The inspiration for the movie “Hotel Rwanda,” Paul Rusesabagina, paid a visit to City College Friday Nov. 8, in the Garvin Theatre.

A Year Without War hosted Rusesabagina, a survivor of the Rwandan genocide in 1994. Their hope was to inspire students with someone who has remained positive after experiencing tragedy.

“Here’s a story about standing up against so many terrible things,” said Philosophy Professor Joe White, during a brief introduction.

Rusesabagina is an exiled individual, whose goal is to speak about preventing future genocides.

“I grew up…where people were fighting for power…this created a kind of hatred,” he said.

The genocide began when President Habyarimana’s plane was shot down. Many Hutu extremists aimed to annihilate the Tutsi population, one of the three ethnicities represented in Rwanda. As much as one third of the Tutsi population was killed.

Rusesabagina was able to keep roughly 1,200 Tutsi alive in his hotel.

At first it was his goal to save his beloved family, but he realized that he could do more good than that. He attempted to talk to those attacking his neighbors as well.

“The best way to self confidence is through dialogue…through words,” said Rusesabagina. “There was a small window… a window of hope. We could talk, we could negotiate.”

Many of Rusesabagina’s experiences are portrayed in the film, “Hotel Rwanda,” where he is played by Don Cheadle.

“What you saw, I also saw it. You saw it on the television and I am an eye witness,” he said.

Many audience members were familiar with the movie. Roughly 350 students, faculty members and community members attended the speech.

“I think it is important for our students to hear from someone who has gone through hell and is still optimistic,” said Manoutchehr Eskandari-Qajar, political science professor.

Rusesabagina’s speech told the story of helping his people through the genocide. His aim was to show young people that you could still turn a tragedy into something good.

“I urge you young people to be a voice for the voiceless,” he said. “I had to deal with evil and we had to come up with an agreement.”

Because he left Rwanda during a time of trouble, Rusesabagina remains in exile. This doesn’t necessarily mean he cannot return, but he and his family continue to choose not to.

“When you raise a voice… you become a problem and in danger,” he said. “This is why I remain in exile.”

Students responded positively to Rusesabagina’s message, giving him a standing ovation.

Political Science Major, Meghan Brown, 20, left the speech feeling inspired.

“It’s odd to imagine having someone in front of you who has seen such horrible things,” she said.