Show I Darfur genocide survivor visits Joseph Bateman Local Arts Ans Reporter Paul just justan an ordinary man that made madean an extraordinary decision a decision that saved the lives of over 1000 people Ladies and gentleman today we are going to take a ride go back in history to 1994 and visit visita a country located in the heart of Africa A country of Rwanda where 12 years ago genocide took place said Mr to the packed audience inside the Student Event Center of Redwood Campus who was the basis for the 2004 Academy Award winning movie Hotel Rwanda took the audience on a journey describing the African country Rwanda is a country marked with three separate and distinct groups The and On April Apri 6 1994 life in Rwanda would never be the same Many people look at atme atme atme me and think that I have never been scared in my life Many people have asked me that question many times But I was scared for the first time on that night said When I went outside all of my neighbors all of those people you think ofas ofas of ofas as gentleman all of those people you think of as wise men ranking high-ranking government officials I was n fO i u j- j v r J t. r I fIti f- f l r ki sf i f SE is St v jOTi rr nf r 0 1 J i tf f Rwanda Rwanda Foundation to providers assistance t to orph orphans ns of the Rwandan gen genocide dd jj a G H- H Hl y l ell r- r I. I as as drawing wi g ga a attention to th the curre d v iii teia v fc the g v. region g on of Sudan i r fo f 4 Tc learn 1 more more read use na s a 19 i Y J i Au An Ordinary 1 ry Man 1 orvis t http WW http ww J 2 I 1 org J tf I. l. A 1 very much scared to see sec them with guns with all the traditional weaponry that anyone can think of And already some of them were killing neighbors It was neighbors killing neighbors On that day Rwandan President Juvenal along with many of his Cabinet were assassinated when his Falcon 50 was was shot down What followed was wasa a ruthless and systematic campaign to exterminate the Over the next days over a million men women and children along with Butu sympathizers would be murdered On that day many of my ne neighbors who were not killed gathered in my house and by the end of the day we had 26 strangers All those who were not killing or killed came to tomy tomy tomy my house and gathered there said describing how he took in inthe inthe inthe the strangers as part of his family After a few days in an attempt to kill the refuges inside soldiers stormed the gate He describes a second wave of fear overtaking him One of the refugees pulled him aside and told that he would would offer otTer himself to the soldiers decided to use his voice The power of words can be one of the best weapons in the human arsenal or the most dangerous depending on what you want to achieve said His words along with a bribe from the hotels hotel's safe provided safety for the day For their safety group traveled to the Mille Collines Hotel Hote owned by bythe bythe bythe the same company that worked for During their time at this hotel new family of strangers swelled to over 1200 With no electricity or running water pool water was rationed to stop their thirst Each time faced with danger with a gun pointed in his face chose to use lIse his words and actions to save his new family from certain death Realizing that he was the only one who could negotiate with the murders he turned down a deal to escape and instead provided safety safely for the refuges When each night fell would stay up into the early morning hours calling everyone from military leaders the United Nations and The White House His pleas for help would go unanswered For days the whole world stood by silently with arms folded and watched as the hundreds of thousands of people were slaughtered On July 4 1994 the war ended when the rebel army entered the capital city Kigali Although the genocide was slightly calmed over a million people were murdered and two million fearing retribution left Rwanda Speaking of his past sees the history of Rwanda repeating itself with the genocide in inthe inthe inthe the Darfur region of Sudan On my way to Darfur I saw while watching the TV all the world leaders were gathered in Auschwitz They were gathered in Auschwitz commemorating the 60 anniversary of the Jewish Holocaust said The world leaders repeated two words over I and over again Never again and what happened here 60 years again will never happen again and yet where I w was s headed it was happening again again and again |