Heroism and passivity

Paul Rusesabagina, whose heroism during the genocide against the Tutsis was depicted in the movie Hotel Rwanda, has been at York University, Toronto:

Speaking to about 300 York University students yesterday, Rusesabagina said the voices of innocents in places like the Darfur region of Sudan and the Congo, where countless people have been butchered and displaced, are calling for help.

The world must listen and learn from history, but such bloodbaths keep happening in Africa, where 90 per cent of the leaders are dictators, he said.

"The people need bread, but that's not the most important thing. We can find bread in Africa if there is peace," Rusesabagina, 51, said.

Rusesabagina said he visited the Darfur region and sees the same thing happening there as in Rwanda, where more than 800,000 people were murdered over a 100-day period in 1994 in the central African nation of 8.4 million people.

The report concludes:

[Rusesabagina] has written An Ordinary Man, a book about the ordeal that will be released in April. Twenty per cent of the proceeds will be sent to the Hotel Rwanda foundation that helps those orphaned and abused during the genocide. In recognition of his heroism, he has received the U.S. presidential Medal of Freedom, the International Freedom Award and Amnesty International's Enduring Spirit Award. He also served as a consultant for the critically acclaimed movie. The talk was sponsored by the Jewish student organization Hillel of Greater Toronto, which is trying to focus attention on the suffering in Africa.

It's remarkable how the heroism of individuals can be recognized after the event, while the passivity of the global community - states, international organizations, social movements - is on show, repeatedly, during the event.

Read the rest. (Thanks: PH.)