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| 1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are pleased to | ||||||
| 3 | honor Paul Rusesabagina for his incredible courage in saving | ||||||
| 4 | the lives of more than 1,200 people during the 1994 Rwandan | ||||||
| 5 | genocide; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, In the spring of 1994, Hutu extremists took to the | ||||||
| 7 | streets of Rwanda, systematically massacring their minority | ||||||
| 8 | Tutsi and moderate Hutu neighbors; after 100 days of slaughter, | ||||||
| 9 | over 800,000 people were killed by Hutu militias; and
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| 10 | WHEREAS, During this nightmarish time, the Hotel des Mille | ||||||
| 11 | Collines in Kigali, Rwanda became a home to more than 1,200 | ||||||
| 12 | Rwandan refugees, who hid in the luxury hotel to save their | ||||||
| 13 | lives and those of their families; and
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| 14 | WHEREAS, At great risk to his own life, Paul Rusesabagina, | ||||||
| 15 | manager of the Hotel des Mille Collines, used his wits, | ||||||
| 16 | international contacts, and negotiating skills to keep the | ||||||
| 17 | refugees safe until the cessation of the massacre; and
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| 18 | WHEREAS, Paul Rusesabagina is the founder and president of | ||||||
| 19 | the Hotel Rwanda Rusesabagina Foundation, an organization | ||||||
| 20 | based in Chicago that helps to provide a voice to the victims | ||||||
| 21 | of genocide and supports peace efforts in Rwanda and throughout | ||||||
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| 1 | the world; in furtherance of the organization's mission, he has | ||||||
| 2 | spoken to large organizations of journalists, educators, | ||||||
| 3 | students, policymakers, business leaders, and human rights | ||||||
| 4 | activists throughout Europe and the United States about social | ||||||
| 5 | justice, human rights activism, and the lessons learned from | ||||||
| 6 | the Rwandan genocide; and
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| 7 | WHEREAS, Paul Rusesabagina is the real-life hero of the | ||||||
| 8 | film Hotel Rwanda and served as a special consultant for the | ||||||
| 9 | film; and | ||||||
| 10 | WHEREAS, Paul Rusesabagina has been the recipient of | ||||||
| 11 | numerous awards and accolades in recognition of his incredible | ||||||
| 12 | bravery; in 2000, he received the Immortal Chaplains Prize for | ||||||
| 13 | Humanity; in 2005, he received the Presidential Medal of | ||||||
| 14 | Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States, from | ||||||
| 15 | President George W. Bush; that same year, he was honored with | ||||||
| 16 | the National Civil Rights Museum Freedom Award and the | ||||||
| 17 | Humanitarian Award from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation; and
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| 18 | WHEREAS, Paul Rusesabagina is the guest of honor at the | ||||||
| 19 | 48th Annual Governor's Prayer Breakfast at the Crowne Plaza | ||||||
| 20 | Hotel in Springfield on May 12, 2010; and | ||||||
| 21 | WHEREAS, Paul Rusesabagina's great courage and compassion | ||||||
| 22 | make him a model for the people of the State of Illinois and | ||||||
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| 1 | the world at large; therefore, be it
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| 2 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL | ||||||
| 3 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we designate May 12, | ||||||
| 4 | 2010 as Paul Rusesabagina Day in the State of Illinois to honor | ||||||
| 5 | Paul Rusesabagina for his incredible courage and his many | ||||||
| 6 | accomplishments and wish him continued success and happiness in | ||||||
| 7 | the future; and be it further
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| 8 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 9 | presented to Paul Rusesabagina as a symbol of our esteem and | ||||||
| 10 | respect.
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