34 pages 1 hour read

Paul Rusesabagina

An Ordinary Man

Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2006

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Important Quotes

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“Each one of those lives was like a little world in itself.” 


(Introduction, Page xi)

Rusesabagina wants to individualize the 800,000 people killed in Rwanda in a span of 100 days, during the 1994 genocide.  

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“What had caused this to happen? Very simple: words.”


(Introduction, Page xiv)

The book emphasizes the power of words. Hateful rhetoric made Hutus feel inferior to Tutsis and created a divide that eventually led to the Rwandan genocide. Radio propaganda further widened the rift between Hutus and Tutsis, with the announcers telling Hutus to take up arms against Tutsis.

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“I am not a politician or a poet. I built my career on words that are plain and ordinary and concerned with everyday details.”


(Introduction, Page xvi)

The author admits that he is not a man who is adept in the art of the rhetoric. He is neither a politician who can sway the public with powerful words nor a poet who can weave magic with his verses. He is an ordinary man who learns how to make people from diverse fields comfortable in his job as a hotel manager. This skill allows him to convince would-be murderers to spare the lives of Rwandans who seek refuge inside the hotel.