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Home > Blogs > Get on the Bus > Archives > 2007 > February > 21 > Entry
The power of words
Paul Rusesabagina and Thomas Kamilindi
Words kill. They also save lives.
In Rwanda in 1994, journalist Thomas Kamilindi refused to say hurtful words — to call his neighbors, friends and even his own family cockroaches and worse — over the radio. But others did, inflaming ethnic hatred that led to thousands of death.
Later Kamilindi found himself at the side of Paul Rusesabagina in what we know from the movies as the “Hotel Rwanda.” (Thomas explained to me that this name is quite correct. Rwanda is known for its beautiful hilly countryside. In the Rwandan language, the word Rwanda means “miles of hills” and in French, the Hotel des Milles Collines also literally means “hotel of miles of hills.”)
It was Kamilindi’s words in a telephone interview with a radio station in France that alerted the world to the desperate state of affairs both at the hotel and in Rwanda in general.
And it was Rusesabagina’s words — his amazing powers of persuasion — that dissuaded soldiers who came to kill Kamilindi, just one of many examples of Resesabagina’s repeated courageous conversations in which he cajoled, threatened, begged, flattered and reasoned with killers to save lives.
I met Thomas in 2005 through the Knight Wallace Journalism Fellowship. He participated in the fellowship the year after I did, in his case through a special endowment intended to help journalists around the world who’s lives are in danger. He’s now been granted political asylum in the U.S. and lives in Michigan.
When we saw each other in September, I invited him to Dayton for Rusesagabina’s lecture Tuesday at the University of Dayton. (Follow the links for my colleague Stephanie Irwin’s stories about their reunion and Rusesbagina’s speech)
To both men, speech is an important freedom and a responsibility to be taken seriously. Rusesabagina urged his listeners to use their words for good and to make peace. He believes even in Rwanda there can be peace, if only the warring Hutu and Tutsi tribes could sit around the table and talk.
For journalists, the responsibility is great, and in many places around the world, reporting the truth brings with it real danger. I wrote recently about the Turkish journalist Hrant Dink’s murder for speaking out about the Armenian genocide in that country.
Thomas, who also met Dink through the Knight-Wallace program, said he is haunted by the thought of Dink dying of a gunshot in the very doorway to his office that Thomas crossed to meet him.
After the hotel experience, Thomas sent his family to Belgium but stayed in Rwanda training journalists in hopes of bringing change there until it became too dangerous. Today, he works with Rusesabagina to advocate for peace there in exile.
Rusesabagina, Dink and Kamilindi are men of conviction and courage. We should all learn the lessons they preach — think before you speak, but say the truth when it needs to be said.
Note: Ron Rollins summarizes Rusesabagina’s speech here.
(Image credit: Jim Noelker, DDN)
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