Surviving 1994 Genocide at Hôtel des Mille Collines

Edouard Kayihura, one of the survivors from the hotel, years ago, co-authored a book as part of his contribution in exposing the lie that Paul Rusesabagina saved the Tutsi at the hotel

Next week, Rwandans will be marking the 27th commemoration of the Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. For survivors, the sad memories are as fresh as they were in 1994. When you speak to those who survived from Hôtel des Mille Collines, it is as if the ordeal was lived yesterday.

It is probably worse for them because, every day, they see the gruesome ordeal being distorted just to benefit some individuals and organizations. This is a trend they need to end so that they can grieve peacefully.

As soon as the killing machinery was set rolling in April 1994, hundreds of thousands of Tutsi left their homes to seek refuge in different places where they felt they would live to see another day.

Many believed they would be safe in churches, others in the bush, or in a neighbour’s bedroom. Others in Kigali sought refuge at the famous Hôtel des Mille Collines which was at the time protected by UN peacekeepers deployed in Rwanda.

The story of the hotel and its manager at that time, Paul Rusesabagina, was later used as the basis of Terence George's fictional film "Hotel Rwanda" in 2004. The Hollywood film inaccurately portrayed Rusesabagina as a hero.

Edouard Kayihura, one of the survivors from the hotel, years ago, co-authored a book as part of his contribution in exposing the lie that Rusesabagina saved the Tutsi at the hotel. The book, “Inside the Hotel Rwanda: The Surprising True Story…and Why It Matters Today,” details the story of what really happened.

The commemoration period is a time to remember and recount the stories for the current and future generations to know the truth and honor the more than one million victims the Genocide. 

Today, people around the world especially want to hear from the survivors of “Hotel Rwanda” about what informed their choice for a hiding place, and how they endured until they were rescued, and so much more.

Those who survived from the hotel believe that, 27 years later, the true story of what actually happened inside the hotel must be told. They are saddened by Hollywood's manipulation of this story for what they see as selfish interests.

According to survivors, the prerogative of the creative industry must be that of telling the truth of what occurred throughout the Genocide as a social responsibility. They feel the world owes them this at the very minimum, and rightly so.

What really happened inside the hotel?

In 1994, Hôtel des Mille Collines was a property of Sabena, a Belgian company, and had a Belgian national as its manager. When the massacres started in Kigali, the Belgian managers were evacuated to their country.

Before their departure, the Tutsi who had taken refuge at the hotel were accommodated as well as given food and water - all free of charge.

When the Belgian managers left, the circumstances suddenly changed from very bad to worse.  Paul Rusesabagina who worked at the nearby Hotel des Diplomates appointed himself the hotel manager.

In 2011, Bernard Makuza; one of the survivors from the hotel said “Rusesabagina came to the hotel looking for fuel with the aim of fleeing to Gitarama where the government had shifted their Headquarters.”

As he arrived at the hotel looking for gas, he seized the keys of the hotel from a young receptionist and quickly calculated how he was going to take advantage of the vacuum left by the Belgians to enrich himself.

Rusesabagina started to demand money from the refugees. He compelled those without cash to sign cheques and promissory notes as he threatened to show those without money the door.

Some of the cheques given to him by the refugees were later cashed in Gitarama (now Muhanga), a town approximately 45 kilometres by road southwest of Kigali, where banks were still operating. Rusesabagina’s motivation - money and greed - will take us through what transpired inside the walls of the infamous “Hotel Rwanda” and how the hundreds who sought refuge there survived the bloodbath outside.

Why hide at Hôtel des Mille Collines?

The Great Lakes Eye talked to survivors from Hôtel des Mille Collines and they all confirmed that the belief that foreigners, mainly Europeans, who were at the hotel would protect them was their main reason for choosing the hotel as their hiding place.

At first, the people who went to the hotel were the rich who could afford to pay. Many Hutu families passed through the hotel before fleeing to Gitarama and other parts of the Southern Province, because rumor had it that the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA) rebels had taken the east of the country and were quickly advancing to Kigali. This, according to the survivors, made the hotel a less likely target.

Although he always chased refugees out for lack of payment, according to survivors, Rusesabagina's attempts never often succeeded. Those he chased out would dodge him around the hotel and stay; like in a cat and mouse game.

Those expelled from their rooms by Rusesabagina would be smuggled into other rooms by friends. They stayed in crowded rooms and sometimes a single room contained more than 20 people. Rusesabagina did not have the cooperation of the hotel staff in his endeavors. Hotel staff saw him as an impostor who had assumed management of a hotel where he didn’t work.

Other refugees gathered in a conference hall. The unlucky ones who met him at the entrance of the hotel were turned away if they did not have money. The unlucky ones were caught by Interahamwe militia who were roaming around the hotel manning a roadblock right at the hotel’s entrance.

Purely a business relationship

Around the end of April 1994, Rusesabagina received orders from the owners of the hotel to allow in, and treat fairly, without asking all  refugees at the hotel for money.

But he ignored the orders and kept on squeezing every penny he could from the frightened refugees. Rusesabagina ran a lucrative business sending Interahamwe militia to buy food, liquor, beer and other luxury items which he sold to some refugees who had money. 

His business was often supplied by military officers and Interahamwe militia leaders who looted from the neighborhood. Perhaps that is what Rusesabagina described as bribing army officers to spare the refugees, survivors said.

Majority of refugees, already cash-starved, depended on the water from the hotel’s swimming pool before it was completely drained. Distressed by their deplorable living conditions, the refugees used the hotel phones to alert international organisations about their situation, and asked for help.

As soon as this was discovered, telephone lines were disconnected and only the phone in Rusesabagina’s office was operational. He then charged whoever wanted to make a phone call.

How they were finally brought to safety

When the advancing RPA took control of Kanombe military barracks, it was a big blow to the genocidal government and its armed forces. More than 800 government soldiers, and their families, are said to have surrendered to the UN peacekeeping mission's Force Commander, Gen. Romeo Dallaire, who handed them over to the Red Cross. These soldiers ended up in the RPA controlled zone as prisoners of war.

They were later exchanged with all the Tutsi hostages inside Hôtel des Mille Collines. This exchange emanated from a meeting at Hotel des Diplomates where UN peacekeepers, the militia and the government decided that refugees in Hôtel des Mille Collines would be exchanged for government soldiers held inside the RPA zone.

That is how the Tutsi inside the hotel were rescued. It was not by Rusesabagina as depicted in his self-proclaimed Hollywood fiction heroism tale.It was the RPA that pulled the exchange that eventually saved these people's lives.  Honouring the memories of the survivors from Hôtel des Mille Collines is doing justice to victims of the Genocide and contributing to their healing process.