[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Pages 23377-23378]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    THE 15TH ANNUAL WALLENBERG MEDAL

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, last Tuesday evening, the University of 
Michigan presented Paul Rusesabagina with its 15th Annual Wallenberg 
Medal. As my colleagues may remember, Mr. Rusesabagina was the subject 
of the movie ``Hotel Rwanda.''
  The Wallenberg Medal is named for University of Michigan alumnus and 
humanitarian Raoul Wallenberg. After receiving his degree in 
architecture in 1935, he spent time in several jobs in South Africa and 
Palestine before moving to Sweden in 1941 to work for a Jewish 
Hungarian businessman named Kalman Lauer. Lauer operated an export-
import firm which did business in Central Europe, a large portion of 
which took place in Hungary. As the Nazis continued to gain power in 
Europe, Lauer found it increasingly difficult to travel and turned over 
control of his foreign division to Wallenberg. In 1944, Wallenberg was 
approached by the American War Refugee Board to take part in a plan to 
assist Jews in Budapest who were in danger of falling victim to the 
holocaust.
  Wallenberg agreed to take part in the project and was sent to 
Budapest as a representative of the Swedish Government. In Budapest, 
Wallenberg hired several hundred Jews to staff his office, bringing 
them under the diplomatic protection of Sweden. Additionally, he 
created a new official looking Swedish passport, known as the 
``Schutzpass.'' Wallenberg gave the Schutzpass to thousands of 
Hungarian Jews and said that it granted the holder immunity from Nazi 
deportation. The Schutzpass deceived the Nazis and may have saved the 
lives of as many as 20,000 Jews.
  Wallenberg is also known to have rented 32 buildings in Budapest, 
which he declared to be under the diplomatic protection of the Swedish 
Government. Using his architectural education from the University of 
Michigan, he took space designed to hold no more than 5,000 people and 
turned it into housing for more than 35,000 Jews. These ``safe houses'' 
provided a refuge of last resort for thousands who would have otherwise 
disappeared into Nazi death camps.
  There are numerous stories of Wal-
lenberg's courage and heroism throughout the last few years of World 
War II.

[[Page 23378]]

Despite repeated threats and attempts on his life, he persevered and 
continued his work to save as many Jews as possible. Wallenberg is best 
known for skillful negotiation and fearless confrontation of Nazi 
soldiers who threatened the safety of those he was working to protect. 
Tragically, Wallenberg disappeared soon after Soviet soldiers took 
control of Budapest.
  While the circumstances surrounding Wallenberg's disappearance are 
still unclear, the tens of thousands of Jews he saved from certain 
death will never forget his brave actions. The University of Michigan 
created the Wallen-
berg Medal in 1990 to honor his memory and recognize other outstanding 
humanitarian leaders. Each year the Wallenberg Medal is presented to an 
individual who has exhibited extraordinary respect for human rights on 
behalf of those subjected to persecution. Medal recipients are chosen 
to honor their self-sacrifice, integrity, and courage in standing up to 
an oppressive majority. Following the presentation, the Wallenberg 
Medal recipient is invited to address an audience of students, faculty, 
and members of the community regarding their experiences and 
humanitarian work. Past Wallen-
berg Medal recipients include the Dalai Lama, Nobel-laureate and 
holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, civil rights leader and Congressman 
John Lewis, and other extraordinary humanitarians.
  This year's Wallenberg Medal recipient Paul Rusesabagina has 
certainly exhibited qualities worthy of such a high honor. Rusesabagina 
was the manager of the Hotel des Mille Collines in Kigali, Rwanda in 
1994 when the assassination of Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana 
pushed an already tense situation in the country over the edge. Radical 
ethnic Hutus began rounding up and murdering their Tutsi rivals as well 
as other moderate Hutus who did not support their actions. It is 
estimated that nearly one million people were killed in the violence in 
only 100 days.
  Paul Rusesabagina did not stand by and watch as his countrymen were 
murdered. As a well-connected Hutu, Rusesabagina was spared 
persecution. However, his wife, a Tutsi, and his children were not 
safe. He moved them from his home to the Hotel des Mille Collines where 
he believed they would be safer. As the violence intensified, he opened 
the hotel to hundreds of other Rwandans, Hutu and Tutsi alike, who were 
seeking to escape the violence outside. In the following months, there 
were numerous attempts to force those at the hotel out into the streets 
of Kigali. Each time, Rusesabagina used his international connections 
through the hotel or with the Rwandan military in combination with keen 
negotiation skills to spare the lives of those he was caring for. 
Amazingly, no one who took shelter inside the hotel was killed in the 
violence. In all, Paul Rusesabagina and the Hotel des Mille Collines 
protected the lives of more than 1,200 people during the genocide.
  Prior to the award ceremony last Tuesday, Paul Rusesabagina was 
reunited with one of the many who took shelter at the Hotel des Mille 
Collines. According to reports, Thomas Kamilindi was working as a 
journalist in Kigali when violence broke out in 1994. Kamilindi, his 
pregnant wife and young daughter stayed at the hotel for a month and a 
half until they were evacuated. Kamilindi credits Paul Rusesabagina 
with saving his life and the lives of his family. The meeting last 
Tuesday was the first since Kamilindi and his family were evacuated 
more than 10 years ago. Following their meeting, Kamilindi said, ``It 
was very emotional for him and for me. I am still alive because Paul 
was there.'' Kamilindi is currently a Knight-Wallace Journalism Fellow 
at the University of Michigan where he is studying representations of 
violence in the media.
  Paul Rusesabagina's courageous actions closely resemble those of 
Raoul Wallenberg 50 years before. Both men stood in the face of great 
adversity to protect those who were not able to protect themselves. 
Like Wallenberg, Rusesabagina provided a shelter of last resort to 
innocent civilians facing persecution, many of whom he did not know 
personally prior to the violence. In addition, both men fought off 
potential violence not by meeting force with force, but by using 
persuasion, influence, and negotiation instead.
  I thank the University of Michigan for adding to the legacy of Raoul 
Wallenberg by recognizing the contributions of other great 
humanitarians like Paul Rusesabagina. I know my colleagues will join me 
in congratulating Paul Rusesabagina on this great honor.

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