or the role of the international community with regard to issues of human rights may find that Rusesabagina’s situation and his commentary on the response of the international community to the Rwandan genocide an interesting case study.  There are countless passages in the book where Rusesabagina speaks candidly about the U.N., U.S., and European response to the genocide.  Some of these may be found on the following pages: 103-105, 116-117, and 135-138.

An Ordinary Man would also be an appropriate resource to include in a classroom study of the Rwandan genocide.  For classes of students who have the time and ability to read the entire book, it may help provide a clearer understanding of the context from which genocide erupted, as well as an interesting and engaging personal testimony of the event.  

One other possibility strong teaching opportunity would be to use the award winning film Hotel Rwanda in conjunction with a reading of the book, in part or in whole.  Teachers may elect to have students read select passages or chapters (such as chapters two and four) from An Ordinary Man that provide background information on Rwandan history and culture that cannot be gleaned from only watching the film.  For example, the film fails to clearly explain the origins of the racial tensions, develop the identity of the Interahamwe, or illustrate the influence of the RTLM radio station.  With the assistance of the book, students may understand Hotel Rwanda more fully.  

For classrooms that are able to both read the entire book and view the film, there are great opportunities to make comparisons and address questions.  Some questions that may be asked of students who have experienced both media may include: 

How is General Romeo Dallaire portrayed differently in Hotel Rwanda than An Ordinary Man? How is the U.N. portrayed differently? To what might you account this? (Use of the USHMM’s Committee on Conscience video, A Good Man in Hell: General Romeo Dallaire and the Rwandan Genocide, may provide another perspective to consider)

What did you notice or pick-up on in the film that you may not have noticed or understood without having read the book first?

How is Paul’s diplomacy and reliance on relationships with the enemy portrayed differently in the film than it is in the book?

Finally, it is hard to imagine any social studies teacher not utilizing the following passage as a jumping-off point for a discussion comparing the various acts of genocide in the 20^th and 21^st centuries: 

Look closely at each of the world’s recent genocides, however, and the surface differences burn away.  The core of genocide is always the same.  They erupt under the cover of war.  They are the brainchildren of insecure leaders eager for more power.  Governments ease their people into them gradually.  Other nations must be persuaded to look away.  And all genocides rely heavily on the power of group thinking to embolden everyday killers. (pg. 193)

References:

Rusesabagina, P. (2006). An Ordinary Man. New York: Penguin Group Inc.

Terry George, T(Director). (2005). [DVD]. In Hotel Rwanda.

 

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