About 400 people turned out at the New Braunfels Civic and Convention Center to honor the recipient of the 2nd Bob Krueger Public Service Award, Paul Rusesabagina.
Rusesabagina, as a hotel manager, saved 1,268 lives during the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
Rusesabagina’s life is chronicled in the film “Hotel Rwanda,” his autobiography “An Ordinary Man” and has previously been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush in 2005, among other honors. He recently moved from Brussels, Belgium to San Antonio.
Several members of the audience were enthusiastic about having an international figure such as Rusesabagina make an appearance in New Braunfels.
“I came to see a very brave man and hear what he has to say,” said Tom Monroe, a Realtor from San Antonio that came to the ceremony.
“I’ve heard wonderful things about him,” said Pricilla Segovia, a member of the New Braunfels Independent School District school board.
“It is an honor to have him here in our small town,” she said.
“I’m amazed that New Braunfels can attain such an international figure. There is no way to avoid being amazed by Paul’s story, the fact that people all over the world know him,” said Alice Oliver-Parrott of Canyon Lake.
“I’m thrilled by the turnout. Paul is a genuine international figure,” said former Sen. Bob Krueger, for whom the award was named.
Prior to his speech, Rusesabagina said he was not that interested in telling his story when receiving the award.
“Do people really need on a Saturday to hear my story or should they celebrate a hero like Bob Kruger,” he said.
“Should I talk about myself or about him?”
“Statistically Paul saved over one eighth of one percent of the lives taken in the genocide,” Bob Krueger said, adding “Paul calls himself an ordinary man, but he was undoubtedly an extraordinary man.”
