Free Rusesabagina Campaign
The Situation
Paul Rusesabagina, known for saving hundreds of lives during the Rwandan genocide, as depicted in the film "Hotel Rwanda," was effectively kidnapped on August 27, 2020. Rusesabagina, a critic of the Rwandan government, was living in exile and was tricked into boarding a plane that he believed was bound for Burundi. Instead, the plane landed in Kigali, Rwanda, where he was arrested upon arrival. Paul is also a close friend of my bosses at a previous internship. They reached out to me to ask if I could help run their social media communications campaign to bring him home.
Paul received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from George W. BushFree Rusesabagina Campaign
I wrote scripts, recorded voiceovers, and edited together multiple videos for a social media push. These videos focused on Paul’s story, the implications of what happened, and why the public should care. The videos also gave the audience strategies for how they can act and support the #FreeRusesabagina movement. All the videos packed a substantial, yet digestible, amount of information into a 1-2 minute video format. The goal of this campaign was to create enough public pressure on the government to the point where they would prioritize negotiating Paul’s freedom.
A campaign video narrated by Paul’s son, TresorSocial Video Campaign
These two videos were a part of our initial push on TikTok. The second video had the most impact, being viewed 11,000 times and being shared almost 2,000 times.
The following two videos were created with the goal of keeping up public motivation and momentum with the campaign. We were able to get Paul’s son, Tresor, to narrate a video about his father’s story. The next video contained information about the progress made toward freeing Paul and the urgency to keep the pressure up.
A Golden Opportunity
In August of 2022, U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, planned a trip to Africa to visit with multiple leaders. One of his stops would be Rwanda, where he would meet with President Kagame. On Blinken’s agenda was to discuss Rwanda’s human rights record and treatment of dissidents. We jumped at the chance and made a video urging the Secretary to make Paul’s release a top priority.
During the time leading up to Secretary Blinken’s trip, I clipped inspirational and humanizing content about Paul from previous interviews and speeches. I turned these clips into short, shareable videos to increase the output level of the campaign during this crucial time.
We also partnered with the Bring Our Families Home (BoFH) campaign. This organization is made up of families whose loved ones are American citizens being held captive abroad. The Rusesabagina family is a part of the org, so I made a campaign video for BoFH detailing a temporary mural of the captured Americans in Washington D.C.
Paul is Freed
In the weeks following the Secretary’s visit, President Kagame of Rwanda allowed for the release of Paul Rusesabagina back to the United States. After 939 days of detainment, Paul was safely back home with his family in San Antonio, Texas.
Paul continues to speak out against the atrocities committed by the Rwandan government and other authoritarian regimes around the world.
